Notre Dame Football: No Reason to a Wild Season

An up-and-down season doesn't quite do this one justice. Notre Dame finished the season a predictable 8-5, a record, which many called for. How they got there is where it got crazy.

In retrospect, Notre Dame nation has to be the happiest collective fanbase after an above-average year at best. The Irish had to string together wins at the end of the year to salvage what was turning into a disastrous season.

But the signs are bright for the future. South Bend can breathe a collective sigh of relief and a product was put on the field that the Irish faithful can be proud of. Each game took on a larger meaning than the next it seemed throughout the season, due in large part to the fact that the Irish flirted with a .500 record in the earlier parts of the year.

This season, more than any I can remember, was an emotional roller coaster ride, including moments of intense frustration as well as overjoyed celebration. This season tested fans of the blue and gold and only the most faithful stayed loyal to their team throughout the year.

With the first half of the season proving the mortality of this team, Notre Dame restored hope for a bowl game with successful outings against strong Pittsburgh as well as Boston College. Both were significant after these rivals had the upper hand in recent years on the Irish. Heading into the second half of the season, hope remained that Notre Dame could finish the season with a trip to a bowl game.

This was as any fan of the team could attest to the point when the most nervous energy surrounded the Irish since any time in recent history. Heading into the Navy game the thought process seemed to be that this was a not so formidable back-to-back of the Midshipmen followed by the Tulsa Hurricanes. Even better, two victories could push Notre Dame into a bowl game with another winnable game against Army to polish their bowl resume.

That's when the wheels fell off.

The frustrating part about the Navy game was the Irish defense's inability to stop or even slow down Navy's run game. Defensive coordinator Bob Diaco was under immediate fire. A staple of Charlie Weis' regime had been poor consistent play by the defense and this lit a fire under many who felt that Kelly had potential to be the next in a long line of coaches who paid no attention to defense.

Then Tulsa came storming in, took out the quarterback and the Irish were undone by the worst sort of enemy—their own head coach. Kelly refused to take the blame after the game for what was an unquestionably bad decision and which reverberated throughout Notre Dame nation. I am of course, referring to the fact that a freshman quarterback was told to attempt a long pass in the end zone when a field goal would have won the game.

Further adding to the ire of the fans was the fact that the kicker, David Ruffer, was perfect on the year at the time. It is impossible to capture that moment for Irish fans. Desperate for at least respect, the Irish seemed to be headed toward a down year. After years of frustration, the catharsis of the fans would boil over in the next game as the tension for the Irish had reached a frantic level of desperation.

Heading into Senior Day against a heavily favored Utah squad, the Irish were faced with winning two of the next three games in order to even qualify for a bowl game.

To many the Irish had blown their chance in the beginning of the season, done in by a lack of discipline on the defense and Bryan Kelly's arrogance. If there was ever a time to infuse hope into her followers, Notre Dame needed it then. The game unfolded surprisingly in the favor of the Irish. The fact that the defense had stepped up in the transition from Dayne Crist to Tommy Rees was a development no one could have seen coming.

Even though the outcome of the game was not really ever in doubt, the fans swarmed the field after the game in a show of support and belief that the Irish could satisfy their hunger for a favorable product on the field.

Sparked by the fiery play of Manti Teo, and a rejuvenated Harrison Smith the Irish rode a three-game streak to end the season.

Nothing can compare to the feeling of beating USC. If there was an apex of the season it was the moment when the last seconds had ticked off in a matchup with the Irish's most feared and hated opponent. They finally beat USC.

Maybe it felt so good because with Pete Caroll gone some part of me hopes that USC will self-destruct. The evil empire has been weakened by the fall of its former ruler. More likely it will be a back-and-forth series over Kelly and Kiffin's tenure, with the Irish now able to match some of the talent brought in yearly by USC. But the win was the final step in reinstalling a breath of fresh air into the Irish faithful after years of mediocrity.

I was born in the South Bend area and growing up in the '90s my furthest memory is of a small man with large glasses pulling behemoth football players down to his level so he could inform them of some aspect of great importance to his football team.

From Davie to Willingham to Weis, it has been a struggle for Irish fans especially those of a younger generation. The product on the field has fluctuated and yet our team has been very consistently hated by many for a time of glory we were not football conscience for.

This season feels like the best year in recent memory and at 8-5, the Irish may seem to have a disappointing record, but the reality is that the program really feels headed in the right direction. Where Kelly's Irish go from now is uncertain; football is an imperfect sport and impossible to predict how the next steps in a program will unfold.

There are still only two types of people that follow the Irish: those who love them and those who despise everything they stand for. It will be interesting to see the effects of a successful Irish squad should Kelly coach to what Irish faithful now believe is his potential. I for one feel that he has earned a vote of confidence and can return the Irish to at least respectability and at best a return to glory.