Sorry Lou, Notre Dame Is a Enigma

I was watching ESPN's College GameDay Final last night and just so happened to catch the segment where Rece Davis is the judge and Lou Holtz and Mark May are lawyers making arguments for their respected points of view. The topic for this one was, "At 4-1, is Notre Dame back?"

Of course, Lou said they are relevant again. He even went as far as to say they are a top five school. Mark, on the other hand, argued that they are not given their body of work: wins over San Diego State (barely) at home and a Michigan team that is just really bad, and let's not forget the pounding at Michigan State.

I am not a big fan of Mark May, but I completely agree with him on this. Notre Dame is better this year. Jimmy Clausen has shown promise at times that he is going to be a big time quarterback.

But come on: A second half implosion by Michigan is when it got out of hand, and missed opportunities and too many big plays cost Purdue, especially in the third quarter. Those are the only wins that were double-digit wins.

That's right: They only beat S.D. State by eight, and that was a game Notre Dame should have lost. S.D. State controlled that game for three-and-a-half quarters but just could not put Notre Dame away when they needed too. The Irish do have a win by seven over a much-improved Stanford team, but they will be lucky to win three more games.

Let's not forget to look at Notre Dame's remaining schedule: at North Carolina, at Washington, Pittsburgh, at Boston College, at Navy, Syracuse, and at USC.

North Carolina is a very good team and still has a shot at an ACC title. They have too many playmakers, plus it is at North Carolina—that is a loss.

Washington is kind of a revenge game because of Ty Willingham. I know this is the third time, but Ty has to still feel like he got shafted. The big question will be if Jake Locker plays in this one. He has a broken hand right now but has said that he is willing to play another position until it heals. But if Locker is not the QB, then I think this a very winnable game for the Irish.

Pittsburgh is a team that has seemed to found its identity and is running the football with LeSean McCoy. QB Bill Stull makes just enough plays to keep a defense honest. Don't forget, LaRod Stephens-Howling is a nice change of pace back that compliments McCoy well. Notre Dame will have trouble stopping the run in this one. Pittsburgh wins.

Chestnut Hill is a tough place to go in and win. BC is a team starting to figure out its identity and should have it put together by the time the Irish come calling. BC wins

Navy finally broke that massive losing streak to Notre Dame last year. Now the question is whether they can turn that win into a streak and make it two in a row. Navy might have lost coach Paul Johnson, but they still run the same offense. It is in Annapolis and Navy normally plays very well at home. I see Navy making it a streak.

Syracuse...well, that is enough said. Notre Dame wins big.

Finally the Irish make a trip out west to end the year at rival USC. Despite the loss to Oregon State, USC still has a shot at the national title. USC just has too many playmakers on both sides of the ball. Plus USC (outside of a fluke game against Stanford) never loses at home, and they never lose big games or rivalry games in the Coliseum.

That would make Notre Dame 6-6. They would be bowl eligible and probably get invitation to a small bowl just because they are Notre Dame.

I know that is a lot better than last year, but they still have long way to go before they are completely relevant on the national stage again.