Notre Dame Football: Brian Kelly and the Irish Looking for Consistency

With the Fighting Irish football team currently sitting at 1-2, they find themselves in a familiar position facing a season where their chances of a BCS berth are fading and where they are facing, possibly, a season that falls very short of preseason expectations. 

Some are contending that the Irish, again, came into the season over-hyped and that their slow climb back to relevance is a pipe dream.  Many seem ready to relegate the Notre Dame football team to the pile of  football great has-beens along with the Centre Praying Colonels, the  Columbia Lions.

Despite the early season losses, and the colossal breakdowns that lead to those losses, there are an emerging number of football pundits who are surprisingly jumping on the Notre Dame bandwagon.  Many are making the claim that they can see that Notre Dame's football program is on the rise, but it is hard to reconcile this with their disappointing record so far this. Statistically the improvements are obvious.  They are currently 13th in the nation in total offense and Michael Floyd is considered to be, by many, the best at his position in the country.

Having watched every down of the first two games two thoughts came to mind, one was how far the program had fallen when a game against the University of South Florida is no longer a gimme and two is that this team is better than last years team.   

Surprisingly, this season, most of the Irish play makers are found on the offensive side of the ball.  Michael Floyd is definitely one of the best in his position in the country.  Theo Riddick and T.J. Jones have very bright futures ahead of them.  Tyler Eifert should join the long list of Notre Dame tight ends to excel in the NFL and Tommy Rees continues to show that he may eventually be a very special player.

Special teams play has been inconsistent, especially the play of Ben Turk and his poor showing was significant in the first two games of the season giving South Florida and Michigan short fields at crucial times in the game. 

The biggest disappointment so far has been the lack of play makers on the defensive side of the ball.  Through two games, the Irish have put very little pressure on opposing quarterbacks, have been unable to get stops at key points in their games, and the secondary has been downright awful.   

On Saturday though, the Fighting Irish raised their game significantly.  There are still some things that are a concern, especially the turnovers and poor special teams play, but the team played with great resolve and secured a very good win over a worthy opponent.

The offense continued to be effective with great balance putting thirty one points on the board against a veteran defense.  The defense played an outstanding game holding the Spartans to 29 yards rushing and making a number of big plays throughout the game. 

For the first time this season, the secondary played very well.  Harrison Smith had an outstanding game and Robert Blanton may have played his best game as an Irish player on Saturday.  It should come as no surprise that Blanton provided the spark on the defensive side of the ball because it was his blocked punt versus Utah last season that seemed to ignite a fire under a reeling Irish team. 

The contribution of true freshman was significant.  George Atkinson Jr. returned a kickoff 89 yards which casted a positive light on special teams although they remain inconsistent.  Aaron Lynch put a great deal of pressure on Kirk Cousins throughout the day and all the Spartans could do to contain him was hold on, literally.  Troy Niklas started the game in place of Prince Shembo and played solidly in his first start. 

Despite all of the positives coming out of Saturday's win over Michigan State, the Irish still have not turned in an outstanding performance for 60 minutes.  That lack of consistency may be their biggest hurdle this season. 

Should they find that level of consistency, Irish opponents will have all they can handle and with the emergence of some outstanding freshman the feelings about Notre Dame football are slowly changing throughout the country.