Notre Dame Football: Why You Should Be Excited About the Fighting Irish

In his press conference on Tuesday, Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly stated that his football team played with "poise and confidence" for the first time this season Saturday at Pittsburgh.

He also went on to say that the reason for the loss at Michigan was because the team lacked both poise and confidence.

It all might seem like typical coach-speak, but take a minute to truly digest what Kelly said.

The team now has poise and confidence.

Those are two attributes that simply can not be coached. They are two qualities that must come from within the collective heart and soul of the team.

It's each player believing and trusting in his teammates, knowing that they are going to execute their assignments.

What does that mean for you as a fan?

It means you should be excited.

It's a sign that the players have completely bought into the system Kelly brought with him from Cincinnati nearly two years ago.

It's a sign that the program is headed in the right direction.

However, a team simply having poise and confidence isn't enough.

The next step is using those qualities to earn wins on the field. The Irish have certainly earned their last two victories.

The team out-performed Michigan State and dominated the line of scrimmage, typically Michigan State's calling card.

Then there was last week's ugly, grind-it-out victory over Pittsburgh.

The offense sputtered for the majority of the contest, but played excellent defense and made enough clutch plays on offense to get the job done.

Add this all together, and the result is a team that knows how to win football games.

Fans certainly want the style points that often times accompany a victory, but a win is a win is a win.

Brian Kelly certainly agrees.

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"I'd like to have won 37-0 too, but you know what? Winning's winning. It's not easy. You go on the road against a BCS team and limit them to 12 points and find a way to win, I like that development. We're developing an expectation with our guys that in a close game we're gonna win, and those are good dynamics."

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If there's one thing Kelly is trying to say, it's to have confidence in this team.

It's going places.