Notre Dame Football: A Midseason Evaluation of the Fighting Irish

At the halfway mark of the season, Brian Kelly and the Fighting Irish stand at a mere 4-2 through six games.

Not exactly what he, the team or the fans had in mind.

BCS dreams and expectations existed throughout the summer and leading up to kickoff of the South Florida game.

Those dreams seemingly came crashing in an instant.

Jonas Gray's fumble at the 4-yard line against the Bulls was returned 96 yards for a touchdown, and the Irish never saw another lead before eventually losing, 23-20.

Things didn't get any better the following week in the Big House, as the Irish squandered a 17-point fourth-quarter lead on its way to a stunning 35-31 collapse that brought the team to 0-2.

However, hope was never lost. The players and coaches knew they were better than that.

Simply put, the turnover bug had bitten them repeatedly.

Fast forward to the present day, and the Irish are riding a four-game winning streak. During that time, the team has shown what it is truly capable of.

The Irish began the streak with a thorough domination of then-15th-ranked Michigan State.

The following week they demonstrated poise and confidence in a 15-12 comeback victory at Pittsburgh.

Yet, the last two weeks have been the cream of the crop, if you will.

Kelly's squad put the pedal to the metal and never let up in victories over Purdue (38-10) and Air Force (59-33).

The most promising aspect of each of these four victories has been the play of the defense.

Before the Air Force game, the Irish ranked 19th nationally against the run. That's the sign of the coaching staff's commitment to building a championship-caliber defense.

Pair that with an offense that has eclipsed the 500-yard mark on four separate occasions, and you have a team that may just force itself back into BCS contention.

Just think about what Kelly said to Gray after Gray expressed his disbelief at the Irish's 59 points against Air Force:

"We're just getting started."