Notre Dame Football: Fighting Irish Continue to Disappoint

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish were supposed to make their first BCS bowl since 2007 this year.

They were supposed to rise from mediocrity.

But the only thing Notre Dame has done this season is disappoint.

There were questions about Notre Dame's quarterback situation coming into the season, but there were also a lot of signs pointing toward success, including a promising, young defensive line and a linebacking corps that sported Manti Te'o.

You look at Notre Dame's ranks headed into the matchup with USC on Saturday and it's hard to believe the Fighting Irish were 4-2. They ranked in the top 40 in passing yards, rushing yards, points for and points against per game.

But being ill-prepared for the likes of South Florida and Michigan doomed this team.

Notre Dame trails USC headed into the second half on Saturday, 17-10. The Fighting Irish must decide whether they'll rebound from a rough start to the season like Oregon did or fall back to their old ways. This team has the talent to make an impact this season, but you can't be taken seriously when you shrink whenever a decent squad comes your way.

Quarterback Tommy Rees, who took over for Dayne Crist one half of football into the season, has had two terrific games against Purdue and Air Force coming into Saturday's game. But he also had seven touchdowns to six interceptions before that when he went up against better defenses.

The question isn't whether Rees, along with the Fighting Irish, have the talent to at least be a top 25 team. It's whether they have the mindset.

So far, their minds are drifting off to a dangerous place.