Notre Dame Football: 5 Positive Takeaways from the Irish's Win over Maryland

It's been an up and down season for Notre Dame.  But suddenly, the Irish a hot football team.

After the dispatching of Maryland last night, the Irish have moved their record to 7-3 and have won seven of their last eight games.

After an 0-2 start, an overall record of 7-3 with an outside chance at a BCS bowl seemed impossible, but now, it is within reach with a winnable game against Boston College and a shot to take down a Stanford squad that lost Saturday night to Oregon.

The Irish haven't just been winning games, but have also been playing excellent football on both sides of the ball under coach Brian Kelly.

When the season opened, there were questions about the quarterback position and the talent-level on defense.

Now as it draws to a close, this Irish team is playing its best football at the best possible time.

Here are five things to take away from the victory last night...

Defense Is Playing Well

When Kelly took the job as coach, the Irish defense was in shambles.

In the final three games of 2009, the Irish surrendered 105 total points including 45 in a loss to Stanford.

To close out 2010, Kelly's Irish allowed just 39 points in their final four games.

Kelly has the defensive unit playing at that level again this season. 

The unit would have held a third straight opponent under 20 points were it not for a meaningless score from Maryland in the game's closing seconds.

Tommy Rees Is a Good Quarterback

Rees threw for another 296 yards and a pair of touchdowns against Maryland on Saturday night and had a nearly flawless performance.

Since taking the job early this season, Rees has been in command of this offense.

He showed accuracy - completing a staggering 30 of 38 pass-attempts, and more importantly, didn't throw an interception.

Just Another Day at the Office for Michael Floyd

Another game, another great performance by Floyd.

This time, with precision route running, Floyd caught 9 balls for 90 yards and a 19-yard touchdown.

He wasn't 'big play threat' Floyd, but functioned as a possession-type receiver Saturday.

Floyd is a tremendous player. 

The Emergence of C.J. Gray and the Irish Rushing Attack

Cierre Wood was effective—rushing for 99 yards and a touchdown, but this game was the coming out party of the season for C.J. Gray.

Gray came in to spell Wood, but ended up having a career day.

Gray rushed for 136 yards, averaged 6.5 a touch, and scored a pair of 1-yard touchdowns.

Notre Dame's rushing attack was 'golden,' going for 212 yards on the day. 

FedEx Field Might as Well Be Notre Dame's Home Field

A crowd of 70,251 people attended the game between Maryland and Notre Dame Saturday night and despite FedEx Field's location in Landover, Maryland, it was a decidedly Notre Dame crowd.

Not only were both end-zones painted "Notre Dame," but most people in the crowd were pulling for the Irish last night.