Notre Dame is Finally Back on the National Scene

Last preseason, Auburn was ranked 23rd in the USA Today Coach's Poll and 22nd in the AP Poll, and few could have predicted an undefeated run and a breakout year led by a JUCO transfer named Cam Newton.  This year, Notre Dame is ranked 18th in the USA Today Coach's Poll and 16th in the AP Poll, and while I'm not saying that ND is going to make an Auburn-type run, they finally have the right head man in Brian Kelly and the athletes to once again be relevant on the national scene.

ND is coming off a 4-0 finish to the 2010 season and are positioned to improve upon last season's 8-5 mark.  They return 9 starters on offense, including the return to health of QB Dayne Crist.  Kelly has been very outspoken during camp about Crist's makeup and at times his toughness in 2010, but sees a different QB and leader this summer. "He is a much better football player, he is a much better quarterback.  And I would say quite frankly and honestly, he's the kind of guy I want to coach.  He's tougher mentally. He handles himself in the leadership position the way I want our quarterbacks to handle it.  I didn't know Dayne very well last year.  I can't tell you that I felt the same about him last year.  But I do now," Kelly said.

If Crist can stay healthy, he has the size, NFL arm strength and the offensive weapons to make a surprise run at the Heisman Trophy and the First Round of the 2012 NFL Draft, much like the aforementioned Newton did last fall.

When it comes to weapons, few teams can boast the three headed monster of future NFL WR Michael Floyd, slot WR Theo Riddick and Sophomore TJ Jones, who is poised for a breakout campaign himself.  RB Cierre Wood has great size, speed and is a capable receiver and a potential difference maker who began to finally put it all together late in 2010.  Moreover, the offense should improve greatly in 2011, simply from the fact that most of the players now have 2 springs and 2 preseason camps with Kelly.

The Defense should also be much improved, as it held its final 4 opponents last season to an average of 9.8 points and 276.5 total yards per game.  Furthermore, this is the first year that the unit has the talent and the depth to effectively run its 3-4 scheme, with their whole defensive line returning and the expected emergence of super recruit Aaron Lynch, a four star DE who was nearly unblockable in the Spring Game.  Junior ILB Manti Te'o is a future NFL first rounder who brings great toughness, tenacity and leadership to the second level, along with the playmaking skills of OLB Darius Fleming.  

The secondary boosts 2 longtime starters at CB, including future NFL prospect Gary Gray, and preseason All-American Harrison Smith at Safety.  Freshmen DE Stephon Tuitt and OLB Ishaq Williams, along with Lynch, will provide depth and potential impact, as they represent the best influx of front seven talent into ND in the last 10-15 years.

Overall, the offense has a solid offensive line and some great playmakers, along with Crist, who has the ability and now the coaching to rise up Draft charts.  The Defense, for the first time since the Holtz era, has potential difference makers at all 3 levels, with Lynch at DE, Te'o at LB and Smith and Gray in the secondary.  

The schedule is always challenging, but the USC and Michigan State games are in South Bend, and while Michigan will be improved, they will be a much better squad in late October and in November than when ND plays them in Week 3.  It could all come down to a big matchup on November 26th in Palo Alto between the preseason Heisman favorite, Andrew Luck, and a kid from Southern California who many will know rather well by then, Dayne Crist.