September 3, 2011

Tim Prister
IrishIllustrated.com Senior Editor

The skepticism by the national media toward Notre Dame football should not only be expected, but is warranted.

Since 1997, Bob Davie's first season as head coach, Notre Dame has gone 99-73. That's a .575 winning percentage in 14 seasons, an average of 5.21 losses per season.

In nine of the 14 seasons, they've lost at least five times. In eight of the last 14 seasons, they've lost at least six times.

In the 28 seasons that Notre Dame was coached by Ara Parseghian, Dan Devine and Lou Holtz, the Irish were 248-63-7. Notre Dame lost more games than that in half the number of seasons under Bob Davie, Tyrone Willingham, Charlie Weis and Brian Kelly.

One would have to be skeptical of the media if they didn't view Notre Dame with a suspicious eye heading into the 2011 season.

There appears to be great reason to be optimistic about Notre Dame this year. This is a veteran football team with offensive weapons, a dynamic offensive play-caller/head coach, a defense that clearly is on the upswing with quality (albeit young) depth waiting in the wings, and a too-good-to-be-true kicker.

But until Notre Dame strings some quality seasons together, the burden of proof is on Notre Dame to quiet the critics and pacify the skeptics. It's not the media's obligation to jump on a bandwagon that has limped to 73 losses in 14 seasons.

Yet when a member of the national media says Notre Dame will finish 8-4, some react as if it is the most outrageous prediction imaginable. The fact is 8-4 would be a game better than the average over the last 14 seasons. The Irish haven't gone an entire season with fewer than three losses since 1993.

Is there a bias against Notre Dame? Sure, just as there's a bias against every other FBS program that averages seven victories and five losses per season. The Irish are viewed as a mediocre program with a decade-and-a-half of hard evidence to validate the claim.

If the national media is skeptical, it's because Notre Dame football has made them skeptical for what has now been a very long time. Win 30 games in three seasons and then howl about the media's lack of respect. Then there would be a legitimate beef. But until then, there's no reason to squabble about how the Irish are perceived.

Irish defensive end Ethan Johnson said it best a couple of weeks ago, and he said it so as to trumpet the message to the Notre Dame world at large: Stop making excuses for Notre Dame's mediocrity.

By pointing a finger at someone else for pointing out the obvious, that's what you're doing - making excuses, looking for a scapegoat, trying to divert attention away from the reality of the situation, which is that Notre Dame hasn't earned the respect of the college football world.

You want respect? Win. Win and the nation will be forced to relinquish its skepticism.

Beat South Florida at home and then go into a challenging Ann Arbor environment under a new coach and win. Beat a rebuilding Michigan State defense at Notre Dame, and then find a way to out-score Pittsburgh on the road in what likely will be a low-scoring game.

Slap Purdue aside, like a good football team would do, and contain Air Force's offensive attack in Notre Dame Stadium. Beat a diminishing USC team at Notre Dame, and then give Navy what they deserve.

Beat Wake Forest on the road and be ready for a Maryland team that won more games than Notre Dame did last year. Take advantage of a Boston College team that continues to retool, and then find a way to beat Andrew Luck and the Cardinal, who have never held a significant home-field advantage.

Are there members of the media who have a bias against Notre Dame? Absolutely, and there are those who clearly revel in Notre Dame's failure. But many times, that's simply a response to a public outcry against a bias that only exists because Notre Dame's mediocrity on the football field has allowed for it.

You want respect? Play championship caliber football, the likes we haven't seen since 1993.

The perception began to change late last season when the Irish won their final four games with defense. Some pre-season magazines rated them in the top 10; some didn't. Positive unanimity is expecting a bit much considering the Irish lost five games last year, including one to Navy, one to Tulsa and one to Michigan, which had the most horrendous defense in the history of the program.

You want to get even with the sneering media that enjoys Notre Dame's pain? Win. You want to force Notre Dame's critics into throwing their hands up and admitting that the Irish are for real? Win.

There's only one way to change the perception created over the last 14 seasons. Stop losing to Navy. Stop losing five and six times a season. Stop looking for an alibi for failure.

Notre Dame controls the way its football program is perceived, and today, the Irish have another opportunity to add to the changing perception.