3 OBSERVATIONS
The November 21 bye Saturday comes at an ideal time, or at least on paper.
When a team is on a roll and rhythm like No. 2-ranked Notre Dame has been over the past month, a feeling might emanate where one doesn’t want it disrupted with a bye week and fall out of the routine.
However, because this is such a unique year with the pandemic and there will be likely three December games for the Irish for the first time in their history, the Nov. 21 bye, after the first-semester final exams are held Nov. 16-20, probably couldn’t have been slotted at a better time.
Talk about the stars aligning just right!
Re-charging physically and mentally should bode well, but the College Football Playoff committee also needs to think about extra credit for playing 11 or 12 games that the Irish will, as opposed to the 8-game Big Ten (if that) or the six-game Pac-12 (if that).
Of course, one can’t help but think back to last year’s bye week that was followed by the 45-14 implosion at Michigan.
From everything we’ve gathered, that was a week where it became the “In-Fighting Irish” on the coaching staff, specifically on offense, necessitating change in December.
Plus, because the bye last year coincided with fall break, there was some feeling that the workload needed to be expanded, which may have helped result in deader legs at Michigan — which is now experiencing its own internal strife at an even more pronounced level.
Internal unity and concentration should not be an issue this year.
