Notre Dame (9-1) inched up another single spot to No. 8 in this week’s College Football Playoff rankings, which was expected after Baylor (8-2) knocked off previously undefeated and eighth-ranked Oklahoma (9-1).
As we try to find a playoff path for Notre Dame this time each week, there has been some chatter that because of a better strength of schedule, the Irish could eventually jump undefeated and fifth-ranked Cincinnati (10-0) even if both teams win out, and despite the fact that the Bearcats won at Notre Dame Stadium Oct. 2.
The rationale for such a prediction is that No. 6 Michigan (9-1) ranks one spot ahead of No. 7 Michigan State (9-1), despite the fact that MSU beat Michigan earlier this month, which suggests the committee isn’t married to any head-on-head criteria.
To me, this is an apples and oranges comparison and there’s no way to rank a one-loss Notre Dame team ahead of an undefeated Cincinnati team when that one loss came to the Bearcats.
Michigan and Michigan State are both one-loss teams so head-to-head evaluation becomes less relevant than some other factors.
Youthful exuberance
Given the way this season is playing out, and everything Notre Dame has had to work through during it, Irish head coach Brian Kelly, in many respects, is playing with house money.
With a new starting quarterback to break in, four offensive linemen off to the NFL from the 2020 team, along with the Butkus Award winner and a star defensive coordinator to replace, the Irish were predicted to win eight games in 2021, nine at the most, according to preseason Vegas lines.
Instead, Notre Dame is poised to finish this regular season 11-1 and post its fifth straight double-digit win season. A third playoff appearance in the last four seasons isn’t completely out of the equation.
But beyond the obvious, Kelly has kept winning while at the same time digging deep into his roster and building a foundation with his younger players that will bring sustained success for years to come.
At the skill positions on offense, freshman tailback Logan Diggs is emerging as a future star.
Freshman wide receivers Lorenzo Styles and Deion Colzie are making good on expanded roles after the season-ending injury to graduate student Avery Davis.
Freshman quarterback Tyler Buchner played the entire fourth quarter against Virginia, gaining more prep and experience for when he potentially becomes a sophomore starter in 2022.
Up front, freshman left tackle Joe Alt has locked down the starting left tackle spot after he replaced another freshman, Blake Fisher, at the position.
Defensively, second-year players such as safety Xavier Watts, cornerback Ramon Henderson, linebacker Rylie Mills and lineman Jordan Botelho, along with rookie linebacker Prince Kollie, all played and played well against Virginia.
“They were all good players, but they just needed more time,” Kelly said of the developmental curve among his youngsters. “I think the depth of our football team is certainly called upon later in the season and they have come through for us.”
Change in course
During the first three years after the NCAA passed legislation in 2018 that allowed football players to compete in up to four games in a season and still preserve their redshirt, Kelly and Co. worked meticulously to see that most of their freshman didn’t exceed that four-game threshold.
Kelly and the coaches decided before this season to take a different approach. In other words, if a freshman can contribute, he’s going to play, even if it’s in five or six games.
“This year was about not counting, we got to play them,” Kelly explained.
And frankly, with the way players come and go through the transfer portal, and with a growing number of Irish players leaving after their junior year, what’s the point of worrying about if a player is still going to be around for a fourth season?
Use ‘em or lose ‘em. And when you have a steady stream of talented freshmen coming in each season, that’s the best course.
“So, the process was let’s play them,” Kelly added. “Let’s develop them, let’s get them ready wherever they are in that continuum, let’s not worry about the games. … Keep playing them because they can impact our football team.”
November reign
When asked recently about the reasons for his program’s November success, Kelly explained that improved roster depth is at the root of the positive late-season results.
Notre Dame hasn’t dropped a November game since losing at Stanford on Nov. 25, 2017.
The Irish won all of their November games in 2018, 2019, and 2020, and more recently, victories over Navy and Virginia have pushed the November winning streak to 14, with the likelihood it will reach 16 games by this regular season’s end with wins over Georgia Tech and Stanford the next two weeks.
“I think [the November improvement] is the depth in the recruiting process showing itself,” Kelly explained, “more so than in years past where we just didn’t have those players that we could count on later in the year to put them out there.”
Kelly’s November win streak comes on the heels of a five-season stretch from 2013 through 2017 when his team went only 9-12 in the month.
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