Answer that question before launching into the obligatory round of Irish criticism that is sure to come after the latest playoff failure. Notre Dame still looks a long way from its first national championship since A unique season in which the Irish finished unbeaten in the regular season through a one-year lease as an ACC conference member ended in the same uncomfortable territory: Double-barrel losses to Clemson in the ACC championship game and Alabama in the College Football Playoff semifinal.
Target Notre Dame as a big-game fraud if that's your thing. Those are high-visibility losses on the sport's biggest stage. Notre Dame remains one of the most-polarizing brands in the sport, and the easiest one to tag as overrated.
The same tag could apply for any program not named Alabama, Clemson or Ohio State. That's the problem: The Crimson Tide, Tigers and Buckeyes have combined for a record since Notre Dame is in the same stretch.
That's the fourth-best record in the FBS among Power 5 schools. Oklahoma , Georgia and LSU — which upset the establishment with a magical CFP championship outside those three teams last season — are the other Power 5 schools with at least 30 wins in that stretch. Appalachian State and Cincinnati — which had a legit Playoff argument but lost to Georgia in the Peach Bowl on Friday — are the Group of 5 schools with 30 or more wins.
They won't be in the CFP until there's an eight-team setup. None of those programs is a fraud. The Irish can't be solely blamed when there wasn't a good answer at No. Why it was devastating: A fairly run-of-the-mill defeat, as these go. They went the next year, and the Charlie Weis era never recovered.
The point is: they lost by Why it was devastating: Most of the losses in this list were blowouts. So this one deserves special placement because the Irish actually came close to victory. The Seminoles scored 17 in the fourth quarter to deny Notre Dame what had become an increasingly likely upset. This one comes from before college football had an official system to declare important bowl games, but the Orange has always naturally been one of the biggest.
However, that considers a series of sluggish performances in the first five games of the year. Taking a moving average of three-game samples over the final half of the season, Notre Dame has been a top offense, which figures to be much more competitive against the national powerhouses. Defensively, the Irish went three straight games without giving up a touchdown. Since giving up 34 points to UNC on Oct.
This defense is peaking and getting contributions all over the field. From sophomore converted wide receiver Xavier Watts contributing at rover, sophomore Ramon Henderson switching to safety, graduate student defensive line captains Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa and Kurt Hinish starring in leadership roles, sophomore edge Isaiah Foskey terrorizing opposing quarterbacks, and a deep linebacker room filling up the stat sheet, this defensive unit is operating with the utmost confidence and obliterating opposing offenses.
This team is trending the right way. Georgia is not a lock to win the national championship this season. I stand firmly on that statement until I see them do something offensively that changes my mind. The recent trend in national championship-winning teams has been an incredibly dynamic offense.
And in particular, an NFL-ready quarterback. A quarterback of a similar caliber? I think not, and this Georgia offense is simply not on the same level as the teams Notre Dame has had to face in previous years of the Playoff. The Irish held both teams to 14 and 19 points less than their season averages. Georgia is averaging 38 points per game — if Notre Dame can put up a similar defensive effort, a win becomes attainable.
Yes, the Georgia defense is incredible. They are giving up under eight points a game. But who exactly have they played? Maybe a four-loss Arkansas team, or a Auburn squad? Cue the confetti, this squad must have already won a national championship with the praise it gets from the mainstream media. Keep in mind, Tennessee scored 17 points against Georgia. If Notre Dame were to make it to the Playoffs and get blown out again, the Irish would certainly be subject to some ridicule from the media.
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