After Saturday

As the season continues and it’s evident that the BCS is gone and a top 25 finish is far from an easy goal we need to do what Brian Kelly has steered away from.  Kelly keeps saying we take it one practice at a time and one game at a time.  Well we need to start looking to the future and thinking what they may be.  At the very least what the rest of the season could hold.  Recruiting may be semi-stable at best; team moral looks good, but still lacking hunger.  Consistency is lacking on the field and from what I hear in practice.  Those are all issues for Kelly and his staff to look at fan we look at players and what can they do for us, and if not this year, the next.

Being an Irish fan for the last 20 years is like being an inmate going to the parole board.  Maybe next year if we do this if we get that, we wait, work hard, go into the room before the board and…wait till next year.  This gets old quick, unfortunately it doesn’t end quickly.  Obviously there are several games left, games to win, and a top 25 to crack if we finish strong enough.

Down the road we’ll look at the depth chart and see what players will be tops in 2012.  For now we need to focus on 2011 games.  First Navy, two loses to the Midshipmen cannot lead to a third, Notre Dame has never lost to Navy three seasons in a row, not to mention a lose to a 2-5 team would be terribly embarrassing.

Wake Forest is a team with a current 5-2 record with wins over team such as Boston College and Florida State.  The Demon Deacons are ranked 24^th in the nation in total passing yards a game.  This could be a loss for the Irish in Winston-Salem against a solid ACC team.

Although Maryland is a home game for the Irish it is being played at Fed Ex field in Maryland’s backyard.   I would be more confident of a win against the Terrapins than some of the other teams on the Irish’s remaining schedule.  Their one highlight is an opening game win against the Miami Hurricanes 32-24.

Boston College who plays Maryland this weekend is currently 1-6 and 0-4 in the ACC this season should be a win for the Irish.  However the excitement of two Catholic colleges squaring off will help the Eagles get up to play Notre Dame.

Finally Stanford, who will very likely be undefeated and ranked in the top 5 when they face Notre Dame on November 26^th.  With everyone’s All American and Heisman Trophy pick Andrew Luck at the helm the Cardinal will be a tough win if not impossible.  The good news is if the Irish can win the rest of their games until then a victory over Stanford could put them into the top 25 at the end of the season and put them into a meaningful New Year’s Day Bowl.

With five games remaining I would say a 4-1 finish is reasonable and realistic.  The Irish could however finish our 3-2 or worse thanks to their inconsistency and lack of a killer instinct.  The ultimate question is would 9-4 be a better finish then last season’s 8-5 heading into a bowl.  Of course it’s better but is that kind of improvement good enough.   Back to Kelly’s view let’s take it one game at a time, Navy.