Then someone must be lying, teo, becuase for the past 15 years I’ve heard our last four coaches (Davie, Willingham, Weis and now Kelly, say publicly that they wish they could go after some of the kids they aren’t getting, but were even unable to pursue them because of the ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS at ND, not the academic requirements the players would face once they got into school. And not so long ago, ND produced as many pros as other schools. If you’re happy with 7-5 and 8-4 seasons, fine. I’m not.

Of course there are things he’s going well. But “brighter than under Willingham and Davie” is an incredibly low bar, and I refuse to use it as any kind of barometer. I seek championship-level football, or an indicator we’re moving towards it at a rate that will result in us contending for a championship sometime this decade.

I have no problem with an out jury. But the fact that something as basic as a punt return has been determined as so unfixable they’re going to wait until the spring to do it boggles my mind and makes me wonder what the ceiling is here.

Objectively they’re both top 15 teams with two losses. And MSU beat a very good Wisconsin team. You don’t need to denigrate every team we play.

What will you guys admit that Kelly is doing well? I think we’d like to see that – or do you think he’s not doing anything well?

Good:
Recruiting
Running YPC
Offensive and Defensive Line Play
Restoring Depth in holes left by previous regime (D-line, O-line – currently working on the secondary)
Halftime adjustments
Strength and conditioning
Closing out games this year (sans Michigan)

Bad:
Punt Returns (obvious) – only positive is there haven’t been any fakes run against us
Quarterback play has stalled
Red zone offense (improved past few games but overall disappointing)
Turnovers (have to admit this is on coaching and the players)
Gameday experience (depending on your opinion of jumbotron, music, uniforms, turf, etc)

I think the only conclusion one can come to is the jury is still out but the future is definitely brighter than it was under Willingham, Davie at this point. This is about where it collapsed for Weis. MSU this year and USC, Utah last year were good solid wins. I don’t expect consistency in the first 1-2 years of a program. By year 4-5 we will know where we stand.

Criticism is warranted in instances but we can look at positives as well.

Barring any sort of controversy you can count on Kelly being here for at least 2 more years.

And you don’t think they “take chances” on kids on the team today? It’s a myth. There are a lot of kids on our team who would likely not get into Notre Dame today if they didn’t play football. Now, we have no idea which kids would likely not have gotten in but we can guess.

The problem isn’t the academic qualifications for getting into the school; it’s the requirements once they’re there. Kids are choosing to go somewhere else — to LSU or to Alabama or to Oregon or to SC. Kids know that at Notre Dame, they’re going to have to go to class. It’s not Animal House — with strippers every night (a la Tennessee) or free mansions to “rent” (see Reggie Bush). And a lot of college kids want Animal House.

In addition, many want an “easy” ride to the NFL. They know if they’re in the SEC, which is a conference that’s won like the last five or six NCs, they will get noticed. If they’re at ND, they could go 8-4 or 7-5 and get a degree but not a trip to the NFL (this, of course, is completely ridiculous because if they’re NFL caliber, they will see plenty of time no matter where they wind up: who wouldn’t want another Manti Teo at linebacker?).

The TE recruit that just visited over the weekend — McNamara, I think his name was — illustrates the challenge. He said he’d consider ND of Eifert turned pro because he wants to see playing time early. Nuts. If he is a great TE, he will see playing time, and a lot of it, regardless of whether Eifert leaves a year early.

Let’s see how much winning Stanford does after Luck leaves The Farm. Remember some of the teams the Cardinal put on the field BL (Before Luck)? A lot of mediocrity surrounding a couple of good years every now and then. Sounds a lot like ND the past 15 or so years. All I’m saying is, unless ND starts taking chances on kids on the academic margins, like a Tony Rice, Chris Zorich, George Williams, etc., the Irish will be an 8-4, 9-3 or, if everything falls into place, a 10-2 football team.

Not a “sentiment”, just an observation. BC is a lousy 3-8 team with no difference makers at the skill positions. Even so, Spaz got his 24 point underdogs perilously close to pulling off an upset. I’d settle for a similar performance by Kelly this week against Stanford, although a win would be better.

I know it’s maddening isn’t it.

At best, this assertion is debatable. At worst, this statement is outrageous considering that Notre Dame totaled over 400 yards of offense and won the game.

I have always enjoyed the pre-game and post-game wirte ups on ndnation because they tend to be thorough and even-handed. As an ND football fan, I’m well aware of the opinions consistently espoused in Rock’s House. I hope those sentiments don’t continue to bleed into the write-ups, as they apparently did this week.