In the press box at Duke’s Wallace Wade Stadium, I overheard another writer say that “we have five minutes until hoops season.” I laughed at the time and I’m glad that we came back and won that game. But I think that there’s truth to what the writer said. If Notre Dame loses two games during the regular season, what are we playing for? Like it or not, in the current four-team College Football Playoff format, for a program like Notre Dame, there is one clear goal: making the Playoff and winning those games.
Part of the current beauty of the College Football Playoff is that every regular season game matters. As NDTV analyst Cian Bagenstose said, “For Notre Dame, every game is a playoff game.” Sure, Notre Dame could still qualify for a major bowl game. Possibly, that could be a New Year’s Six game, which Notre Dame still needs to prove that they can win. At the same time, it’s not the goal. It shouldn’t be the goal for an institution that invests so much in football.
Program goals
When USC comes to town next week, the Irish still want to win. USC is a good program. Freeman wants to prove he can win big games, especially at home. But even if the Irish win, there’s no real, significant effect. Cool – we’ll play in the Orange Bowl instead of the Gator Bowl. Notre Dame could end the season as a two-loss team instead of a three-loss team. For fans like me, though, it’s not what we need.Former head coach Marvin Lewis took the Cincinnati Bengals to the playoffs seven times, but they lost their first playoff game all seven times. Cincinnati had some good teams during Lewis’ tenure, but because of his success, the goal got bigger. Making the playoffs wasn’t enough and Lewis paid the price. Freeman is not in the same place as Lewis. He still has time and he needs to bring in his recruits and his coaches. But if we look ahead five years and the Irish are in the same place, that won’t cut it. There needs to be progress and in Freeman’s first two years, we haven’t seen much.
What does this season mean, then?
Notre Dame will hype up its three remaining home games as much as possible. It wants to sell out the stadium and earn as much ticket revenue as it can. NBC doesn’t have the most alluring product, but they want to see ratings. They’ll hype up the games. There’s still a lot of fun to be had with this team. At times, they’re fun to watch. Sam Hartman has skill. When Audric Estimé is on, he’s on. But it’s not a forward-looking team. This year’s stars will move on to the NFL or other ventures. Many of next year’s stars aren’t even on Notre Dame’s campus yet.It's pivotal that Freeman and his staff give meaningful reps to up-and-comers like Steve Angeli. Angeli might be, at least initially, Notre Dame’s starting quarterback in 2024. He’ll need to see a bigger role going forward.
Niele Ivey and her Irish women's basketball team look strong. As a Notre Dame fan, I recognize my naivete. This season is always “the one.” There’s real hope in Purcell Pavilion, though. Ivey has a veteran team that could claim the ACC title and play deep into the NCAA Tournament. Let’s just be honest: that same hope isn’t going to be found in Notre Dame Stadium. That’s okay, but it needs to be recognized.
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