Yesterday, Brandon Marcello predicting the Irish would return to national prominence and today another 247Sports analyst thinks Notre Dame could be on the verge of breaking their championship drought. Chris Hummer looked at the 10 teams most likely to do that and his list included Notre Dame.
The caveat with Hummer’s article is looking back with at least a 15-year drought and unfortunately the Irish qualify inside that time frame. The legendary Lou Holtz guided the Irish to their last title in 1988, have had two chances since 2012 for titles; losing both the 2013 BCS National Championship to Alabama and a 2018 College Football Playoff semifinal to eventual champion Clemson.
There is one similarity that Holtz and Brian Kelly have, as “Kelly has won 10-plus games for three straight seasons. He’s the first Notre Dame coach to do so since Lou Holtz in 1991-93,” Hummer noted. It’s that type of consistency that the major programs have, the best team’s year in and year out always get to double-digit wins.
Hummer also pointed out which areas the Irish need to improve to break the drought, “what needs to change is the caliber of recruit. It’s been two seasons since Notre Dame landed a top 10 class, and the Irish have only once done better than ninth during Kelly’s tenure (fifth in 2013).” He mentions that “we’ve seen a talent gap shine brightly twice before – Alabama in 2012 and Clemson in 2018 – and it still needs to close before Notre Dame can return to the top of college football once again.” Yes, the Irish were outmatched by the eventual champs, but Georgia, who recruits on the same level as Alabama and Clemson, barely won at home last year to the Irish.
Accumulating high level talent is never a bad thing, but it is not the end all for having a successful program. Kelly knows the recruiting needs to improve; the current 2021 class ranks 14th overall in the 247Sports composite team rankings. With 10 commitments in the bank, the Irish could add up to at least 10 more prospects and should see a rise in the rankings.
It’s been over three decades since the Irish have been able to call themselves champions of the college football world. The program is close to breaking the drought and if a breakthrough happens, the Irish could be seeing themselves rejoin the elite of college football.