Is there one answer to this question as to how Notre Dame makes it back to play in a big time bowl game?
The Irish have made the College Football Playoffs two of the last three years and going into the 2021 season, it might be a more difficult task to make it three of the last four. There is always hope going into a season, after all, in college football anything can happen.
Recently, the ESPN staff looked at their way-too-early top 25 teams and how the cards need to fall for them to make the CFP. In Notre Dame’s case, they “are losing quite a bit on offense and defense, so if they’re going to make it back to the playoff or a New Year’s Six bowl, the first thing that must happen is they need to find their quarterback early,” said Tom VanHaaren.
What’s interesting about VanHaaren’s assessment of the position is that he doesn’t mention Wisconsin transfer Jack Coan, naming Drew Pyne and Tyler Buchner as his front runners. That doesn’t mean that Coan is not in the mix for the starting job, maybe VanHaaren just forgot about him. Either way he say’s “the coaches need to stabilize that position.” That’s saying it lightly.
Over on the defensive side of the ball, VanHaaren noted that new coordinator Marcus Freeman will need “Kyle Hamilton, Kurt Hinish and Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa, among some other veterans on defense, to be its best players.” Losing a high end player like linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and others will definitely hurt, but the talent is there for other players to step up.
When looking at the whole picture for VanHaaren, it’s probably not going to be what Notre Dame fans want to hear “with so much change on the roster and the staff, Notre Dame must have everything fall into place to make it back to where it was this season.” Hopefully everything does fall into place and we see Brian Kelly leading his team to a bowl game on or around New Year’s Day.
