Being a national brand isn’t always easy, just ask Texas and Michigan, when it comes to playing up to expectations. Every program wants to have the clout that Alabama, has gained over the last ten years, getting the benefit of the doubt more often than not.
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Notre Dame doesn’t exactly fall into the same boat as the Longhorns and Wolverines, but it seems like it’s an annual rite of passage for many to claim that the Irish are overrated. That should be coming to an end soon, at least that’s what Matt Fortuna of The Athletic (subscription required) believes.
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In their most recent mailbag, Fortuna was asked if “should ‘Notre Dame is perennially overrated’ go the way of ‘Clemsoning?” The question refers to “Clemsoning” as the Tigers outperforming their preseason ranking. Between 2011 and 2018 “Clemson ranked lower than the Tigers’ final ranking” explained Fortuna.
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But what about the Irish? Well the overrated moniker should not apply anymore. “In the past four years, the Irish have outperformed their preseason AP poll rankings three times… This is a program that wins the games it’s supposed to win. It just doesn’t always win the games it’s not supposed to win, although the reality of the situation is that few teams are regularly beating Alabama and Clemson,” explained Fortuna.
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He concludes by saying “that no, Notre Dame is not perennially overrated,” which I tend to agree with. Have the Irish flopped on the big stage more than a few times in recently memory. Unfortunately they have, but they’re getting there and have an opportunity. There’s plenty of programs that would love to have been in the same position that Notre Dame has put themselves in two of the past three years, in the College Football Playoff.
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For the Irish to truly shake off the “overrated” talk they’re going to have to win more than just a regular season game against Clemson at home. Ohio State had that very similar negative national perception after back-to-back loses in the BCS Championship game and look where they are now. One of the top programs in the country.
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Sometimes you have to feel the defeat before the triumph, and I think that’s exactly what Notre Dame is going through right now. The breakout is coming and soon the perception that the Irish are overrated will go out the window.