Regardless of what happens in Friday’s Rose Bowl and eventually in the College Football Playoff Championship Game, Notre Dame could undoubtedly use to learn a bit from the three other teams in this year’s CFP.
What might other programs learn from Notre Dame, though?
Of the four College Football Playoff participants, the Irish are easily the least accomplished in recent years. Alabama (two), Clemson (two), and Ohio State (one) have combined to win five of the six CFP tournaments with LSU being the only other to accomplish the feat.
Matt Zemek at Trojans Wire went through each CFP team this year and discussing what USC would be wisest to take from all four programs.
When it comes to Notre Dame, Zemek mentions the Irish are like the other three programs in that they all have a long history of promoting assistant coaches from within. He’d also like to see USC build their program on the defensive line like Notre Dame has successfully done for the most part under Brian Kelly.
Notre Dame might have weaknesses or limitations elsewhere on its rosters, but whenever the Irish have made the College Football Playoff or the BCS National Championship Game under Brian Kelly, they have ALWAYS had a strong front four — they did in 2012, they did in 2015 when they very nearly reached the playoff, they did in 2018 when they made the playoff, and they have a tough front four this year, as they prepare for their semifinal against Alabama. The Irish don’t max out their resources when their front four is less than imposing, that’s true… but when the Irish DO get it right with their defensive front, they make the playoff or come really close.
That speaks to the core of this program — strength up front — and the ability of Notre Dame to make playoff runs with less-than-great offenses. – From Matt Zemek’s “What USC can learn from Notre Dame”
He’s undoubtedly right about that in regards to the Notre Dame as it’s become a hotbed for NFL talent on the defensive line.
I know it’s hard to expect to be on a level that USC was at in Pete Carroll’s heyday, as he led the Trojans to seven straight seasons of winning 11 games or more, starting in 2002.
In the 11 years since he left though and you’ve seen them reach double digits in wins just three times.
Perhaps even crazier is that in the 21 years previous to Carroll’s arrival in Los Angeles, USC reached ten wins just once, which makes me wonder if what they’re going through now is more of a Clay Helton problem or a grander USC issue?