When the dust settles, there may be only two undefeated teams left to play for the national championship. In fact, there may be fewer than that. But as it stands right now there are three, and Notre Dame appears to be on the outside looking in. I never thought I'd see the day where an undefeated Irish team would be on the outskirts, but that's another column, (and hopefully not for another day).
Brian Kelly's done a fantastic job of keeping his team grounded and focused throughout all the speculating and projecting of the past few weeks. However, it's time for him to do more.
Style points DO matter in the current make-up of the polls, and right now Oregon & Kansas State are out-styling the Irish.
What about the defense, as Kelly pointed out after the win over BC? Shouldn't the play of the tiop ranked scoring defense in the nation be worth something. I say "yes". But I don't vote in the polls. The people who do, are more impressed with the other two teams. So why not take the the chance at trying to impress them?
It's time for Kelly to let this team loose. Step on the gas. Put the air back in the football. Not in the way that USC needs air in their footballs. I mean break out the high-octane offense he was known for at Cincinnati and previous stops.
Not for good. Just for a game. Just to show the voters who by now, will be watching, that this is not merely an average team with a great defense. It's a great team, period.
I think Notre Dame can do it without getting out of character too. They Irish have left some big points on the field at times this year. Last week's win could've easily been by 35 instead of 15. Find a way to cash in this week. Finish in the red zone and take care of the football... and there's an impressive victory to be had.
Who knows? In the end, maybe it won't come down to lobbying for votes after all. But just in case it does, better off doing something while you can.
