Offensively we're not even close. We play like zombies.
We don't have a high energy level on offense. We play with zero urgency and exuberance.
Games like the playoffs tonight....that's the biggest disparity between us and these teams.
They are playing with a purpose and a high energy level. A spring in the step.
We play with none of that. It's like zombieland when our offense is on the field.
The defense on the other hand plays like maniacs. High speed always looking for the next play. Our corners suck...(a constant theme under Kelly is bad CB play) but the other 9 can play with these playoff teams. Absolutely positively damn straight.
We're in a different universe offensively for many reasons, wrong QB playing, collectively playing with low energy, play design afraid of failure...
Defensively we're damn close. If we can ever iron out the corner play we're very close on that side of the ball.
The huge problem is even when the defense struggles, and all great teams have those moments...(Bama and Clemson and all their great defenders have had some big scoring fest playoff games....the offense is up to the task of going tit for tat. Matching blows and scores.
That's the biggest difference between these teams and where we are.
They play at much higher levels particularly on offense than us. Offensively we aren't even in the same league. Attitude, scheme, lack of development, lack of urgency, always walking around...drives me crazy!!! etc....those are the biggest things holding our offense back. 4.3 speed is nice but we just collectively play offense like zombies and will continue to keep us at a much lower level
The elite play makers on elite teams display the swagger that comes only from confidence. Those players know that they're the best. ND's players know that they're
not the best. Good but not the best. People are conscious, and reality rules. Body language speaks incontrovertibly.
Check out film of Holtz's teams. Talk about spring in the step. But those guys were among CFB's most exciting players. ND no longer has players as a whole of that caliber. Clusters of them, yes; a whole team, no. Anyone who was around then who still can see knows this.
ND's talent at QB and WR is serviceable and at times approaches the highest levels. But only AT TIMES. ND's excellence at these positions is neither of the highest caliber nor consistent. Which makes the notion of consistent ND top-5 teams a poor bet . We don't even know if what ND is doing now is sustainable.
As respects RB, the situation is worse. Traditionally, ND has always had a least one potential star at RB, often two. But its stable of backs is now thinner than ever. Then look at PSU. Any one of their four EXPLOSIVE backs is far better than anyone currently on ND's roster.
Each of those PSU backs played in the bowl game and each racked up serious yardage.
It all goes back to one thing. ND is a RESTRICTED RECRUITER.
The most restricted recruiters are the lower ranked programs that don't give out sports scholarships at all. It's safe to say none of them will win an NC.
The next most restricted group is the Ivy League, where academics take precedence even more so than at ND. Don't look for Yale or Princeton to win an NC.
The next most restricted group are the academies. Even though they can sometimes put up double digit winning seasons, don't count on any of them winning an NC.
The next most restricted group are other schools that emphasize academics: Stanford, Vanderbilt, Duke, Rice -- we all know the list. And, clearly, ND still recruits better than any of them, though, in fact, it's one of them. But, for the same reason the others in this group won't win an NC, it's likely ND won't either.
Teams winning NC's these days have no recruiting restrictions whatever. And even then, only one of them wins the NC. You win with the best, most confident players. It was quite apparent that the level of play at noon yesterday on ABC was not equal to the level of play at 8 PM on ESPN.
If ND wants to win an NC, it will take time, some convenient amnesia re the Holtz years, and some significant bending of rules. Otherwise, recruiting restrictions will continue to bite.