Watched LSU & Alabama last night. The Irish are not even close with this years team. I know they beat LSU a couple of years ago. I get that, but the Irish have regressed and are not even close to being competitive with Alabama. The Alabama linebackers were close to the line of scrimmage all night, because they knew they were covered on the back end. If you watch video of Ara's teams you will see the same thing; LBs always in tight, with great coverage on the back end. I think, more than anything, there is a problem with player development at ND, and placing players in the best position suited for their physical and mental capabilities.