Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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THE FIFTH QUARTER LOU SOMOGYI This is a testament to Notre Dame's leadership from its two top "recruits" in 2014: defensive coordinator Brian Van- Gorder and quarterback Everett Golson. They have been game-changers on both sides of the ball. Above all else, Kelly has created and cultivated an infrastructure for what should be long-term success, and its ori- gins began to be displayed in 2012. Several days prior to this year's Stan- ford game, Kelly was asked if he be- lieved his Irish were "truly" a top-10 team. His reply was the correct one, ba- sically saying it's premature to define top-10 status in early October. "I don't really think about, 'Hey, have we got a top-10 team?'" he said. "I really think more about developing our foot- ball team, our entire team. That's what takes up my time." After defeating Stanford, the inquiry was repeated, with the addendum of whether this was "a statement win." Again, Kelly provided the correct re- sponse. "I don't know," he said. "I don't think we beat a top-10 team, did we? They'll come up with something next week, which is fine." The "something" is the inevitable, "Well, Stanford is down this year or isn't as good as it has been" comments. The more you win, the weaker the foes seem to be. The more you lose, the tougher the schedule appears to be. Better the former than the latter. Notre Dame has had numerous qual- ity wins under Kelly, including Stanford two of the last three seasons, USC three of the past four, at Oklahoma in 2012 and 13-1 Michigan State last year. Nevertheless, this is the reality: The Irish will not receive 1988-93 or 1964-80 like validation nationally until they ei- ther 1) stun a Southern superpower like Florida State Oct. 18 or 2) win a ma- jor bowl game against a Southern/SEC power that is the favorite entering the game. From 1966-80, the bogeyman on Notre Dame's schedule was USC. The only time the Irish would receive validation as legitimate contenders was if they vanquished mighty Troy. In those 15 seasons Notre Dame was 3-10-2 against USC — and all three W's resulted in national title campaigns. Under Lou Holtz, Miami was the bogeyman. In Holtz's first two and a half years, the Irish posted numerous quality wins at Michigan, versus Rose Bowl champ Michigan State, USC and Alabama … but validation had to come from one foe. Once Notre Dame de- feated "The U.," which had outscored the Irish 133-20 the four previous meet- ings, it was deemed as "back" and "the old Notre Dame." That's where Kelly and Notre Dame are today. The South/SEC is the bogey- man. The 42-14 slaughter to Alabama in the BCS National Championship Game after the 2012 campaign and the 41-14 debacle versus LSU in the 2007 Sugar Bowl still resonate as "you have a nice team but you're not ready to play in the Southern big leagues." It's the next step to program status. ✦ Senior Editor Lou Somogyi has been at Blue & Gold Illustrated since July 1985. He can be reached at lsomogyi@blueandgold.com