NCAA: Can Notre Dame Fans Expect National Championships Every Year?

A week ago, Notre Dame Fighting Irish faithful watched Oregon State dismantle their team in the Fiesta Bowl. Arguments regarding the Irish's place in that bowl game aside; the game demonstrated the difficulty Notre Dame faced in order to compete in college football. Notre Dame has experienced droughts worse than this one in its illustrious history, but can Notre Dame rebound from this recent bout with mediocrity?

Notre Dame suffered from two immense problems in their game against Oregon State. First, the team was grossly outcoached. Dennis Erickson had his team better prepared and more excited about the game. The Beavers played inspired, largely because the media questioned their place in the Fiesta Bowl, even though they entered the game 10-1 and ranked sixth in the nation. Bob Davie's game preparation, on the other hand, contrasted sharply with that of Erickson. The Fighting Irish played the game as if they expected Oregon State to be in awe of Notre Dame's tradition. The Beavers' defensive line pushed the Irish offensive line into its own backfield, constantly disrupting plays, and the defense often played without emotion. In addition, the Irish did not attempt to throw the ball downfield until the game was out of reach.

More importantly, though, Notre Dame lacked athletes at skill positions, especially wide receiver and in the defensive backfield. Oregon State was faster and more physical than Notre Dame was. Part of this is coaching and preparation, but another aspect is the talent on the field. For example, Notre Dame could not throw the ball downfield because of its inexperienced quarterback (he was 18 on game night) and the team's receivers do not run good routes and cannot get open downfield. Notre Dame's defensive backs could not keep up with Oregon State's wide receivers too. The Beavers speed and strength were superior to that of the Notre Dame team.

The talent problem is more disconcerting than the coaching one and leads to an important question: Can Notre Dame live up its high standards? Notre Dame probably cannot compete for the national championship and BCS appearances every season because of the restraints the school's administration places on recruiting. Before I begin, I must make two caveats. First, I wholeheartedly support the University for its strict academic standards and applying those criteria to the school's athletes. Second, I do not assume that the best players in the nation are dumb and inferior students.

Notre Dame has one of strictest recruiting standards in the country. According to a Sports Illustrated article last year, numerous high profile athletes - Michigan State's running back Tico Duckett among them - were not admitted to Notre Dame because they did not have the required test scores or lacked the coursework in order to attend Notre Dame. This poses a severe test to Davie and his coaching staff. For instance, look at the following hypothetical recruiting class. Let us assume Notre Dame requires a 900 on the SAT, whereas other schools accept a 700 (these figures are not meant to represent the University's or the NCAA's academic requirements, they merely are used to illustrate a point). Of 100 possible fictional recruits, 50 scored higher than 900 on the SAT but 15 of those are junior college transfers (Notre Dame does not recruit or admit junior college transfers). Thus, Notre Dame begins with a substantially smaller recruiting field (35) than a school that does not impose rigid admission standards and Notre Dame is not guaranteed that those 35 athletes will attend the school. Furthermore, each Division-I college football team has the same number of scholarships, thus evening the recruiting field. Since Notre Dame begins their recruiting process with a smaller pool of athletes, it stands to reason it is extremely difficult for the school to field a team that can compete with Oklahoma, Florida State and possibly Oregon State.

Furthermore, should Notre Dame fans expect national championships and BCS appearances every year? Notre Dame alumni are proud of the prestigious academic institution from which they graduated and their storied football tradition. I know I am. At times, fans want the best of both worlds though. Some appear magnanimous in the face of defeat and state, "I would rather have a 0-11 team than a team of stupid athletes." This, of course, is a lie. They expect and demand an undefeated season and the smartest team in the nation. Often, they do not consider the constraints coaches face in recruiting athletes and the difficulty of winning a national championship in today's college football game. After all, look at Florida State. It has played in three consecutive national championship games, been favored in two of them, yet can boast of only one national championship in that period.

These concerns may be impulsive. Even though the team did not play well against Oregon State, it was two plays away from meeting the University of Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl for the national championship. A flip of a coin and a missed tackle probably kept Notre Dame out of the national championship game this year. We shall see how Notre Dame and their fans react next year.