Notre Dame Has Not Arrived Yet ... And That's A Good Thing

The victory over No. 1 Clemson is not the pinnacle of Notre Dame's season, and there is still room for improvement

Just five days ago the Notre Dame football team earned its biggest win in decades when it beat the Clemson Tigers, who went into that matchup as the No. 1 team in the country.

Clemson has won two national titles and played for two others in the last five seasons, and the 2020 squad looks to be yet another playoff caliber squad. 

Beating a team of Clemson's talent and stature is huge for Notre Dame no matter who was or wasn't in the lineup, but when I released my grades following the game there was consternation from some by the fact I didn't hand out a bunch of A grades across the board.

The reality is Notre Dame did not play its best football against the Tigers. The Fighting Irish were outstanding in many ways, and to steal a couple of phrases from head coach Brian Kelly, their "grit" and "traits" were outstanding. Combine that with a very talented roster and the Irish were able to beat the Tigers despite not playing their best football.

This isn't a criticism. In fact, it's actually something Notre Dame fans should be excited about.

The reality that Notre Dame can win such a game despite not getting an A performance from most positions from an execution standpoint speaks volumes about how good this team is, and how great this team can still be.

Kelly said as much earlier in the week.

“We've got a lot of work to clean up,” Kelly said after his team’s victory over Clemson. “We gotta be a better football team, and there's a number of areas that have to get cleaned up technically and tactically in all three phases.”

Kelly is right, and there isn’t a football coach in the country that wouldn’t love for his team to get a big win like this and then get into the film room and realize, “Hey, we can play even better than that.”

Kelly talked about what his team must do to stay focused after earning the win, and you can hear them in the video linked above. He mentioned things like staying consistent, applying the process that got them to this point, working with a purpose and productive practices.

On Saturday, when the Irish head to Chestnut Hill, Mass. to take on the Boston College Eagles, it’s not just an opportunity to improve to 8-0, it is an opportunity for Notre Dame to build on what it has accomplished up to this point.

What Notre Dame has done so far is put itself in position to control its own destiny when it comes to winning an ACC Championship and earning another berth to the College Football Playoff.

If Notre Dame is going to do some damage once it gets there, that attainable next level of play in all three phases of the game must be achieved.

Fifth-year senior end Adetokunbo Ogundeji got that message, and he knows his team cannot have a let down when it takes on the Eagles.

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