Irish Blogger Gathering: Holy War Edition

Domer Law has the questions this week.

After 3 straight losses, there appear to be two camps of fans: A. The sky is falling. Coach Kelly is not a good coach, not a good fit, probably won't ever win a game and should be fired today. B. Coach Kelly is still totally awesome, and you had to expect some bumps and bruises as he builds the team - remember Holtz's first year?
Which camp do you fall into, and why?

Considering I loath everyone in camp A, that means I'm in Camp B.  While I'd stop short of calling Coach Kelly "totally awesome," I definitely think he can -and hopefully will be- an exceptional coach at Notre Dame.  All the guy has done is win, and when you consider who the three losses are to - three top twenty-five teams who are a combined 12-0 and sporting two Heisman candidate quarterbacks - it's tough to get too upset.

2. With the current state of the program, put yourself in a recruit's shoes. If you had offers from all 12 schools on our schedule and Notre Dame, which would you pick right now and why? Who would your top 3 be?

I'm so biased towards Notre Dame, I'll just go ahead and cut them out from the start.  Let's eliminate Western Michigan and Purdue because they're Western Michigan and Purdue, then take out Army and Navy because I'm a giant wuss.  I actually really like Tulsa and think Oklahoma gets a bad reputation, but I want a chance at some shinier bowl destinations than the Hurricanes offer.  Let's cut out Southern Cal because of the sanctions and Boston College because I hate Red Sox fans.

That leaves Michigan, Michigan State, Utah, Pittsburgh and Stanford.  I can't remove my hatred of Michigan from this equation, or my malaise towards Michigan State, so they're out.  I'd probably pick Stanford, as you're going to a great school and getting to play on a team that's had some recent success and a long football history.  Utah is an up and coming program moving to the PAC-12, so I wouldn't be upset to go there, and Pittsburgh is a great town that doesn't get enough respect, but because of Steelers fans, I'll be happy to stay away.

3. What's the trajectory of this season? Is this going to spiral downward into a 2007-esque kind of year, or will the team rally and start winning some game against quality opponents?

I think this team is going to steadily improve over the course of the season.  Does that mean they'll be good enough to beat Utah or win at Southern Cal?  Who knows, but this is a talented team with a good coach due for some breaks, whether that's the benefit of luck or people going out and making plays.  This will be a better team at the end of the season than it is now, something you couldn't really say about the last few Irish teams. 

4. Give me your top 5 reasons why you'd rather go to Notre Dame than Backup College.

Some day I will understand the whole Backup College/Fredo thing, but until then, five reasons:

• Red Sox fans
• Tommy from Quinzee
• Fans who sellout more than two games a season
• Living in a city where the bars close after 1am
• Getting to play in bowl games on January 1^st or later

5. I'm depressed after our third straight loss. Do your best to cheer me up and convince me that I should still be excited about this weekend's game.

Boston College scored 16 points last year, against a very bad Irish defense.  In 2008, they only scored seventeen despite four Jimmy Clausen interceptions.  The Notre Dame defensive is playing better, Rich Gunnell is gone (10 for 179 and a touchdown last year) and the Eagles are starting a new quarterback.  Lot of reasons to hope.

6. If you could ask Coach Kelly any one question, what would it be?

Was it that hard to just run the ball when Stanford was dropping eight guys in coverage?