“Guarded optimism.” It’s the catch phrase coaches typically use in the preseason to downplay the fact they have a really good football team.
With essentially 19 of 22 starters back, a schedule that includes only four teams ranked in the preseason top 25, and more than a dozen legitimate NFL prospects scattered down the Notre Dame roster, Irish head coach Brian Kelly has every right to be “guardedly optimistic” starting this season, as his group has a legitimate shot to become one of the four playoff teams when it is finished.