The last few years Notre Dame has used their month of bowl preparations to get a jumpstart on spring practice. Whether that was force-feeding reps to then freshman Max Redfield to prepare for the Pinstripe Bowl or getting a closer look at redshirt linemen like Mike McGlinchey, Quenton Nelson and Alex Bars, Brian Kelly valued the December month of practice in a way not dissimilar from spring football.
Not this year.
While there was certainly disappointment in the air yesterday when the four playoff teams were set and Notre Dame came in at No. 8, it disappeared quickly when the Irish saw they were playing Ohio State.