Just like Notre Dame, all of the Irish opponents are still filled with hopes and dreams. The optimism of a strong September building into a season to remember has not yet been dashed. Naive thoughts of glory have not been rivaled by miscues and mistakes.
Those moments will begin this weekend. More precisely, they will begin Friday night when two of Notre Dame’s foes square off in an intriguing litmus test.
Florida State: Obviously facing the Irish on Sunday night (7:30 ET; ABC), the Seminoles are 7.5-point underdogs, a number that spent most of the summer closer to 10 and one that has spent the last few days considering ticking back to -8.