I already wrote a post this summer discussing the biggest defects in the 2022 Notre Dame football program’s performance, but I somehow left this item off the list when it might be the biggest issue of all. Notre Dame played to the level of its competition last season and it paid the price.
If you disagree with that conclusion, I’ll point out that a team with Notre Dame’s talent doesn’t suffer home losses to Marshall and Stanford by five points and two points, respectively, without playing to the level of the opponents. But it was more than just the losses.