Is this Notre Dame’s peak?

Just like that another season has come and gone. Once again Notre Dame did not win the National Championship.

This year was supposed to be different. It was the 30th anniversary of the team claiming its last title (1988 against West Virginia). Brian Kelly made the bold move of benching a 12-3 starter in Brandon Wimbush in favor of a better passer in Ian Book. The team had NFL caliber players at every position group.

Then, Clemson reminded us all how truly far away we are from claiming that coveted ring.

It is important to acknowledge that this was an outstanding year for Notre Dame. Teams don’t go 12-0 by accident. At the same time, one can’t help but wonder if this is as good as it gets for Notre Dame going forward.

Brian Kelly has been there nine years accumulating a record of 80-36. For you math wizards at home that is close to a winning percentage of 70 percent. Not exactly as high as you would like compared to programs such as Clemson and Alabama. Now, you may be thinking to yourself ‘well any program is going to fault in comparisons to the two most successful programs of this decade.’ My point is, why is Notre Dame not one of those teams?

You can try to sugar coat it any way you want, but the answer is recruiting.

Yes, a three star can become a first round draft pick. And surely it is not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of fight in the dog, right? No.

Those teams are the most successful because they get the best players. It is as simple as that. According to 247 Sports, since 2010 (Brian Kelly’s first year) Notre Dame has recruited five 5-star caliber high school players. In comparison, Alabama has 40 and Clemson has 15. If we look at the two other schools who have won titles in the last eight years we have Florida State who has accumulated 26 5-star players and Ohio state who has signed 16. Talent alone does not win a National Championship, but neither does purely coaching. Notre Dame simply isn’t acquiring enough talent to realistically compete for a title.

It’s doesn’t take a genius to pinpoint why it is harder for Notre Dame to get those caliber players so we will go without that retread. The question is what should myself, as a Notre Dame fan, feel right now?

Proud of a team that went 12-1? Or terrified that this may be the best season we see Notre Dame play in our lifetime? Is Notre Dame content winning 9 to 11 games every year with a very good team and very good head coach? Or does it make a deal with the devil and try to seduce Urban Meyer or Bob Stoops out of retirement? Even after a 12-1 season these are the questions that need to be asked.