ORLANDO, Fla. - It is not just because Rod Gilmore was once on the?wrong end of a miracle - but a miracle, nonetheless -?that makes him a?believer.
It?s that Stanford, Gilmore?s alma mater, keeps flashing the template that shows not only is it possible for Notre Dame?s present someday to match its rich history, but that the Cardinal provide the mechanics of a re-ascendance to the national elite, as well.
?Twenty-three wins in two years and sitting on a possible 24th and two BCS appearances,? said Gilmore, the color analyst assigned by ESPN to work Notre Dame?s Champs Sports Bowl matchup Thursday night against 25th-ranked Florida State.
?And Stanford?s academic standards are a little bit more stringent than Notre Dame?s,? Gilmore continued. ?They can?t recruit the same great pool that a lot of other places can. But if Stanford can do it, I can?t see any reason that Notre Dame can?t. Academics reasons should not hold them back from it.
?I think what?s important, you figure out ? as Jim Harbaugh and David Shaw and Denny Green and Bill Walsh did ? the style of play that really works for you. And you recruit to that, and you get some buy-in from the university on that, and you?ve got to scour the country.?
If any of that actually materializes in large doses in the Florida Citrus Bowl stadium on Thursday night, Gilmore might be the most surprised person in the house. But he wants and expects to see hints of where the Irish program is heading.
?I believe next year is a critical year for Notre Dame and for Brian Kelly,? Gilmore said.
It starts, of course, with the Irish quarterback situation. The well-worn script has Kelly announcing sophomore Tommy Rees as the starter against the Seminoles, eight days after benching him at halftime of a 28-14 loss at Stanford on Nov. 26.
What?s intriguing is how that ? and the weeks leading up to it ? play on the national stage, which is where Gilmore comes in.
?That?s the million dollar question, isn?t it?,? Gilmore said of what the Rees/Andrew Hendrix/Everett Golson/perhaps Gunner Kiel saga looks like from the outside looking in.
?I?ve watched Brian Kelly for a number of years now, and it just seems to me that he?s always been demanding. But I sense a certain amount of frustration with him and the quarterback play that I haven?t seen with him over the last few years.?
And with good reason. ND?s team pass-efficiency rating falls in the 50s nationally among the 120 FBS schools for the second year in a row. In Kelly?s three years at Central Michigan, there was a steady progression ? from 67th to 58th to 29th, even though he had to break in a redshirt freshman as a new starter, Dan LeFevour, in year 3 (2006).
At Cincinnati, the Bearcats had two top-10 finishes in passing efficiency nationally under Kelly during his three years there. The year they didn?t (2008), they played five quarterbacks due to injuries, three of whom made at least a couple of starts. Even then, UC was 32nd, 21 spots ahead of where ND is this season. And UC reached the BCS that season.
?He?s used to having quarterback play at a high level, and doing exactly what he wants,? Gilmore said. ?And you can see he?s frustrated that he hasn?t been able to get that yet at Notre Dame. I don?t know that it?s an issue of athleticism, because Tony Pike (at Cincinnati) was not the most athletic quarterback you?d see running the zone read.
?But I think it?s just being on the same page with him ? taking care
of the football, understanding priorities, that sort of thing. He?s
been frustrated by it and I expect the game to kind of be a tryout,
and I expect next spring to be a tryout.
?Golson should be in the mix, and if they get the kid, Kiel, I would
imagine he?d be in the mix. And I think that?s the biggest question
mark for Notre Dame and for Brian. They?ve been unsettled at that
spot.?
Defensively, Gilmore gravitates to junior linebacker Manti Te?o and
the gaggle of phenoms working the defensive line. But he wonders if
the scheme is too soft for that talent.
?They need to be more aggressive, in my opinion,? he said. ?That?s not
their style of play right now. They tend to be a little bit more of a
zone coverage, bend-but-don?t-break type of defense.?
Gilmore hadn?t worked his way yet to the Irish special teams, but he
won?t see anything on film that can duplicate what he witnessed on
Nov. 20, 1982 from the Stanford sideline.
We?re talking about an occurrence on the field so unlikely and so
spectacular that three decades later the Cal kickoff return is still
referred to simply as, ?The play.?
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