No, their program doesn't possess Notre Dame's cache. But A&M is brimming with elite talent, they compete in the best conference in the country, and they pay top dollar for their staff.

Contrast that with Notre Dame. We possess good-to-great talent. We play a schedule that's mostly relegated to the ACC, lining up against the dregs of the college football landscape. And, while we're richer than Croesus, the university leadership doesn't invest those funds in the program at even close to the same level as A&M or most other big football programs.

I love our program and want the Irish to win but let's not lose sight of our actual position in the college football world. We're no longer NOTRE DAME. That reputation died sometime in the early 2000s, probably when Urban Meyer jilted us for Florida. We've been a middling, second-tier afterthought of a program for at least twenty years and coordinators looking for work view us accordingly.

program. We just spent $500 goddamned million on a stadium expansion. We pay a mediocre head coach (based on achievements) millions and millions of dollars. We pay our Director of Athletics Emeritus $2 million.

Our position has indeed plummeted under Jenkins/Swarbrick. But it wasn't lack of money invested.

We are wise spenders, that’s for sure.