It seems to me there is more parity this year than there has been in recent years, but the quality of play has generally been very good. I think people forget how sloppy college football is in general. Go back and watch some of our games during the Holtz years. We were far from perfect.

Now, as far as Notre Dame goes, I don’t think this team would beat any of the teams in the top 10 in a bowl game, and I think we would lose big to any of Alabama, Georgia, and Ohio State. All of the top 10 teams (except maybe OKlahoma St.) have decent front sevens that would dominate our offensive line, force us to pass, and score enough points to keep it comfortable, just like Cincinnati did. After the first half, I never felt for one second that we had a chance during the Cincinnati game.