In my opinion, the lopsided outcome in that game had more to do with poor preparation (which Kelly has admitted to multiple times) and the disparity in the two staffs. Give me Clark Lea and Chip Long vs. Chuck Martin and Bob Diaco any day. Also, our best player was currently embroiled in a cat fishing scheme at that time, which he was just finding out about. Hopefully that is not the case this season. Which isn't to say Notre Dame wins or anything, but that game was not indicative of that team's quality throughout the year.
I will say that generally speaking, looking at 2012 as a predictor for what will happen this season is misguided. Totally different staffs, different players.