LSU and their fan base were having the exact doubts and conversations ND fans are currently a year ago.
Pretty darn good but not good enough to catch Clemson and Bama. Still probably behind OSU even if we take a step.
No one was saying their WR's are outrageous and that they have a "world class" RB. I just looked at a top 100 preseason prediction for players, not a single LSU offensive player listed.
Insert new OC. Suddenly guys were put in better position to make plays. Suddenly they looked Tremendous and World Class. Joe Burrow went from projected 6th round or worse draft pick, to the #1 overall pick.
ND doesn't lack talent. Is it 2019 LSU talent, again, probably not. LSU just went 15-0 and throttled everyone. They were historically good.
No one is expecting ND or any team to take the leap LSU did, that's improbable.
But can ND get a coach that gets significantly more production out of its parts? I think so.
And if they do, who knows, maybe ND has a shot to be the best team in the stadium on that day 13 or 14 times in the next few years.
When a year ago everyone was content to another Clemson vs Bama 2019 match up, no one expected what would happen last night. That should give every team hope.