To the extent we could say anything would have played out similarly in a non-covid season, it is that Alabama was by far the best team. ND's loss to Alabama, though crushing to ND fans, was actually a pretty credible loss to a astonishingly great team. Without going back and checking all the scores, I believe only one opponent all year stayed within 17 points of Alabama (Florida in a shootout). I don't think we can take 2020 and call it a positive ND "trend," so I agree there . . . but I think some are too quick to completely toss it out. ND played a full season. ND played a great game against Clemson, whether you think Clemson with Lawrence/Skalsi would have won or not. And ND fared better against Alabama in the CFP than Fields & OSU. Am I looking for a silver lining? Almost certainly. But I suggest others are looking for the dark cloud. Which is understandable given recent history, but probably distortive. Maybe a truth is somewhere in between? Don't know. Don't claim to know.