1. Coaching - The entire staff (except ST) will have to get drastically better and avoid the rookie mistakes that aided in the rollercoaster ride of 2022. Know the situation (when to kick), know the clock and play call (when to call a timeout/audible). Fumbling the basics was a glaring issue all year and needs improvement fast. First year jitters, fine. But we have to correct these if this team makes any strides and is better than 8-4 in 2023. It's probably 2 if not 3 years before we get back to a consistent top 10 and a lot has to change to get to top 5.
2. Player Development - We can recruit until we're blue in the face but if we don't see 75% of the players getting drastically better by the end of year one we'll remain an 8-10 win football team. If we're still planning on playing the let's save them for a 5th year then we'll continue the 8-4 with an occasional 10 win path. A lot of poor fundamentals showed throughout the year. Mostly on defense but also on offense. Bring back the Elko/Lea, fundamentals, fundamentals, fundamentals. See the ball, catch the ball, run the ball, tackle the ball.
3. Simplify, simplify, simplify. Cute and complex is not creative and innovative. For whatever reason watching ND football still feels like you're watching a team that tries to make the game way harder than it is.
The team can make the biggest leaps heading into 2023 just by getting fundamentally sound and seeing real player development. If not, '23 will likely be as frustrating as 2022.