JMI,
I've had this argument with ND fans for years. Their favorite defense of losing is the "tough" schedule they play. When that is debunked they immediately revert to the recruiting issue since it is
so difficult for the players to maintain a 3.0 average ND requires to the 2.5 that the rest of the NCAA requires therefore it is more difficult to recruit quality athletes. That is so much bunk! ND used to be considered a football factory. Did athletes become less intelligent over the last 20 years, or have ND's recruiters relied upon name recognition for too long to draw kids? Notre Dame loses consistently because they prepare for the beginning of the season, then coast until USC (usually a loss since USC plays in the PAC-10 a very tough conference as is the Big-10 and SEC et al). Yeah you have Michigan, Penn State, MSU, and UCLA but then it's....Navy? Air Force? Stanford? North Carolina?
ARMY???? Everyone plays tune up games early it's how you finish, and until you play at least 8 tough games toward the end of the season you will lose in a bowl regardless of the coach. Just my two pfennigs.
Side note-your schedule appears to toughen next season (and they moved SC up to October), but you no longer have St. Brady. Enjoy!
Go Lions!