posted July 14, 2008 at 13:38 EST in NCAA F Articles

Notre Dame and college football wagering fans are hoping that last year was just a one night stand they can’t forget soon enough.

3-9 was bad, but back-to-back losses to Navy and Air Force was a very ugly sight. Nine losses were the worst in school history.

Now the Irish try to clear their mind and at least get back on track. It looks like the darkest days have passed and this year should be much better.

Offense

Notre Dame’s offense collapsed last year because of a flimsy offensive line. The unit allowed an NCAA-worst 58 sacks and helped the running game achieve a meager 2.1 yards per carry.

The offense has more talent around the extremities but if the interior line crumbles like it did last year, there won’t be any improvements. The good news is that four starters return.

This offense, as a whole, is growing up together. Quarterback Jimmy Clausen is still relatively fresh and he’s trying to develop chemistry with five-star recruit Michael Floyd and Duval Kamara.

Lost in the shuffle is Notre Dame’s deep and talented backfield. They struggled mightily last year but that can be pinned on the offensive line that didn’t create enough running lanes.

James Aldridge is a five-star prospect and Armando Allen is a four-star prospect. Sophomore Robert Hughes came on at the end of last year and should be the frontrunner in this committee.

The big difference on offense has to be two things: the offensive line and Clausen. Clausen hit a number of speed bumps in his freshman year, which can be expected, but he has to be a leader and take some steps forward this year.

Defense

The defense will have to deal with a couple of key losses like Trevor Laws and Tom Zbikowski but there is still plenty of talent around.

Even though Zbikowski is gone, the secondary is in very good shape. Safety David Bruton is the best playmaker in this unit and will step into the limelight this year. He led the team with three interceptions last year.

The linebacking corps will be fine with the return of Maurice Crum, but the anxiety is upfront where the defense will have to live without Laws. Laws led all defensive linemen in the nation with 112 tackles. There’s a lot of pressure on Ian Williams to replace at least some of the workload.

Notre Dame’s hideous defensive stats are not fully accurate. The offense put them in bad spots and opponents piled up the points to blowout the decorated school. If the Fighting Irish can find a way to get some pressure, this could be a very underrated defense.

Outlook

What goes around, comes around. After facing a brutal schedule last year, the Irish have a much softer to-do list this year.

They start with visits from San Diego State and a rebuilding Michigan program. That could net the Irish a couple of wins and a lot of confidence.

This won’t be a bowl season for the Irish but they need to get to four or five wins and show the country that they are in fact building towards bigger and better things in 2009.

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