Irish’s strength mainly in tradition

Only one of the college football polls that factor into all of the intricately computerized BCS nonsense mentions Notre Dame in its preseason top 25.

Barely. The Irish are 24th.

What this demonstrates is that, finally, it’s become apparent to the masses that while having a Knute, Gipper, Montana and countless others makes for a splendid historical backdrop, it’s not winning games today.

This isn’t to say Year 3 of the Brian Kelly regime won’t bear satisfying fruit. By opening against Navy in Dublin, Ireland, and then coming home to host Purdue, the Irish very well could be 2-0 and off to the races with a full head of steam.

They’ll need it. Have you seen the rest of this team’s 2012 schedule?

At Michigan State and then four consecutive games against Michigan, Miami (Fla.), Stanford and Brigham Young. Then it’s off to Oklahoma to face the Sooners in front of more than 82,000 spectators in red, followed by slightly less-imposing tests against Pitt, Boston College and Wake Forest

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