Greg McElroy: Notre Dame is better than you realize

Since suffering a 16-14 upset loss to Northern Illinois in Week 2, Notre Dame has won six straight games. On Monday, ESPN’s Greg McElroy explained why the Fighting Irish are far better than most people believe.

“Notre Dame is a lot better than you realize,” McElroy said. “A lot of people want to define teams nowadays by singular performances, but that’s not that’s not the era that we’re living in. We’re not living in an era anymore, as we now have expanded to the 12-team playoff — and even really, when we played in the four-team playoff — we’re not living in an era where perfection is necessary to win a championship.

“You have the opportunity to make mistakes and yet still be in a position to contend for a championship. Everybody right now is having a really hard time evaluating Notre Dame. I get that. I watched the NIU game. I saw them get pushed around in the NIU game, and it was a difficult game to unsee when it comes to evaluating who Notre Dame is and what Notre Dame can be. But since that game, you almost have to just remove it and just evaluate the response.”

The response has been nothing short of fantastic. Notre Dame boasts two ranked wins since the loss, most recently defeating Navy 51-14 on Saturday. In the win, Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard completed 13-of-his-21 pass attempts for 178 passing yards and two touchdowns without throwing an interception.

Leonard also got it done in the ground game, tallying 83 rushing yards and a TD on just 10 carries. Leonard wasn’t the Fighting Irish’s sole standout. Notre Dame’s defense was spectacular in the win, squeezing a jaw-dropping six turnovers out of Navy.

With only one ranked opponent remaining on its schedule (Army), Notre Dame has a legitimate chance to enter the postseason with just one loss. McElroy believes Notre Dame could make waves if it squeaks its way into the College Football Playoff.

“We know they can play great defense. That’s never been a problem. I expect that to continue,” McElroy said. “But the offense is starting to take the strides that would have you thinking that they can maybe be a contender when the playoff arrives here in a few weeks.”

Before the Fighting Irish can concern themselves with playoff dreams, they must square off against Florida State at 7:30 p.m. ET on Nov. 9. The game will air live on NBC.