Notre Dame accomplished something very important this afternoon in Chapel Hill, more important than knocking off an ACC team, giving its powerful running game even more confidence, or further cementing its status as a Top-25 program this season.
Congrats to Notre Dame on its 5th win, guaranteeing an improvement on its 2016 record, which was 4-8
Making fun of Notre Dame’s 2016 record was the internet’s 2017 pastime, but don’t let anybody tell you this isn’t progress.
Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images
Notre Dame beat North Carolina, 33-10, thanks to a swarming defense and and big game from running back Josh Adams. Plus, once the weather started to turn ugly, the Irish had the good sense to not throw the football quite as much, especially with a backup, Ian Book, under center. With the victory, the Fighting Irish have now won their fifth game to improve their record to 5-1.
That ensures that Notre Dame will finish with a better record than last year, which was 4-8
You might have heard about this. If not, well, quick refresher, last season, Notre Dame finished 4-8. It was an endless meme on social media that Irish fans got really tired of.
That Notre Dame team wasn’t *really* that bad, so this improvement isn’t shocking
According to our friend Bill Connelly, 2016 Notre Dame was actually the best team to ever finish 4-8 since 2005. Bad turnover luck, injuries, and deciding to throw the ball dozens of times in the middle of a dang monsoon, doomed it to a terrible record. Specifically, 4-8.
Now, thanks to a lot of returning experience all over the field, an explosive and powerful rushing attack, and an efficient defense, Notre Dame can have goals bigger than just making a bowl game, something they couldn’t do last season, by virtue of finishing with a 4-8 record. The Fighting Irish are a legitimately good team.
How high can Notre Dame rise? We’re about to find out
The Irish’s lone loss was a very close one against a strong Georgia team, but their wins, over struggling Temple, Michigan State, Miami (OH), Boston College and North Carolina teams, may not be exceptionally impressive. The road is about to toughen significantly, as Notre Dame still has games against currently ranked opponents like USC, NC State and Miami, along with stronger teams like Navy and Stanford.
A run to say, the College Football Playoff, would be unlikely, but after struggling so badly last season, a year when it finished 4-8, winning most of those games would be a nice achievement.
With this victory, let us declare the Notre Dame went 4-8 in 2016 meme now officially dead.
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