The last word: Final thoughts before Notre Dame football vs. NC State

Here’s a call to all Notre Dame fans: take all the “this NC State game is where we find out what Notre Dame is really made of” declarations from the media, including those from BlueandGold.com, as compliments. We wouldn’t be hammering that line into the dirt if the Fighting Irish didn’t look so darn good in their first two games.

And they did. Let’s not lose sight of that.

Going into the season, NC State was never a litmus test type of opponent. Those, on paper, were Ohio State, USC and Clemson. But Notre Dame so decisively beat Navy, 42-3, and Tennessee State, 56-3, that the only narrative that could be universally crafted by people who consume themselves daily with Notre Dame proceedings has been, “Yeah, well, let’s wait until they play NC State.”

If Notre Dame did not win so handily in those first two games, the talking point would be, “Oh man, it’s going to be difficult for the Irish to beat NC State.” But that’s not what anybody is saying. Notre Dame is around a touchdown favorite on the road vs. a solid ACC team that rarely loses at home because the Irish have earned a perceptional nod from oddsmakers.

They’ve earned the same nod from everyone everywhere who has an ounce of interest in Saturday’s game. There are quite of a few of those, to no surprise.

The world is watching and waiting to see if Notre Dame is for real. As polarizing as the prestigious program is, it feels like half those watchers are rooting for a continued rise and the other half is anticipating a deflating defeat.

One of the sides will be satisfied come Saturday night. Either Notre Dame is 3-0 with a very winnable game at home vs. Central Michigan standing between the Irish and a colossal clash with the Ohio State Buckeyes, or they’re 2-1 and the brakes are pumped on what was looking like a very promising campaign.

The watching and waiting would not be as magnified as it feels if quarterback Sam Hartman didn’t light the world on fire in his first two Irish starts. So, again, realize that this game, one that was not circled on the schedule in July, means so much in the second week of September because the Irish have made it that way.

For championship-caliber teams, every game carries that kind of weight. We’re about to find out if the final nine games of 2023 are that way for the Irish.

The post The last word: Final thoughts before Notre Dame football vs. NC State appeared first on On3.