It's not as if you are required to be a Notre Dame Fighting Irish fan to understand the recurring conversation in recent years about the team. The discussion has intermittently drifted through workplaces and sports bars across America. At its heart, this is the crux: When will Notre Dame be "back"? When will the Dome's luster return to shimmering gold, in a way that both irritates and fuels the college football landscape?
That's a complicated question, especially for the 2012 Irish. What do you expect for any season that begins in Europe?
Seriously, though, Notre Dame and Brian Kelly might very well be putting together a team capable of being "back," but you would never know it because the Irish's schedule this fall is so ridiculous. That's not atypical for ND, but this '12 setup is a bit on the extreme end of things.
To read more from Travis Haney about Notre Dame and see his notes from visits to Oklahoma State, OU, Texas and Texas A&M, become an ESPN Insider today.
Travis Haney
ESPN Insider• Joined ESPN as Insider's national college football writer in April 2012
• Previously wrote for The Oklahoman and The Post and Courier
ABOUT THIS BLOG
Travis HaneyTravis Haney joined ESPN in April 2012 as Insider's national college football writer. He previously covered the University of Oklahoma Sooners for The (Oklahoma City) Oklahoman for one season, and the University of South Carolina Gamecocks for The (Charleston, S.C.) Post and Courier for four. Additionally, Haney has contributed since 2003 to ESPN publications and projects, including ESPN The Magazine.
A native of Cleveland, Tenn., Haney's initial introduction to a college football cathedral was Neyland Stadium. He later graduated from the University of Tennessee, in 2003, and has spent time covering the Volunteers, the University of Georgia, Clemson University, and other schools. Safe to say, football, and football in the South, was injected into his bloodstream at a young age.
Haney is the author of three books -- Gamecock Glory and Gamecock Encore, which chronicled the South Carolina baseball team's run to the 2010 and 2011 national championships, and State of Disunion, a historical look at the Clemson-South Carolina football rivalry that he co-wrote with Larry Williams.
Haney resides in Charlotte, N.C. You can follow him on Twitter here.
