Notre Dame Football vs Alabama Crimson Tide: 3 Things We Learned

Notre Dame has closed the gap between them and the elite teams of college football, but there is still a substantial gulf that separates them.

There have been seemingly endless talk about “the gap” that separates a handful of elite teams from the rest of college football. This gap has become more defined in recent years as we see the majority of five-star recruits in each recruiting cycle disproportionately choose those elite schools.

When I say that Notre Dame has closed the gap, the reference point I am using is the 2012 season. The Irish went 12-0 that season before getting trounced by Alabama in the 2013 BCS National Championship Game. Following that game, head coach Brian Kelly said pretty plainly that his team needed to get much better.

Eight years later, I think it is fairly obvious that the Notre Dame football team has greatly improved., however, the elite teams in college football have also made upgrades.

Because of that, the gulf/gap/divide that separates Notre Dame from the top tier of college football is still substantial. Barring any major shifts in the world of recruiting, that will likely remain the same for the foreseeable future.