Notre Dame told it needs to win 'high stakes' game to stay a Blue Blood

In the last few days, perhaps because we’re close to the start of the season, there’s been a lot of talk about what programs are Blue Bloods and which aren’t. Notre Dame football, of course, is a Blue Blood. No one denies that.

However Andy Staples recently put together his list of all the Blue Blood programs in the sport and while he beleives the Irish are there, he also thinks they aren’t on firm ground. In fact, he believes they could fall out of that tier if they don’t get a big win here soon.

There’s a lot of reasons to think that Staples is incorrect about what even makes a Blue Blood, or that one of the winningest programs in the history of the sport could ever note be considered one. However, he did lay out his rationale.

Notre Dame football could fall out of the Blue Blood tier

“The Fighting Irish dominated the sport for generations” Staples wrote. “But they haven’t won a national title since 1988.”

“So why are they still on this list? Because Brian Kelly made them nationally competitive again by taking them to a BCS national title game and two CFP appearances. In the era of the 12-team College Football Playoff, though, Notre Dame is going to have to actually win some of these high-stakes postseason games to stay on the list.”

Staples is wrong here. Notre Dame is on the list because of what they’ve been to the sport year in and year out. They’re coming off a 10 win season in 2023. They’ve basically had one bad period in an 50 year run.

But he’s not alone in thinking Marcus Freeman and company need to win to show that Notre Dame football is still one of the most impressive programs in the sport. The good news there is that they almost certainly will get that shot this season.