Can Notre Dame win the national title?

ATLANTA — Can Notre Dame win the national championship this season? Atlanta Journal-Constitution staff writer Tony Barnhart

I predicted last year that Notre Dame would win nine games and I expect them to do even better this season. In Charlie Weis, you have one of the great coaches working today and he has the perfect quarterback in Brady Quinn. There are a lot of different ways that the Notre Dame offense can beat you. It's tough to prepare for. I was on campus at Notre Dame a couple of weeks ago and the expectations are great, no doubt about it. Everybody wants to win. Notre Dame expects to win.

Look at Notre Dame's schedule. Penn State lost their quarterback. The Irish get Michigan at home. They play three service academies. UCLA lost everybody. And by the time they play Southern Cal at the end of the year, they are going to be a very good team. But I'm telling you the big challenge, the biggest hurdle for Notre Dame, is Georgia Tech on Saturday. Look at what Georgia Tech did to Auburn last year — and I thought Auburn was one of the best teams in the country. Reggie Ball has been up and down at quarterback but he has the ability to do some great things. I think it is going to be a really good game.

I think Notre Dame is going to be better on defense than everybody thinks. When you look at their talent and look at their system and their coaches, I just fully expect that they are going to be better on that side of the ball. When you look at the entire picture, I really think Notre Dame has a chance to win it all.

Holtz, who led Notre Dame to the national championship in 1988, just released his autobiography, "Winning, Losing, and Lessons." He is an analyst for ESPN and lives in Orlando.

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Obviously, Notre Dame is going to be dynamic on offense. But I still go back to the last two games of the 2005 season. Stanford had them beat but Notre Dame took it 80 yards in a minute and a half to win 38-31. Then in the Fiesta Bowl, we saw Ohio State running up and down the field [617 yards of total offense]. In my opinion they have got to improve on defense to get to where people think they can go.

Notre Dame has to replace a punter and a kicker [D.J. Fitzpatrick, who did both jobs, is gone]. When you look at their schedule, you have to figure they are going to play a lot of close games. If you're not solid in the kicking game, that can be the difference.

Also, they really don't have a backup quarterback or tailback. They have real quality players in the No. 1 spots in Brady Quinn and Darius Walker but they don't have anybody behind them who has played. They are also looking for a third wide receiver [behind Jeff Samardzija and Rhema McKnight].

Don't get me wrong. Notre Dame is going to be a good football team. But in order for them to win the national championship, some guys are going to have to step up and play at a very high level.

Davie, who coached the Irish from 1997 to 2001, is an analyst for ESPN. He lives in Phoenix.