Well - sadly NDCHIEF got diverted into the downward spiral of which team has the better / stronger schedule. That means he has not explicitly stated the obvious fact that their team has problems both now and in prospect.
I know several ND Alums (all follow the team avidly), all are mourning the drop-off in talent, recruiting, the elan of the ND program and the generally questionable coaching, lack of timely adjustments, and poor game-day play-calling. (The recruiting has them very worried as ND seems to be getting more 2* or 3* players - when they need 4* and 5* recruits -- like the not so recent past).
In fact - there is little about The Ghost of Future Irish Football that gives them a warm and fuzzy feeling. That Ghost is pointing to a grave reading R.I.P. And the only solution any of these alums can agree on is that ND Football needs to go into a conference -- most likely the Big East. Why? So they no longer have to run a Schedule whose strength exceeds most teams on a regular basis.
I'd like to hear whether NDCHIEF believes that this is the likeliest future for The Fighting Irish.