Last year, one big red flag I noticed was when an expert, don't remember who, attended both Ohio State and ND's fall camps and noticed that Ohio State's players were more physically imposing and the practices appeared more physical.
At first, seemed like it was just one guy's opinion and even so, Ohio State is the barometer set for all schools, so we should be fine. But it's becoming blatantly apparent that the gap was a lot wider than he may have been letting on.
That being said, if spring practice was just a small taste of Balis' talents as a S&C coach, then this team may be full of tanks when they arrive for camp in August.
As for the "offense" clich, we can debate that the lack of elite success on offense stems from something getting in the way. QB controversy or injury/suspension and going back to the S&C issue, which far and away affected the lines the most. Having a dominant offense starts by having an offensive line where everybody is playing at a good weight and not having 3 guys playing at sub-290.