Doug Flutie Discusses Notre Dame on Pardon My Take

Notre Dame fans have always had strong takes on NBC color commentator Doug Flutie since he took the job in 2014. 

On this week's Pardon My Take, the nation's top sports podcast, Flutie was asked a few Notre Dame questions.

Listen to it here: DOUG FLUTIE, WILD CARD WEEKEND PREVIEW, AND JASON GARRETT IS STILL NOT FIRED? (Notre Dame questions start at 1:01:08)

The pressing question was if Notre Dame was back. 

"Notre Dame is good," stated Flutie. "They're going to win 9-10 games every year." 

But is Notre Dame back? Flutie seemed to question what 'back' exactly meant. 

"I don't understand back," Flutie stated. "Are they going to win a National Championship? Not soon, I don't think. 

"They will be in the College Football Playoff picture every year. They'll be a top 10 team. They'll be right there, but there's some things that make it much more difficult for Notre Dame to win a National Championship."

Flutie didn't expand on what made it more difficult, but he did add this. 

"There are people playing college football that don't belong on college campuses," Flutie said. 

The former Boston College quarterback and Heisman winner believes Notre Dame is a good program, but also felt Irish fans might have high expectations.

"They lost the Michigan game and I'm going to do the next game and the locals are like, 'When are we going to be good again," said Flutie.

"You were just 12-0 and playing in the playoff. This year you're 10-2. What do you want? There is only one team that wins it all." 

It's not an unreasonable take that Notre Dame isn't part of the Big Three in college football after 2019, which Flutie and his NBC partner Mike Tirico discussed during the year. 

"Tirico were having this conversation and Mike brought it up," explained Flutie. "There are three teams. It's Clemson, Alabama and Ohio State behind the velvet rope. They're going to get their invitation. They're there every year." 

However, Flutie also believes the Fighting Irish could match up with any team in the country.

"I would put Notre Dame up against - they can beat any team in the country on any given day right now with the talent they had," Flutie said. "The problem is at the end of the year, three of their top defensive ends were banged up. 

"The one thing this year from a talent standpoint, I thought the offensive line was going to be great. They were very good this year. They didn't have a power running game like I thought they were going to have." 

Notre Dame might not have been as physical as in 2018, but as Flutie mentioned, the Irish were down starting offensive lineman Tommy Kraemer and Robert Hainsey along with defensive ends  Julian Okwara and Daelin Hayes.

"They weren't a physical team this year," stated Flutie. "Their skill position guys and their defensive line - they had three defensive ends. They had four that are going to be first-rounders and three of them got hurt this year."

The point of Notre Dame struggling with a team they shouldn't was also brought up. 

Pittsburgh 2018 and Virginia Tech 2019 come to mind and Flutie admitted you could almost sense it coming.

"All those blue-collar that can make them look a little ugly," Flutie stated. "You really can (feel it). Tirico had a great feel for it. He called that Pitt game a year ago. Virginia Tech this year and Virginia was tough." 

As you'd expect, Flutie did bring up the Boston College-Notre Dame rivalry. 

"I said to Brian Kelly," Flutie stated. "Notre Dame was playing BC at the end of the year and we were doing the game, I said people at Boston College look at this as the Catholic Super Bowl Championship. It's a big deal. How do you view it?

"He's like, 'I don't mean to be condescending, but it's just another game for us.'"

Flutie didn't necessarily disagree with Kelly's statement and echoed many of the same viewpoints you see on Notre Dame message boards in the fall. 

"Every team that plays Notre Dame has Notre Dame on pinnacle and they're shooting for that game," said Flutie. "If they're having a rough or mediocre season, it will make their season if they can beat Notre Dame. Everyone feels that way. 

"They get their best punch, so when you have a scary team that maybe has been underachieving or is talent and tough - I thought BC might give them a fit, but Notre Dame came out and played and blew BC out. BC can play physical football and can make a team look ugly. That's what happens with the Pitt's. It can happen."