SOUTH BEND — In the first decade of the College Football Playoff, Mike Denbrock was part of just one team that managed to qualify: the 2021 Cincinnati Bearcats, the only Group of Five program that could make that claim in the four-team playoff era.
Now that he’s back at Notre Dame football as its offensive coordinator, the former LSU play-caller was asked Friday if a national championship seems any more feasible for the Irish as the playoff moves to a 12-team field this season.
“I certainly think the landscape has changed some in regard to the playoff system that we have and the access that we have to it,” Denbrock said. “I know there’s been a lot of debate this week back and forth about whether that’s an advantage or disadvantage and all that. I’ll leave it to the experts to decide all that. I think we have access to that becoming a real possibility.”
Since 2014, Denbrock has assisted six teams that finished with 10 wins or more, including the 13-1 Bearcats that won at Notre Dame in 2021. Overall in the past decade, Denbrock’s teams have gone a combined 90-38 (.703), even with back-to-back 4-8 seasons in 2016 (Notre Dame) and 2017 (Cincinnati).
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While Notre Dame’s path to its first national title since 1988 would require four playoff wins, including a first-round game at an on-campus site, the overall talent level under third-year coach Marcus Freeman remains on the uptick.
Another solid showing in the transfer portal, including the acquisition of former Duke quarterback Riley Leonard, has the Irish thinking big six months ahead of the season opener at Texas A&M.
“I think we’ve got a roster that is moving in a really positive direction where those possibilities are maybe even more real than…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/mike-denbrock-believes-notre-dame-221444984.html
Author : South Bend Tribune
Publish date : 2024-02-23 22:14:44
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