As part of a small minority of sane Notre Dame fans who are becoming less patient and more vocal in their criticism of Coach Brian Kelly, I hear this quite often. Too often. At every turn, the “8 is enough” crowd awaits, coiled and ready to strike with the force of an arbitrary number that isn’t even prime.
How was this benchmark set? Was it Jack Swarbrick who upon hiring Kelly said “Now as long as you never win less than 8, you’ll have a job here at Notre Dame.” I really hope not.
Perhaps it was an organic synthesis of fan expectations.