Nov. 24--SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- In the immediate aftermath of Notre Dame's 31-28 loss to Louisville, it was hard for coach Brian Kelly and his players to keep an eye toward the future.
It's certainly hard for fans, who have seen the Irish suffer three consecutive losses.
But if you can look past the gloom, there is an upside, especially when it comes to Notre Dame's fledgling defense -- the Irish are a young team, will return many starters and have a chance to be good, even very good, in 2015.
Cornerback Cody Riggs and safety Austin Collinsworth are the only regular starters from Notre Dame's defense Saturday who will be out of eligibility next season, and several injured or suspended players (linebacker Joe Schmidt, defensive linemen Ishaq Williams, Jarron Jones and Sheldon Day and cornerback KeiVarae Russell) will get back on the field while a young defense that has had a baptism by fire will have grown from a year of experience.
"Everybody was freshmen and sophomores on defense, so great experience," Kelly said. "The ability to carry over will obviously be something we believe we can grow from. So close losses, difficult losses that we hope our team will grow from."
Then there's the offense, which has senior quarterback Everett Golson eligible for a fifth year and will return several skill players and offensive linemen.
There have been rumblings Florida has interest in Kelly for its vacant coaching position, but if Kelly were to entertain that possibility, he would have to rebuild the Gators into what he has cooking for next season at Notre Dame. And if Kelly wants to reach the NFL -- he had talks with the Eagles after the 2012 season -- coaching a loaded Notre Dame squad to a potential playoff berth in 2015 might be his best avenue.
For Notre Dame, it's hard to take solace in a bright future when the present is so depressing. The Irish can also look to their recent past for a little comfort. The Irish slogged through a tumultuous 8-5 season in 2011 before emerging at title contenders in 2012.
"We're only losing a few really," sophomore cornerback Cole Luke said. "We have a young team which is good and we had our young guys get some reps (against Louisville). It's only up from here really with the talent we have."
After the last weeks, it seems up is the only direction to go.
--Riggs has a chance to play against USC after exiting early against Louisville with a nagging stress reaction in his foot, Kelly said Sunday. He added Jones may have a Lisfranc sprain in his foot, but Jones was set to have an MRI on Sunday to determine the damage.
chine@tribune.com
Twitter @ChristopherHine
