Notre Dame and head coach Brian Kelly have had two weeks to think about their loss to Stanford, a 2-5 record, and where the program is headed not only for the rest of the five games to be played this season but the future as well.

One thing ND fans did learn during the break is that Kelly will be back for his eighth year as head coach. Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick announced the week after the Stanford game that Kelly would return. The announcement, somewhat unusual, was made, I believe, because Swarbrick and the administration at the university have been receiving substantial complaints - and rightfully so - about Kelly and where the program is going.Kelly has a 57-28 record to date as the Irish head coach. But only once did his team play for a national title and only two times have they made a legitimate title run. His season records are as follows, 8-5, 8-5, 12-1, 9-4, 8-5, 10-3 and 2-5. At a lot of schools that record would be considered good. But at a school with the reputation of Notre Dame and all it has to offer, that is really not acceptable. In the 9-4 and 10-3 seasons, Kelly lost games that most felt he should have won which ultimately cost the Irish a title bid.Kelly's coaching has come under more intense scrutiny this year because of the high expectations for the team at the beginning of the year. ND was ranked as high as eighth in some preseason polls. The writers for the South Bend Tribune, who cover ND regularly and have a better handle on what talent the Irish have, picked a record of either 10-2 or 9-3. Admittedly, the writers also said that the defense was a question mark entering the 2016 season and if it faltered, ND could lose four or five games. The defense did falter and ND has already lost the five games with other losses on the horizon.Kelly has a big job ahead of him for the remaining games starting today with Miami. Not only is one of the worst records in ND history possible, Kelly has to worry about the program's disappointment on the 2017 recruiting class and future classes. One top recruit, which I noted last week, decomitted but said he still had ND at the top of his list. That didn't last long, as defensive lineman Donovan Jeter committed to Michigan on Monday, Oct. 17. So far, other recruits are holding to their promise to attend ND. Future recruiting also will be affected by what Kelly does with the rest of the season. And lets face it, the rest of the season is challenging.Miami comes into today's game at 4-3 and was previously ranked in the top 15 before some losses. It is followed by a very good Navy club. Then Army and ND meet in the Shamrock Bowl in San Antonio, Texas, (ND's annual home game away from home). A Virginia Tech team that is on a roll comes next before the regular season concludes in Los Angeles with it's the annual match up with USC. Three or four more losses is not out of the question by any means.Kelly and his staff have to be feeling the pressure. What happens in the next five weeks will go a long way in determining if Kelly is the man for the job.Today the Irish host a Miami Hurricane team that opened the season with four wins in a row over Florida A&M, 70-3; FAU, 38-10; Appalachian State, 45-10; and Georgia Tech, 35-21. But then the Hurricanes went into a tailspin with losses to Florida State, 20-19; North Carolina, 20-13 and Virginia Tech, 37-16. To be fair, those losses were all to teams ranked among the top 25 in the country.Miami is led by quarterback Brad Kaya, who has completed 121 of 196 passes for 1,696 yards, 12 touchdowns and five interceptions. Rushing leaders are Mark Walton with 604 yards on 112 carries and eight scores and Joseph Yearly with 493 on 73 and six scores. Top receivers are Akmmon Richards with 437 yards on 20 catches and one TD and Stacy Coley, 352 yards on 29 catches and 6 TDs.Notre Dame leads the series, 17-7-1. The last time the teams played was in 2012 and ND prevailed, 41-3. ND has won the last three meetings.The game will be televised nationally by NBC-TV with a 3:40 p.m. kickoff.IRISH NOTES ... One thing is for sure, for the Irish to have a chance to win in any of the remaining games, the defense is still the key. Despite the offense having problems the last few games, it is the defense that will make the difference between winning and losing. Here are some of the reasons for that statement. ND faces the top rushing team in the nation, Army; three of the teams, Miami, Virginia Tech and USC, have quarterbacks ranked in the top 25 in pass-efficiency, and Navy's option attack has always caused the Irish problems ... The sudden problem with the offense is the play of the offensive line. The Irish, who have a wealth of fine running backs including QB DeShone Kizer, but can't seem to run the ball. Plus, Kizer has been scrambling for his life in passing situations as the line has been permitting more sacks ... ND's recruiting class is ranked in the top 10 so far. The prospects include twins Justin and Jayson Ademilola of Jersey City, New Jersey. Justin is a defensive end and Jayson a defensive tackle. QB Avery Davis of Cedar Hill, Texas has been having a tremendous senior year in high school and only recently committed to the Irish; WRs Jordan Pouncey of Winter Park Florida, and Michael Young of Destrehan High in Louisiana are rated high; S Isaiah Robertson, of Naperville, Illinois, and TE Cole Kmet, of Arlington Heights, Illinois, both are top four prospects at their positions; LB Drew White, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is considered a key element for next season; OT Josh Lugg, of North Allegheny, Wexford, Pa., and TE Brock Wright, of Cypress, Texas come in highly rated. Others include LB Peter Werner, Indianapolis Cathedral; OL Robert Hainsey, of Bradenton, Florida; DT Darnell Ewell, Norfolk, Virginia; DE Jonathan MacCollister, Orlando, Florida; OL Dillan Gibbons, Clearwater, Florida; LB David Adams and DT Kurt Hinish, both of Pittsburgh Central Catholic; RB CJ Holmes of Cheshire Academ, in Connecticut; LB Bo Bauer of Erie, PA, Cathedral Prep; and QB Phil Jurkovec, and RB Markese Stepp along with LB Ovie Oghoufo, round out the class ... Kelly permitted his players to go home the week after the Stanford game, which was the fall break period for the university ... Part of Miami's problems the last three weeks has been injuries to some key players, especially on defense. Three starters were missing for the Virginia Tech game and a fourth left the game early with an injury ... Kelly said there has been no change in the status of cornerback Devin Butler, who has been suspended since his arrest on Aug. 20 following an incident with police at a South Bend nightspot. Butler pleaded guilty to reduced charges last week and placed in a special probation program. ND's women soccer team won the ACC title on Thursday night. And, if you are a little disinterested in ND football, the Irish men's basketball team opens next Tuesday evening against Mercy and the women next Thursday against Roberts Wesleyan. Both games are in South Bend ... In my preseason picks I have the Irish winning a close one today. I must change that because the Irish, although working on the defensive problems, now have problems on offense and my faith in Kelly is extremely low. Like I said, today and the remaining schedule will give everyone a good idea what type of coach Kelly really is.