I do think sports journos have a point when they talk about people being impossible to please. If a reporter has us losing in the first round or ranked outside the top five, they are an unmitigated hater and shouldn't be respected because we're loaded. If a reporter has us winning the whole thing, they are committing to a devious plot to raise Notre Dame up so that any fall from grace will be seen as comeuppance.
Idk guys, you ever think that they just want a safe pick, think we might be a top 5 team with a pretty manageable schedule, and once the playoffs start everything is a wash anyway?