Among those that picked against Notre Dame, was one of the emerging mouthpieces of college football, On3's JD Pickell. Pickell is fair for the most part when it comes to breaking down games, and he definitely had his fair reasons to pick against the Irish. Although he has picked against Notre Dame many times this season ... I digress.

It's that extra work, the extra effort and the mentality to not accept "good enough" that has defined Notre Dame's rise under the 38-year-old head coach. Notre Dame is a program t