Of all the things coaches want to see from a college football team throughout the season, continued growth is at the very top of the list. Getting better every single week is pivotal at the highest level of college ball and Notre Dame, since NIU, has gotten better and better and better.

There are always things to improve on, as Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman reminds his guys of constantly, and there really is no ‘perfection’. Freeman is constantly chasing the ever elusive ‘perfection’, knowing that he will always have something to work on or improve in practice the following week.

Notre Dame, while dominating every opponent during this nine-game win streak, still has plenty to improve on and has yet to truly hit on all cylinders. That may sound like critique, and I guess partially it is, but it is encouraging that the Irish are dominating in this fashion and still not playing their best.

Moving forward, it is about time for the team to collectively reach its peak as there is no room for error. USC is going to come in motivated to try to do everything in its power to spoil Notre Dame’s College Football Playoff hopes and it doesn’t get any easier after that.

Each and every game is a playoff game from here on out. USC should be treated like the first round of the CFP and I’m sure Freeman will have them ready to go.

Now is the time to pull out all the stops and be in a position to accomplish the goal before the season started — host a CFP game in Notre Dame Stadium. Go handle business at USC, get healthy and put yourself in a position to be at your very best in a playoff game in front of your home crowd.