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By Matt Hayes -

How big is this season at Notre Dame? Even President Barack Obama has chimed in, punctuating one of those cheesy, pay-to-yuk-it-up political fundraisers in Indianapolis by stating Notre Dame football is an issue "we may not resolve within my four years."Yeah, well, everyone knows how to run a program until you're in the Big Chair.Take heart, Irish fans. Captain Hope has just given your team more oomph this fall. Anyone who thinks ND coach Charlie Weis won't use this as motivation -- hey guys, the leader of the free world thinks you blow! -- thinks a national playoff is coming soon, too.

Weis and the Irish have been beaten down for two years now while developing young, dynamic players. The coach is feeling heat, the players are insulted, the storm is brewing.

But there's one teensy problem to this doom and gloom scenario: winning beats everything. Even Hope and Change.

Or is that hope for change?

Every year at the end of spring drills, we examine programs on the rise and on the decline. And here comes Notre Dame, with everything seemingly against it, primed for a return to the nation's elite.

Four on the rise

Notre Dame. The difference between this year's team and Weis' first two that went to BCS bowls: more talent and speed. Now it's a matter of finishing games.If ND finishes off three double-digit leads it blew last season -- the difference between a young, fragile team and a team steeled by previous experiences -- you're looking at a nine-win team playing in the Gator Bowl against Clemson. In other words, a 10-win team.

The Irish aren't that far away, especially with a manageable schedule and an offense more dangerous than in Weis' first two seasons.

There's more speed on defense, and any team that can rush the passer and cover in the secondary can create turnovers and force mistakes. ND will get those 10 wins this fall -- and maybe more.

Oklahoma State. The Cowboys are the hot pick to become this year's Texas Tech. I'll go one step further: how about this year's Oklahoma?Oklahoma State could've -- and maybe should've -- beaten Texas last year in Austin (a 28-24 loss), and this year's game is in Stillwater. As for the Sooners, OU has gotten worse (see: rebuilt offensive line) and the Cowboys have gotten better (see: Bill Young as defensive coordinator).

This is what happens when a big-money booster (T. Boone Pickens) and a tireless coach (Mike Gundy) find each other: recruits are drawn to immaculate facilities and a young, charismatic and innovative leader. The Cowboys have three legitimate Heisman Trophy candidates (Zac Robinson, Kendall Hunter, Dez Bryant), and the first 11-win season in school history (the last 10-win season was 1988) isn't that far away.

North Carolina. Mack Brown proved in the 1990s that you could bring talent to Chapel Hill and win consistently. Now Butch Davis is doing exactly what he did at Miami: building his team around punishing, athletic defensive linemen and elite skill players on offense.

Davis has signed 26 five- and four-star players in his three recruiting classes, and much like the personnel situation at Notre Dame, the experience will kick in this fall. The Tar Heels lost four games last year by a combined nine points, but if quarterback T.J. Yates stays healthy, this team wins 10 games for the first time since 1997's 11-win season under Brown.

Miami. This, I'm baffled by: Robert Marve somehow has made more news this offseason than the Miami Hurricanes.

While we're all so enthralled (really, just ESPN) with Marve's choice of colleges after he left Miami because he lost the starting job (quick hint, everyone: he won't win the job at Purdue, either), we've forgotten that Jacory Harris is a big-time talent. Watch how he develops in Year 2 without a hint of quarterback controversy -- and under the tutelage of new offensive coordinator Mark Whipple.

There's a common thread among the four teams on the rise: an upgrade in recruiting. The Canes have recruited better than any of the four, and consistent, efficient play at quarterback -- something the team has lacked in coach Randy Shannon's two seasons -- will change everything.

Four on the decline

Louisville. Cards athletic director Tom Jurich told Sporting News Today's Dave Curtis earlier this month that coach Steve Kragthorpe is his guy, that's he's not panicking despite growing unrest among a passionate fan base that got a taste of the BCS hierarchy under former coach Bobby Petrino.

We've heard all the excuses (all aimed at Petrino; zero self-evaluation), and frankly, I don't care anymore. Any way you color it, the black and white bleeds through: Kragthorpe's teams have won 11 games in two seasons despite playing with the best quarterback in the game (Brian Brohm) in Year 1, and last season with an experienced, senior quarterback (Hunter Cantwell) who had success under Petrino.

Louisville, with its SEC geography, SEC-type lunatic fans and SEC deep pockets (these are all good things), should own the Big East. That's it.

Texas A&M. The entire coaching community shuddered when Kentucky fired basketball coach Billy Gillespie after two seasons. You better believe Mike Sherman, whose first year in College Station was awful, is feeling the reverberation from Kentucky's decision.

Competing in the Big 12 South Division is all about competing for players in recruiting, and Sherman at least made inroads with a strong class in February. But the reality is A&M now is behind both Oklahoma State and Texas Tech in the South -- and Baylor, with charismatic coach Art Briles and dynamic quarterback Robert Griffin -- is closing fast after beating the Aggies by 20 last year.

Perception overwhelms reality when it comes to antsy, big money boosters. And right now, A&M is last in a six-team division. That can't last long.

West Virginia. WVU had a BCS-ready team -- a national title contender -- in coach Bill Stewart's first season. It finished the year scrapping out a victory in a useless late December bowl game.

There were numerous instances of poor coaching, poor clock management, poor decision-making. You know, the things you didn't see when Rich Rodriguez was in Morgantown.

The most damning issue from Year 1 under good-guy Stewart: WVU lacked emotion and intensity. Say what you want about Rodriguez's demanding style, but he got everything and more out of recruits no one else wanted (see: Pat White, Steve Slaton, Darius Reynaud, Owen Schmitt). Stewart got a big bag of Meineke Bowl out of this group.

Tennessee. A decline with an asterisk: The Vols have serious personnel issues, and it's going to take more than one big recruiting class to fix it.Given time -- and a ton of patience -- new coach Lane Kiffin will bring championship-caliber talent to Knoxville. You can't win big games in the SEC without an elite quarterback or a team full of experience protecting a quarterback who doesn't make mistakes. Right now, Tennessee isn't close to either.

This fall won't be much better than last year, and the Vols likely will start a true freshman at quarterback in 2010. Again, not a good sign in the meat-grinder conference. By 2011, we'll know if Tennessee will make the turn under Kiffin.

Matt Hayes covers college football for Sporting News and is an analyst on NFL Network's College Football Now. E-mail him at mhayes@sportingnews.com.