Notre Dame's season went from dreams of a postseason berth to a nightmare reality in November, with four losses in five weeks, including three in a row. The past two losses have been especially troublesome, and both occurred at home.
First, the Irish allowed a sub-.500 Northwestern team to capitalize on four turnovers en route to a 43-40 overtime win. Turnovers have been a constant Achilles heel for Notre Dame, leaving Brian Kelly at one point in the season saying he was out of ideas about how to start taking care of the ball.
Turnovers Continue to Doom Fighting Irish
This Saturday the Irish were actually very competent with the ball (they only had one turnover all afternoon), but an injury-plagued and porous defense allowed the Cardinals to gain 409 yards on the day, including 229 on the ground alone. That one turnover came, unsurprisingly, via an interception by Everett Golson. It was the senior quarterback's 13th of the season.
Whereas Kelly has taken a "tough love" approach to Golson's miscues in earlier weeks, his remarks after the Louisville game were actually quite supportive.
Defensive Problems Mounting for Notre Dame
“There’s a lot of room for development, and we hope that his experience that he got this year and going into USC and in a bowl game that we continue to see development,” Kelly said, per 24/7 Sports. “He could be one of the top quarterbacks in the country, no question...He did some really good things.”
The most memorable pass of Golson's day was actually one that fell incomplete. Late in the game and facing a third-and-goal from nine yards out, Golson lobbed a pinpoint ball to wide receiver CJ Prosise's, but it bounced off the latter's hands. Again, however, Kelly had nothing but good things to say when asked about the throw.
“He threw a great ball at the end there that would have required a great catch by C.J., but it was the only place he could have put it,” Kelly said. "[Golson] played well enough for us to win, let’s put it that way.”
We'll see if Golson rewards his coach's trust in him with improved play next Saturday, when the Irish travel to Los Angeles to face off with USC.
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