[dropcap]I[/dropcap]t’s hard to imagine that a team that just over four weeks ago was still in the national title talk has suffered a four-game skid, fallen out of the rankings and ends the regular season with a mark lower than last year.
And yet, this is how the final four weeks of the season played out for Notre Dame.
Notre Dame started the year 5-0, blowing out Michigan in their rivalry finale and winning last-minute in a close home game to visiting Stanford. The Irish would fall in a close contest to then-No. 2 Florida State, but remained in the playoff picture through a hard-fought win over Navy.
The Irish entered the Nov. 8 contest with then-No. 9 Arizona State, which would prove to be the first nail in the team’s coffin. Turnovers by quarterback Everett Golson and botched field goals by kicker Kyle Brindza — either due to holder errors or poor kicks — proved costly in the second-of-three PAC-12 contests for the Irish this year.
Notre Dame attempts to block the game-winning field goal against Northwestern on Nov. 15. Damien Dennis/The Pit
These same errors would continue to plague Notre Dame through the remainder of the season. During the Nov. 15 contest with Northwestern, two botched field goals by Brindza would send the game to overtime, where the Wildcats pulled ahead for the win, 43-40. That game played out like a video game, with a PAT being botched by the holder, leading the Brindza kicking the ball into the hands of a defender and returned for 2-points for the opponents.
Golson has seen trouble in the pocket all year, leading to many of the team’s troubles. The senior has led the Irish through turbulent times, seeing them through in blowout victories, close wins and losses and devastating defeats of their own. At the end of the regular season, Golson has thrown the ball for 3,355 yards, good for 29 touchdowns buts also racking up 14 interceptions.
Saturday’s rivalry match up with USC was pivotal to the Irish, looking to regain some momentum to build to a better bowl bid. However, the Irish were soundly defeated to lose the Jeweled Shillelagh to the Trojans and fall to what could be their worse record under head coach Brian Kelly.
The Trojans would put up 35 points in the first half, with Notre Dame striking just minutes before halftime when Malik Zaire rushed the ball 11 yards for the first Irish strike.
Zaire took over for Golson late in the first half after the quarterback suffered his worse start all year. Golson was just 7-for-18 with 75 yards and a interception, leading coach Kelly to pull him in favor of the sophomore.
He wouldn’t fare much better against the feisty USC team, however. Zaire was 9-for-20 with 170 yards, but Notre Dame’s next and final score came from a 1-yard rush by Greg Bryant with just under three minutes in the third quarter.
On the flipside, Trojans’ quarterback Cody Kessler had a breakout performance. The junior threw the ball for 372 yards, going 32-of-40 for six touchdowns. The Trojans put up 577 total yards against the Irish.
“Our future is ridiculously bright,” said USC coach Steve Sarkisian, who won his first game against Notre Dame. “We’re going to be really good, and we’re not going anywhere.”
Kelly acknowledge that the game wasn’t even close between the rivals.
“We have to remember where we are after today’s loss,” Kelly said after the game. “It’s a red-letter day for our football players and coaches alike. Two years ago, we were playing for a national championship. Today we got our butts beat, and it wasn’t as close as the score. I thought Coach was very generous today to keep running the football to keep the score where it was.”
So where does Notre Dame go after this?
The Irish haven’t had a 7-5 regular season since the 2010-11 season. That year, Notre Dame beat Miami 33-17 in the Sun Bowl in what was Kelly’s first year at the helm of the program.
Because of their record, the Irish are unlikely to play in a bowl game after the New Year, but will likely be the favorite to win that game. Again, this is a team that four weeks ago was still a title contender.
What do you think? What bowl will the Irish receiver a bid for and, depending on the opponent, will they win?
