Inconsistent Everett Golson Throws Notre Dame's Playoff Hopes Away

TEMPE, Ariz. — Notre Dame's playoff hopes disappeared Saturday afternoon, melting away in the desert sun as the Irish offense gift-wrapped 28 points to Arizona State in a 55-31 defeat. And while an injury-depleted defense struggled to keep the Sun Devils from moving the ball, it was Everett Golson and the Irish offense that lost the game, with Golson's five turnovers derailing their late comeback efforts. 

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After opening the game with a 14-play drive, Golson short-circuited, giving the Sun Devils three touchdowns as fumbles and turnovers buried Notre Dame in a 31-point hole that even Golson couldn't climb out of. And while the quarterback fought back and had the Irish down just three points with six minutes to go, a second pick-six ended the Irish rally, eliminating Notre Dame from a College Football Playoff race that found itself shook up with Texas A&M beating Auburn Saturday afternoon.

While the Irish earned all sorts of points for not packing it in after falling behind 34-3 late in the second quarter, you'll excuse Brian Kelly for not accepting the consolation prize. 

"Great resolve, great character. These kids are as good a group of kids that I've coached," Kelly said after the game. "But if you're sloppy, this isn't rec ball. There aren't pats on the back for being great competitors. We're doing this to win. We didn't win the game, and it's because of the obvious circumstances in the game: five turnovers."

Those turnovers continued a stretch of football where Golson played more like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde than a Heisman candidate. For as brilliant as Golson was in the second half—his 13 completions for 296 yards would've been a nice day—there's no escaping the fumbles and interceptions that killed Notre Dame Saturday afternoon. 

So while Golson provided highlight-reel plays with his receiving corps, he also handed over a victory to Arizona State, with Todd Graham's attacking defense taking full advantage of Golson's generosity. That the Irish offensive line couldn't protect Golson, after drilling all week against blitz schemes that generated seven sacks, had Kelly scratching his head. 

"Everything that we practiced, everything that we saw last year, we saw this year," Kelly said. "Absolutely no changes in what they did. It was nothing that we saw out there, which makes it even more maddening and frustrating."

It's worth mentioning that the Irish beat Arizona State with Tommy Rees behind center last year. While the former Irish quarterback doesn't have a fraction of the athleticism that Golson possesses, he is capable of processing information rapidly, a critical skill in taking on a blitzing defense. Golson showed those moments of great talent—as his 446 passing yards tell us—but did so with five game-changing mistakes. 

That's 17 turnovers for Golson in the last five games. Mistakes that have turned the fortunes of Notre Dame from a potential dark-horse playoff contender to a team that needs its offense to right itself as it prepares for three more regular-season battles. 

When asked what else Kelly and the coaching staff can do to help Golson take better care of the football, the head coach beat a familiar drum. 

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"We've been working with him. Sooner or later, he's got to take it on himself to take care of the football," Kelly said. "I don't know what else to do. We're at that point now where it hurt us in the game. He knows it.  He's going to walk in here and you're going to ask him the same questions. He doesn't want to turn the football over."

To his credit, Golson owned his mistakes. While two interceptions came on tips at the line of scrimmage and a third clanked out of the grasp of sure-handed receiver Corey Robinson, Golson put the blame on his own shoulders. 

"I think it's the competitor in me, sometimes just trying not to give up on the play," Golson said. "Like I said, burnt today. Just different calls, I had a lot of tipped balls, things like that. We just have to clean it up."

It's too late to turn this mess of a Saturday around, with the Irish now looking to finish the season with a more-than-respectable 10 wins. But in a game where most of the worries focused on a young defense trying to slow down the Sun Devils' up-tempo offense, it was Notre Dame's star who brought the Irish down. 

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes obtained firsthand.