Don't Blame Everett Golson for Notre Dame's 3rd Straight Loss

As Notre Dame football’s season continues to crumble, this time the story was less about turnovers or sloppy play from quarterback Everett Golson in Louisville’s 31-28 win over the Irish on Saturday.

Sure, Golson’s second-quarter interception came at his own 14-yard line and prompted a Louisville field goal. And yes, his fumble a few drives later resulted in a 32-yard loss. But the damage, in general, was kept to a minimum.

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"I think he did some good things," Irish head coach Brian Kelly said afterward to reporters. "There are some things that we want to do better, but he made some great plays with his feet. It's so hard right after the game to give you a great analysis of it. There are some things that I thought could have gotten the ball out quicker, but I'm not right behind the center."

Golson was 16-of-24 for 236 yards, two touchdowns and the interception, while also scampering in on a two-point conversion to pull Notre Dame within three, 31-28, at the beginning of the fourth quarter.

Golson certainly has room for improvement, but the major issues Saturday were mostly on the defensive side of the ball and in the kicking game. For the sixth consecutive game, the Irish surrendered at least 30 points. The Cardinals racked up 409 yards of total offense—229 of which came on the ground.

Yet still, with a chance to tie the game, Notre Dame’s field-goal battery of kicker Kyle Brindza, holder Malik Zaire and snapper Scott Daly couldn’t convert from 32 yards out.

"I don’t think it was executed at the level it needed to be," Kelly said. "I didn’t see it. I’ll have to watch it on film, but in talking to Kyle, it did not appear to be handled cleanly."

While the blame game rages on, the simple fact is that Notre Dame could not drill a much-needed kick—again. Asked about the prospects for 2015, Kelly offered a blunt breakdown.

"Well, we've lost back-to-back games because we couldn't put down a ball and kick it 32 yards," he said.

"They know that they easily could win any of the games they've played in," Kelly said later. "A mistake here or there and not executing at the time necessary has been the difference between a win and loss with this team—razor-thin."

Sure, it’s possible to point to a certain play in a certain situation and engage in the "what if" game. But Notre Dame’s issues have been both widespread and continuous.

All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

Mike Monaco is a lead Notre Dame writer for Bleacher Report. Follow @MikeMonaco on Twitter.