Does Notre Dame Need More Style Points in Remaining Games?

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — A win is a win, and after Notre Dame football’s limp through November in 2014, the Fighting Irish will gladly take this year’s 9-1 record into the final two games of the regular season.

Following No. 4 Notre Dame’s 28-7 win over Wake Forest on Saturday, Irish head coach Brian Kelly highlighted his senior class, which closed out its run at Notre Dame Stadium with another victory.

“Very proud of them,” Kelly said of the seniors. “Very proud of what they've accomplished in their four years here, and certainly as a team very pleased with the win. I thought Wake Forest played very well today, and we're pleased with the outcome.”

Yet Notre Dame was outgained in total yards, 340-282, by the Demon Deacons, and the Irish scored just once in the game’s final 40 minutes. Redshirt freshman quarterback DeShone Kizer threw for 111 yards. A 21-point win is nothing to sneeze at, but with playoff prospects in mind, do the Irish need more style points than what they came up with Saturday?

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“We’re just trying to go out there and get a win,” Irish senior left tackle Ronnie Stanley said when asked if style points are on the team’s mind. “We know in college football, teams can easily get beat no matter how good or bad. You just have to be better on that day.”

The Irish were plenty better than the Demon Deacons, even if the offense was “a little off,” as Kizer said. Notre Dame only ran 49 offensive plays, below its season average of 70.3 per game, per TeamRankings.com.

And aside from true freshman running back Josh Adams’ 98-yard stiff-arming sprint, the Irish only mustered 184 yards of total offense on 48 plays (3.83 yards per play). Wake Forest held more than an 11-minute edge in time of possession.

“You know, when you're out there and you're going from drive to drive, it kind of bothers you that you're not out there with the momentum that we typically have,” Kizer said of the offense.

“But now being on the field and realizing that it's November and we just came out with a 21-point win, it's huge for us. We're moving forward. We have a win streak going. We have things rolling for the offense, and the defense came out and had an outstanding game.”

Sure, that’s the focus within the Notre Dame locker room, especially as underclassmen like Kizer see their senior teammates cherishing one last game—and win—inside their home stadium. But how will such performances stand up for the Irish in the eyes of the College Football Playoff committee?

Next week at Fenway Park in the annual Shamrock Series game, Notre Dame faces a Boston College squad built similarly to Wake Forest. The Eagles have the 119th-ranked scoring offense (17.3 points per game) in the nation to go with the No. 3 scoring defense (14.4 points per game). After that, Notre Dame closes the regular season against No. 7 Stanford.

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The Irish, of course, simply need wins in both those games to prolong the playoff hopes. A thorough performance against the Cardinal could go a long way to boost Notre Dame’s resume, especially without a conference title game. But how badly does Notre Dame need to flash against Boston College?

At 11-1, the Irish would be in strong shape for a playoff berth, especially with the final scene being a win over Stanford. But with potential Big 12 contenders or, perhaps, even Iowa lurking down the stretch, Notre Dame could certainly use as much help as it can get in strengthening its case to the committee to stand out—either from undefeated teams or other one-loss squads.

The style points aren’t necessary. Notre Dame’s hypothetical one-loss resume is quite strong, considering the two-point margin and location (Death Valley) of the defeat against Clemson.

The playoff committee’s decisions and rationale are out of Notre Dame’s control. But the Irish can control the message they send with the completeness of their next two performances.

All quotes were obtained firsthand and all stats courtesy of CFBStats.com unless otherwise noted.

Mike Monaco is the lead Notre Dame writer for Bleacher Report. Follow @MikeMonaco_ on Twitter.