Notre Dame Football: Your BCS Invitation Got Lost in the Mail

Outlined against a stormy September sky, Notre Dame’s BCS hopes were swept over like a cyclone in the form of the South Florida Bulls.  Despite a strong start and holding a huge statistical advantage in total yards, untimely penalties and sloppy turnovers cost the Irish dearly.  Let’s take a deeper look at what went wrong and its impact on the Irish.

Turnovers

Five total turnovers, three of which occurred in the red zone were crucial errors for a Notre Dame squad looking to get off to a great start.  A first quarter drive ended when a Jonas Gray fumble was returned 96 yards for a touchdown. 

This essentially amounted to a likely 14-point swing on the scoreboard. 

Unfortunately, it was also a sign of how the day would go for Notre Dame and their legion of fans.  Dayne Crist killed a potential touchdown drive when he not only missed finding an open Michael Floyd, but also poorly under threw his intended receiver in the end zone. 

Finally, early in the third quarter, after the Irish had recaptured momentum, T.J. Jones inexplicably failed to look for a ball that subsequently hit him in the shoulder pads resulting in another interception.

Penalties

The penalties ran the gamut for a team that had such high expectations going into their opener.  In some cases, the penalties were slip-of-the-mind errors that cost the Irish points. 

Michael Floyd’s hold in the first half cost the Irish a touchdown, while back-to-back facemask penalties by Harrison Smith resulted in a South Florida field goal.  Later, Gary Gray’s pass interference call on third down contributed greatly to the lone South Florida offensive touchdown.   

In other cases, the penalties were just shear selfishness.  Ethan Johnson’s late hit allowed South Florida to burn more time off the clock and a late hit by Gary Gray provided yardage on South Florida's lone touchdown drive.

Special Teams

Special Teams were, in a word, "awful."    Punter Ben Turk’s 34.2 punting average and 23-yard punt on the second Irish possession provided no opportunity to pin South Florida and allow the Irish defense to change early momentum.  Much was made in the preseason about the revamped Irish return teams.  These were equally unimpressive.  

Theo Riddick provided no spark, and his fumble allowed South Florida to extend their lead to 16-0 before halftime.  Finally, David Ruffer’s miss on a 30-yard chip-shot field goal seemed to end any real chance of a Notre Dame comeback. 

Game Management

The Irish made so many physical errors I find it hard to hang this one on Brian Kelly and his staff.   However, I have to question the decision to stick with Crist after his early second quarter interception. 

Following the ill-advised end zone throw, Crist seemed to lose all confidence.  Yet, Kelly stuck with him for essentially the entire second quarter.  They also burned a critical timeout prior to a two-point conversion attempt with the score 23-13. 

Finally, at times Kelly, along with several players, appeared to lack the composure that was so evident in Notre Dame’s four-game winning streak that ended the 2010 season.

What Now?

Being rational and objective, I can't see the Irish in a BCS Bowl. 

Given the number of errors that the Irish committed, can we realistically expect Notre Dame to be able to go on the road and defeat Stanford, Michigan or even Maryland? 

Given this performance, and a schedule with no gimmes, 9-3 and the Champs Sports Bowl would be a godsend.