Notre Dame Football: A Look Back at the Quarter Mark

Things simply don't always go as planned.

The Fighting Irish entered the 2011 campaign with their eyes set on a BCS berth and talk swirling about 10-to-12 wins and an ultimate reclamation of the "glory" that has eluded the storied program since the late '90s.

Things went wrong almost immediately; a fumble return for a touchdown on the opening possession of the opening game set the tone for the early phase of the season.

Despite dominating every statistical category (save one, but we'll get to that) and out gaining the first two opponents, 1,021 to 706, Notre Dame began with two losses.

Two deflating, depressing losses.

In them they saw the changing of the starting quarterbacks, the first ever evacuation of Notre Dame Stadium (twice!), the longest ever fumble return against the Irish, the latest ever game-winning touchdown against the Irish and every doom-and-gloom headline plastered all over the program.

Again.

We find ourselves at a familiar place. Wondering aloud if we were all mistaken. Wondering how wrong everyone could be. This team was picked sixth by Athlon Sports? And 16th in the AP?

The Michigan State game couldn't have come at a better time. Finally the Irish dominate an opponent wire-to-wire and win going away, 31-13.

And finally Notre Dame's much-hyped run defense delivered by holding the Spartans to only 29 yards on 23 carries.

The team is better—much better—than it's 1-2 record. Still, it is quite possible that we all expected too much too soon.

Before surging down the stretch last season, Notre Dame looked very much like the team that started 0-2. Beating everyone but Stanford and Navy on the field, but losing on the scoreboard. They led most games at some point only to see the lead lost due to blown coverage or turnovers.

For two games, that Irish team was back.

Saturday we got to see the squad that pummeled Utah, Army, USC and Miami to close the 2010 campaign.

With three very winnable games coming up at Pittsburgh and Purdue and home for Air Force, Notre Dame can quickly get back on track as long as they remember the key lessons from the first quarter of the year.

1. Turnovers Will Kill You

Notre Dame turned the ball over 10 times in it's two losses and three more times to make an otherwise blow-out more interesting against Michigan State.

The Irish are tied with Western Kentucky for worst in the NCAA, with 13 giveaways.

Handing the ball to your opponent five times per game will almost always get you beat. Even when you out gain them 508-245, as Notre Dame did South Florida in the opener.

2. Red-Zone Scoring

Against South Florida, Notre Dame had five possessions into the red zone and scored zero points. Three possessions ended in interceptions, one fumble and one missed field goal.

Conservatively, give Notre Dame a field goal on each of those and you have a 35-23 win. Consider that one of those trips was the fumble return for touchdown, and you could be talking 35-15.

Against Michigan, Notre Dame suffered another interception and fumble inside the Wolverine 25. Again, convert at least a field goal and it's unlikely that Michigan rallies from a 30-7 fourth-quarter deficit.

The offense will move the ball. Consistently. Notre Dame must finish drives and always put points on the board when the opportunity arises. 

3. George Atkinson III Is Fast

His 89-yard, first-quarter kickoff return was the first by a Notre Dame freshman since Rocket Ismail returned a pair against Rice in 1988. Hopefully his involvement on kickoff returns and punts, which have also been very shaky, increases.

4. Aaron Lynch Is a Beast

In a reserve role on Saturday against MSU, Lynch found himself in the offensive backfield often. He made five tackles, one sack, forced a fumble and hurried the passer six times. He saw no playing time against Michigan. Hopefully the next time he watches an entire game it's after he graduates.

5. Tommy Rees Needs to Mature

If Kelly is going to stick with Rees, and there is no reason to believe that he will not, Rees has to mature in his decision making.

There is a ton of upside to the true sophomore, but his pass selection should be better. Michael Floyd is great, but even he has a hard time fighting through triple coverage.

On a positive note, Rees has hit 69.7 percent of his throws for 772 yards and six touchdowns.

On the downside, he has fumbled twice and thrown five interceptions.

As a passer, he ranks 45th nationally.

He has all the intangible qualities you could want—he's heady, commanding and shakes off mistakes quickly. He's never been gun shy and has shown remarkable poise in high-pressure situations. His should-have-been game-winning drive at Michigan was, well ... Montana-esque.

The next quarter of the season is much easier than the first and as long as Notre Dame takes care of the football, they should arrive at their second-half starter against USC 4-2, ranked and favored to defeat the Trojans at home.