Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Notre Dame Football: Win over Miami signifies a much-needed momentum change

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Notre Dame football renewed its famous rivalry with Miami on Saturday. The Irish grinded out a 30-27 victory over the Hurricanes, perhaps changing the program’s momentum.

Notre Dame’s bye week came at the perfect time. After not losing in South Bend at all in 2015, the Irish have lost three straight games in the shadow of Touchdown Jesus. The Irish took the field against the Hurricanes hoping to change the season’s momentum and make a push toward a bowl game.

The Irish jumped out to a 17-0 lead in the first quarter and took a 20-7 lead into halftime.

Kizer hit Kevin Stepherson for a 25-yard game. That play set up a 41-yard scoring run from Josh Adams to tie the game at 27. Then, the Irish forced a three and out and drove the ball to the Miami one yard line. Justin Yoon kicked a 23-yard field goal to give the Irish the lead for good.

Notre Dame’s win shows fans what they have been waiting for – maturity. The Irish finally responded to adversity and gained much-needed confidence in their quest for a bowl game.

The best-case scenario for the Irish is a 7-5 regular season finish. Ask any Irish fan about their expectations for this season, and not many would say that 7-5 was what they expected.

However, the reality is that this Irish team is a young team, who simply must learn how to win. As the saying goes, experience is the best teacher. Notre Dame’s education started with five losses of 8 points or less. It continued today when, down 27-20, the Irish scored the final 10 points to win the game.

Sports are largely narrative driven. One popular narrative has been that the Irish are unable to handle adversity. Another was that Brian Kelly was losing the attention of the locker room. After watching the Irish Saturday, neither appears to be true.

Many Irish fans called for Coach Kelly’s head after their 2-5 start. However, when one takes a closer look at the Irish season, it is not unreasonable to suggest that the Irish’s destiny could be completely different had a couple plays gone differently. If the Irish were 5-3 instead of 3-5, it is tough to think fans would be as outraged.

A simple look at the Notre Dame sidelines told a significant story. From the opening kick, there was energy. The NBC telecast even showed Brian Kelly joining his players swaying before a first-half kickoff while the players who joined him laughed and smiled. When the Irish gave up 27 unanswered points and trailed by a touchdown in the 4th quarter, they could have folded under adversity.

I think I should leave the "dancing" to the guys… pic.twitter.com/6qFFhPHCEN

— Brian Kelly (@CoachBrianKelly) October 30, 2016

The Irish reversed the narrative. For the first time this season, the Irish responded to adversity. The Irish do not look like a team that has tuned out its coach, nor do they look like a team that folds under adversity. The Irish have taken their lumps this season. In the long run, they will be better for it.

The Irish still have plenty to play for this season. The Irish still have the opportunity to become bowl eligible, which extends their season by a month, giving Coach Kelly that much more practice time with his young players.

The Irish will return somewhere in the ballpark of 15 starters next season, including nearly the entire offense. If the Irish can continue to grow this season and create momentum moving toward 2017, they will be a force to be reckoned with. The Irish turnaround began Saturday.