Notre Dame football has had its fair share of clunkers against weaker opponents in years past. Despite the way the Irish were able to dispatch Michigan to open the season, they weren’t able to bring the same attention to detail against Ball State.
On the bright side, the Irish defense was pretty spectacular, holding a vaunted passing attack in check. After Ball State moved the ball into the Irish red zone on its first drive, the Irish defense tightened and adjusted. The timing patterns and hitch routes that were open for quarterback Riley Neal early in the game weren’t open late in the game.