Just like that, the rest of the Notre Dame Football season will be played knowing that the Irish will ultimately fall short of their post-season goal of returning to the College Football Playoff.
From the opening kickoff, something seemed wrong. Notre Dame never really had a chance to get into the eventually lopsided game.
While it’s hard to pinpoint a single play that changed everything in such a decisive result, there was one play that would have cushioned the blow or at least had the Irish on the right track.
A roughing the kicker penalty bailed out Notre Dame’s initial drive.