Notre Dame Football: 3 takeaways from win over Ball State

2. The Irish can’t afford to play down to their competition

There was a lot of talk heading into this game about the play of Ball State quarterback Riley Neal. He impressed at points against the Irish, but the Notre Dame defensive unit was able to limit him in most facets of the game. For the Irish, Brandon Wimbush’s offense appeared lackadaisical throughout the first half despite opening the game with a touchdown drive.

Wimbush would finish the game with nearly 300 yards but failed to score a touchdown while throwing three interceptions. It often felt as if the Irish were only capable of scoring after being provided with exceptional starting field position. Overall, Notre Dame failed to maintain momentum after an ideal start to the afternoon.

We saw this to an extent last week against Michigan, with Notre Dame going through a significant scoring drought in the second half. However, Notre Dame’s defense kept the Wolverines in check throughout the game, distracting from some of the inefficiencies of Wimbush and the Notre Dame offense.

Wimbush also tossed an interception, negating some of the momentum the Irish had accumulated after the touchdown and a defensive stand. Wimbush was visibly frustrated after that play, getting into it with Ball State’s Jaylin Thomas. Needless to say, the Notre Dame offense must play cleaner over the course of the Irish’s next few matchups.