Notre Dame Football: 5 reasons Irish will handle Vanderbilt in Week 3

5 of 5

SOUTH BEND, IN – SEPTEMBER 08: Brandon Wimbush #7 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish is dropped by Jacob White #2 of the Ball State Cardinals at Notre Dame Stadium on September 8, 2018 in South Bend, Indiana. Notre Dame defeated Ball State 24-16. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

1. Ball State game was a wake-up call

If Ball State wasn’t a wake-up call for the Irish, they’ll be in major trouble this season.

Notre Dame was riding high after a win over Michigan, but there were still some clear weaknesses shown against the Wolverines. Those were masked because the Irish defeated a ranked team on the big stage, making it look easy by holding the lead for the entirety of the contest.

However, the Irish barely addressed those deficiencies against Ball State because the Cardinals were expected to be a cakewalk matchup. That was not the case.

The run game continued to struggle, Brandon Wimbush wasn’t accurate but was turnover-prone and they coasted after building a comfortable lead.

dark. Next. Top 30 breakout candidates for 2018 season

Ball State was a wake-up call for the Fighting Irish and if they can turn things around and fix those weaknesses, they should have no problem handling the Commodores.

Home/Notre Dame Fighting Irish