As the saying goes “All good things must come to an end,” and Notre Dame’s home winning streak did just that this past Saturday. The home win streak was snapped at 26 games, after 3 full seasons where Notre Dame did not lose a home game. So as much as the loss to #7 Cincinnati sucks, Notre Dame has had a great run at home these past 4 years.

Notre Dame lost the top 10 match up vs Cincinnati, 24-13. Cincinnati is a very good football team, but this was a game Notre Dame could have won had they not shot themselves in the foot way too many times. You cannot turn the ball over three times the first half and expect to beat a top 10 football team. The first turnover ended a great opening drive by the Irish when Coan tossed a pick in the redzone. That one looked to be costly, but unfortunately the turnover that hurt the most was when Chris Tyree muffed a kickoff right after Cincinnati went up 7-0. On top of that, the Irish offensive line was nowhere to be found in the first half. The Irish got some things going in the second half, with Drew Pyne in at QB tossing a late fourth quarter touchdown to Braden Lenzy to make it 17-13. That was the closest they Irish would get. The Bearcats would respond to make it 24-13 and hold on for the win.

The Irish defense was the reason that this game never got out of hand. They have turned things around after a slow start to the season, and are showing they can be one of the best in the country. They were flying around and making plays, like holding a top 10 team to under 100 yards rushing and not letting Heisman hopeful Cincinnati QB Desmond Ridder ever really get into a groove. They got the hopeful comeback going with a strip sack of Ridder setting up the 1st Notre Dame touch down. The Irish defense is the reason Notre Dame will be in every game the rest of the way, and the Irish offense will be reason why they win or lose.

Saturday was an all around sloppy, frustrating game to watch (I watched most, I was out of town for a wedding but caught 85% of it ). Going back and looking at the box score makes me even more frustrated. Yes, Notre Dame turned the ball over three times the first half; but Cincinnati turned it over once and missed two field goals. This game was very winnable, if Notre Dame didn’t make the mistakes they did. Going forward, there are still a lot of questions on the offense, the first one is the one that’s been talked about all season – that’s the Oline. They only gave up two sacks, which is a plus, but Coan only played a half. The run game didn’t get going on Saturday, only rushing for 84 yards as a team. It is a head-scratcher as to why they are still this bad on the line. These aren’t walk on players, they are 3 or 4-star recruits that came here to play. They should and hopefully will be better. The second question going forward is who takes over at QB. Coan is not mobile, and with the line he has in front of him, it’s almost impossible for him to get anything going. Pyne has shown in the fourth quarter last week and the second half this week that he can get things going with this offense. So, it will be interesting to see who Kelly goes with Saturday night vs Va Tech.

This team still has a lot to play for and the season is still far from over. Yes, it sucks that going back to the playoffs is almost out of the question; but getting worked by Bama or Georgia never sounded fun. The goal now should be getting to a New Year’s six bowl game and winning that game, finally. This team should and will bounce back Saturday night in prime time. GO IRISH!!