Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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murphy's Law dan murphy ute press conference, and likely a few more times in his locker room before he met with the press. He went on, though, to saddle his offense with this 41-30 shootout loss. A couple of missed opportunities on offense, Kelly said, were the difference Saturday night. He said he knew his defense wouldn't be able to keep talented teams pinned down as often as they had a year ago. The 13-6 or 20-13 wins won't fill up the Irish schedule this season. They'll have to find a new way to scratch out victories. Senior captain TJ Jones said in retrospect the warning signs were clear in the month leading up to tonight's first true test for the 2013 Irish. "There were some glimpses," he said. "Coach Kelly said in our first week of practice that [there] wasn't an oomph to our practice. There wasn't energy out there. I think it was a wake-up call for us. "Last year we went 12-1, and I feel some people may think we did that easily, that we didn't have to pay attention to the details." The secret to any magic trick lies in the details. Notre Dame's defense in 2012 was no different. Goal-line stands and heroic individual efforts were just distractions that draw the eye away from all the little things the Irish did so well. Like solid tackling. Missed tackles like the ones that sprung Michigan wide receiver Jeremy Gallon for a 61yard touchdown — the first of his three — in the first quarter were non-existent in the 2012 regular season. Like shutting the door on third downs. Gallon's final touchdown of the night came with major assists from Gardner. The junior quarterback shook a pair of overmatched linebackers on a designed third-and-long run 76 yards from the end zone. The play went for only 10 yards, but it gave the Wolverines a fresh set of downs and zapped the momentum Notre Dame was building in the second half. Notre Dame is still capable of providing the dazzling smokescreens. Stephon Tuitt's diving interception for a touchdown is clear evidence of that. But the tricks don't work if the small sleights of hand aren't executed with regularity. That means keeping a quarterback locked in the pocket with better fundamentals and team defense. It means reading an opponent better and checking into the right play on crucial downs. It also means showing up to practice and team meetings and film sessions with the same focus that they take into game day. For Kelly, it's about being smarter and more disciplined. "Coach made his message loud and clear," captain Zack Martin said. "It's up to us to respond to that." Kelly and his captains agreed that some of that was lost as the 2013 team prepared for the impossibly high expectations that chased them from the previous fall. And the magic went with it. ✦ Dan Murphy has been a writer for Blue & Gold Illustrated since August 2011. He can be reached at dmurphy@blueandgold.com