IN THE TRENCHES ANDREW OWENS
N
otre Dame didn't lose because of
the incessant rainfall.
It didn't lose because of head
coach Brian Kelly's decision to go for
two points in the first minute of the
fourth quarter.
It lost because of a lack of on-field ex-
ecution and a failure to avoid the type
of debilitating miscues that quickly sent
the 2014 season south.
For the second straight season, the
Irish have fallen on the road in heart-
breaking fashion to a top ACC team on
the national stage. Last year after los-
ing at No. 2 Florida State, Notre Dame
folded down the stretch, with injuries
playing a contributing role.
The Irish are again hampered by
injuries — that's putting it mildly —
but there are no excuses this fall. It's
year six of Kelly's regime, and the
head coach continues to insist there is
enough depth to withstand the losses of
junior quarterback Malik Zaire, junior
running back Tarean Folston and the
other four season-ending casualties to
this point.
Kelly is right: No excuses will be jus-
tified in 2015.
Player errors — four turnovers in the
second half alone, countless drops and
poor protection from the offensive line
— led to the 24-22 defeat in Death Val-
ley, but moving forward it's on Kelly
and the leadership to make sure 2015
doesn't become 2014 part two.
"At the end of the day, we want to be
a championship team, and champions
don't lose," sophomore quarterback
DeShone Kizer said.
Kizer is early in his second year on
a college campus, but he has the poise
Managing The Miscues
Notre Dame committed four turnovers in its 24-22 loss at Clemson to fall to 4-1 on the season.
PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA
