Victory is sloppy, but Irish take it
Wimbush picked off 3 times in too-close win over MAC team
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Notre Dame’s offense couldn’t get in gear.
Ball State intercepted quarterback Brandon Wimbush three times, the Cardinals had four sacks and drops were an issue for Irish receivers.
Yet the No. 8 Irish overcame all their struggles to beat Ball State 24-16 before a crowd of 77,622Saturday at Notre Dame Stadium.
“(The) feeling after this game, it’s not a good one,” Wimbush said. “You want to perform better. You want to win to Notre Dame’s standard. We hold ourselves to a high standard.
“Coach (Brian) Kelly and the rest of the coaching staff emphasize that every day. We clearly didn’t play to our standard (Saturday).”
Kelly gave the plucky Cardinals (1-1) credit for their preparation. And said that’s an area the Irish need to improve upon.
“We’re happy to win, but I have to prepare our team better, we have to coach them better and our guys have to come with more energy into this kind of game,” he said.
Notre Dame (2-0) was never truly in danger of an upset, thanks in part to safety Jalen Elliott. The junior intercepted two passes, which led to Tony Jones Jr.’s two touchdowns rushing. For his efforts, Elliott received the game ball.
Elliott became the first Notre Dame safety to pick off a pass since Drue Tranquill against Virginia Tech on Nov. 19, 2016.
“We just try to do our job,” Elliott said. “It wasn’t just the mindset of, ‘Hey, let’s get a pick.’ It was just the mindset of do our job.”
Linebacker Te’von Coney reached double-digits in tackles for the second straight week. He had 14 Saturday, including three for a loss and one sack.
While the defense showed progress, the offense is a work in progress.
Wimbush completed 17 of 31 passes for 297 yards with no touchdowns and the three interceptions.
“Three picks, I’d probably give myself a D-plus,” Wimbush said. “You can’t throw three interceptions and win games that are going to be vital to the team’s success.
“We have to clean it up on all parts. Confidence-wise, I’m not going to lack confidence. But I have to be better.”
Kelly wasn't as harsh on the quarterback.
“As a thrower, he was pretty good,” Kelly said. “Decision making need to get better. But we have to coach him through those things, as well.
“Brandon Wimbush wasn’t the reason we were ineffective offensively. I don’t think I prepared them the way I should. We didn’t protect him at the highest level. There are a lot of things.”
Ball State’s new 3-4 defense gave the offense fits, as the four sacks showed.
“They were physical, they were moving, blitzing and pressuring us,” center Sam Mustipher said. “They gave us problems, clearly. (The offensive line) didn’t execute well.”
The Irish also didn’t execute on third downs, converting just 4-of-14 opportunities.
Notre Dame, after escaping a MAC team, clearly has to be better. And Kelly is certain the Irish will be.
“You can never apologize for winning, winning is hard,” Kelly said. “Did we live up to the standards that we’ve set? No I did a poor job of preparing (the players and they have) to bring the energy necessary to play this game. It’s not chess, it’s football.
“Other than that, there’s plenty to clean up. We learned a lot.”