Elliott’s thefts fuel No. 8 Irish win
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Jalen Elliott had a pair of interceptions that No. 8 Notre Dame turned into touchdowns and the Fighting Irish held off stubborn Ball State 24-16 on Saturday.
The Irish (2-0), coming off an emotional 24-17 victory over Michigan, looked lackluster against the MidAmerican Conference foe whose campus in Muncie is a 2½-hour drive. The Cardinals (1-1) also played nothing like the 34½-point underdogs they were labeled in the schools’ first meeting in football.
“It was really good to see Jalen have a great game,” Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said. “Ball State did a great job coming into this game and doing what it needed to do. Their preparation was great, their coaching was better.”
After going the entire 2017 season and last week without an interception by a safety, Elliott picked off a pair of Riley Neal passes that the offense converted into a pair of rushing touchdowns of 31 and 1 yards by junior Tony Jones Jr. for a 21-6 lead in the third quarter.
“We have to come together,” Elliott said. “Coach Kelly said it best. We play nameless and faceless opponents week to week. Everyone’s going to bring their best game so we have to respect our opponents to the fullest.”
Following a 46-yard field goal by Justin Yoon that gave the Irish a 24-6 lead going into the fourth quarter, Nolan Givan caught a 10-yard scoring pass from Neal, who threw for 180 yards but completed just 23 of 50 passes. A 49-yard field goal by Ball State’s Morgan Hagee, his third of the game, closed out the scoring.
“Hats off to Ball State. They came in here and competed,” Notre Dame linebacker Drue Tranquill said.