ASU defenders put pressure on Notre Dame quarterback Everett Golson. ASU defeated Notre Dame 55-31 at Sun Devil Stadium. (Photo by Andrew Ybanez)Down by 31 points with time winding down in the first half, the Notre Dame football team had its back against the wall.
The Fighting Irish (7-2) then scored the next 28 points, but could not get over the hump, falling to ASU 55-31. Senior quarterback Everett Golson had five turnovers in the game, including two interceptions returned for touchdowns.
The most backbreaking stretch for Notre Dame was a 90-second span towards the end of the second quarter, when Golson turned the ball over three times resulting in 21 ASU points and a 24-3 ASU lead.
Coach Brian Kelly saw his team move the ball early on, but then shot themselves in the foot with mistakes.
"We had a 13 play drive that we would have liked to score on," Kelly said. "We balanced it, we ran it, we threw it, moved it all the way down the field, chopped time off the clock, that's not flat... We turned the ball over the next three out of four times that we had the ball. That's the problem."
Golson took full responsibility for the turnovers and said that it comes from his nature as a quarterback.
"It's all on me, really," Golson said. "When you play with fire as much as I did today, you're going to get burnt eventually. I've got to do better and clean up a lot in practice. I think that's where it really starts."
Video by Stefan Modrich | Assistant Sports Editor
Golson attributed his sometimes reckless play to his competitiveness.
"I think it's the competitor in me," Golson said. "Sometimes I just try not to give up on a play and that got us, like I said, burnt today. Just different calls, a lot of tipped balls, things like that and we've got to clean it up."
Kelly said that it is beyond coaching at this point and Golson has to take it upon himself to change.
"We've been working with him," Kelly said. "Sooner or later he's got to take it on himself to take care of the football. I don't know what else to do. We're at that point where it hurt us in the game, obviously. And he knows it."
Despite the turnovers, the Fighting Irish found themselves with a chance to win late, trailing by three in the fourth quarter. Notre Dame dominated the second half for the most part, scoring 21 points, but ASU did not break. The Sun Devils scored 21 in the final four and a half minutes to pull away in the end.
Kelly said that his players are competitors for coming back, but that the end result doesn't change the fact that there are plenty of opportunities to improve.
"The kids are as good a group of kids as I've coached," Kelly said. "I just told them, y'know, this isn't rec ball. This isn't CYO. There's no pats on the backs for being great competitors. We're doing this to win and we didn't win the game."
Reach the reporter at mtonis@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @Tonis_The_Tiger
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