Notre Dame's upset big at Ohio State fell short, but the Irish's long-term promise looks bright, writes EHansenND:
Mickey had just come into the game for grad senior, injured on the previous play. On third-and-11 from the Irish 24, Notre Dame employed three safeties. Two of them blitzed but not effectively enough to rattle Stroud.The Irish offense couldn’t answer. An offensive pass interference penalty onon first down of the ensuing ND offensive possession set the stage for a punt four plays later. A third-down sack punctuated the next Irish turn with the ball.
That may be true of the Irish, who showed enough bandwidth amidst some statistical muck Saturday night that they could eventually climb their way back into the top 5 later this season after a presumptive fall Tuesday when the new polls come out. Irish sophomore quarterback Tyler Buchner was sacked three times at Ohio State on Saturday night but showed poise and persistence in his starting debut.