If the Notre Dame still wants a play -off journey from the University Football, it has to play it that way

Yes, the Fighting Irish is not lost.

They won their football match on Saturday at the Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana, and they did this with their mostly charmed green sweaters in a full house against Boise State.

Boise State?

Yes, the Broncos. They were shocked during their opener in Zuid -Florida after a couple of pre -season hype, but they hurriedly recovered. They met Notre Dame with a three-game extraction streak, and it was powered by an attack that produced a collective 147 points during those victories.

“We knew that this would be a tough team. They just showed it,” said Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman after his Irish conquered their opponent and themselves (including 112 yards) for a 28-7 victory and a three-game winning streak starts after a 2-0.

“They are not the second -winning program since 2000 for no reason. That was a fundamentally healthy, aggressive football team, and we knew they would be difficult to beat.”

Yes, well.

A.

Here is the Bottom Line for the 21st ranking Irish in both large polls: if they want to say one more $ 20 million In their piggy banks with a second consecutive journey to the champion match of the College Football Playoff (CFP), they cannot afford to look so sloppy as against BOise State for long pieces, because they dropped that opening of two games of the season.

We are back to those “yes”.

Yes, those were quality losses for Notre Dame against top 10 teams Miami (Florida) and Texas A&M, and yes, they were four points in total.

Yes, I also said that the Irish actually won on Saturday for a reason.

Not so many others.

While Top 10-Teams Penn State and Texas fell on the previously wrestling likes of UCLA and Florida respectively, the state of Iowa (in 14th place by Associated Press and 12th by the coaches) lost by a visiting Cincinnati-Bos that was 3-1, but that was so irreparable for the category “.

College Football is now College Basketball.

Do you remember Jim Valvano’s goal for his State Hoopsters in North Carolina during March Madness?

Survival and move forward.

From Georgia’s Kirby Smart to Lane Kiffin from Ole Miss, repeated football coaches their version of that mantra during a recent Sec teleconference call And elsewhere around the media.

“In my opinion, the dynasties are over” Kiffin later told ESPNMember of others to quote how competitive balance now dominates University Football through the transfer portal and the pursuit by players for the best zero (name, image and similarity) deals that they can find throughout the country.

Kiffin added: “Alabama with coach Saban and then Kirby in Georgia, where they had those schedules year after year and there would be a number of victories with 30 points in the conference, those days are ready.”

Now it is about teams that want to remain alive and attractive to the 12 finalists for the CFP week after week after week.

You do mathematics.

If you now pass, the Irish should spend their last seven games as an independent who surpasses at least nine teams of their current no. 21 slot, and by Tiebreeakers, subjectivity and whatever, they are probably more teams than that.

Starting later this fall, the CFP will have its own committee to decide those 12 teams, and those people will look at everything, varying from schedule to how teams lost games and how they won them.

Let’s see how the Irish have won these.

They made more huge plays than Boise State, thanks to the arm of CJ Carr (two Touchdown -Passen), the legs of Jeremiyah Love (103 Yards HASTEN and a Touchdown) and the Briliance of Leonard Moore as a defensive back (two interceptions, but also there.

Admittedly, there were doubtful and take it from someone (ok, me) who has come to the Notre Dame Stadium for decades. I was born and raised a few points from the Touchdown Jesus, and I have attended many Irish games since the end of the 1970s as a professional journalist.

This was the first time that I heard the famous polite notre Dame Crowd Boo referees (and loudly with angry faces) while they sprinted to the tunnel after a match.

Yet those referees had nothing to do with the Irish failure on the opening ride to reach the end zone on the fourth and goal from the 1-Yard line despite the best combination of running backs and offensive rulers in the country.

Those referees had nothing to do later in the first quarter, where the Irish had blocked an extra point attempt after a touchdown.

Those referees had nothing to do in the second quarter with the otherwise excellent Carr that Will Pauling Race saw to wide open spaces in the end zone before the quarterback did not deliver a pass anywhere within the hemisphere of his recipient.

Speaking of wide open spaces, those referees had nothing to do with Boise State that scored the only touchdown when everyone went on a road for Notre Dame towards the end of the second quarter and Broncos Quarterback Maddux Madsen racing in the other way for the easiest score run that you ever see.

That brings us back to more “Ja’s” for Notre Dame Saturday, where several things on the Statblad looked just as shiny as the Golden Dome on campus.

Yes, the Irish ended up BOise State 200 meters to 100 meters. Yes, they even had 389 yards in general for Boise State’s 315.

Yes, Notre Dame also had zero turnover on the four of BOise State.

Yes, all those things ignored Boise State finish with more first downs (23-19) while holding the ball for 11 minutes longer.

It’s just that Notre Dame has to work as closely as possible for the rest of the season. It is even mandatory for the Irish to do nothing less than what they did last season after their gruesome loss of 16-14 at home in Northern illinois during the second game of the season after an opening victory on Texas A&M.

“It’s no different than last year,” said Notre Dame who ran Jadarian Price whose 83 Yards hurry and a touchdown supplemented the figures of love.

“We have already been to the play -offs. Last year it was after week 2. This week it is after week 3. We are in the play -offs from now on. We have to have that mentality. We can’t lose games.”

Yes, that applies to the Irish, but this is also different. With an extra loss already compared to 2024 and without ranked teams on their schedule, they cannot have a loss again and they cannot have another boise state.

Well, not much more.