After another disappointing home game, four Notre Dame football players walked out of the locker room carrying the familiar scent of Dial. into the stale air of the postgame interview room.
This one has a lingering odor that cannot be removed with only hot water, body wash, shampoo, or anything else. Even after numerous washes, it would remain. Catch a whiff of that? Without a doubt. After Saturday’s 16-14 loss to Stanford, you’ll need to.
Irish head coach Marcus Freeman stated, “It’s annoying, man.” Freeman, who sometimes appeared as icy on the sidelines as his squad did ineptly, expressed his frustration. So disappointing. We need to improve ourselves.
After losing their first two games, Notre Dame has won three in a row and is widely considered a more robust team. But, as Saturday night approached midnight, it was past the point where it had returned from being. After another tense home football game lasting four quarters, there’s no need to figure out what went wrong in addition to the point where they would sing the school song with only half an effort at home and the occasional round of booing when things weren’t quite perfect.
Losing a football game against a team with no chance of winning was unacceptable, but this was another level. True, but they’re all the same. Again.
What happened to Marshall Marshall last month?! Because of this, the football team at Notre Dame is now puzzling over what to do. After a perfect 3-0 run, including two victories on the road, the Irish felt like they had found their answers. A Stanford squad that had shown no signs of life through the first five weeks of the season (1-4) traveled across the nation in preparation for returning home with their most significant win of the season, and all the answers became questions once more.
Compared to Weeks 3-5, Notre Dame’s performance in Week 6 was drastically different. Optimism? Any idea where it went? So, the Irish, who planned to play for their first title since 1988, returns to the College Football Playoff for the third time in five years and extend their streak of seasons with double-digit victories to six. Instead, they find themselves in unfamiliar territory.