Written by Mike Abelson at Bloguin
For one night only, Philadelphia was the epicenter of the college football world, as Temple and Notre Dame slugged it out deep into the Saturday night. In the end the Irish escaped with a 24-20 win that left both programs at turning points in their seasons as the calendar flips to November.
The Irish are clinging to playoff hopes. Sitting on a loss does them no favors, and the fact that Alabama has one loss puts Notre Dame even further behind the pack. The win over the Owls was a small feather in the cap for a team in desperate need of a signature win. The wins over Texas and Georgia Tech in September were gems at the time, but are now nothing more than rock dust. The win over USC was good but certainly not great. This team has talent, but even the prestige of being Notre Dame can only go so far with comparatively little substance to back it up, measured against teams from power conferences.
The Irish looked good at times against the Owls, but it was more of a toe-to-toe battle than Notre Dame would have wanted. DeShone Kizer looked great at times in a hostile environment, but two red-zone interceptions prevented the Irish from gaining complete control, setting up a stressful conclusion. The defense looked mortal despite having a size advantage. It took a late fourth-quarter comeback to seal the win — that’s not what a playoff push needs.
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