Throughout most of the week, the narrative surrounding Notre Dame as the team prepares for Iowa State is a lack of focus from the players.
All week, head coach Brian Kelly has stated this their attention to detail must improve if they're going to beat a well-coached Iowa State team, even if the Cyclones are 7-5 this season.
"Obviously, you come down here, you're down in Florida and the guys are enjoying being here," Kelly said on Thursday. "They are preparing well, but these next 48 hours are crucial now as they begin their mental preparation and getting ready for a really good football team in Iowa State."
Even though Notre Dame's overall team focus has begun to improve, will it be enough?
THREE OBSERVATIONS
Breece Hall is one of the most productive running backs Notre Dame will face in 2019
Iowa State had the No. 9 overall passing offense heading into the college football bowl season, but that doesn't mean they're not capable of running the ball, especially in the second half of the season.
True freshman running back Breece Hall didn't emerge as the Cyclone's feature back until game six against West Virginia.
Since then, he has averaged 137.9 yards from the line of scrimmage and scored a total of 10 touchdowns, nine of which came on the ground. During that span of games, he's run for 758 yards, and no other player on the roster has more than 268 rushing yards.
The 6-foot-1-inch running back is a threat in the passing game as well, catching 19 balls in the last seven games for 201 yards and a touchdown.
If the Fighting Irish can shut Hall down, the Cyclones will be one dimensional, which was an issue for them in Iowa State's 27-17 loss to Kansas State, when Hall had just 71 total yards and averaged 3.3 yards per carry.
Notre Dame Must Avoid Costly Penalties
If the Fighting Irish aren't locked in, they could be susceptible to costly penalties — a big no-no against a disciplined Iowa State team.
The Cyclones rank No. 13 in the FBS in penalty yards per game with an average of 40.92 yards lost in a contest this season.
Notre Dame, on the other hand, is in the middle of the college football pack at No. 66, but as we've seen this season, including in the 23-17 loss to Georgia, Notre Dame is cable of earning drive-killing flags for false starts.
The Fighting Irish don't have to win the penalty-yards matchup, but it's unlikely Iowa State will be sloppy, so Notre Dame better not be, either.
Both teams are especially productive in the Red Zone
Only 12 teams in college football have converted on at least 92 percent of red-zone scoring opportunities and Iowa State and Notre Dame are two of them.
The Fighting Irish rank No. 12 in red-zone offense, scoring on 92.2 percent of chances, while Iowa State No. 9 at 94.1 percent. On the season, both teams have had 51 red-zone opportunities.
This is, in part, due to both teams placing a heavy emphasis on tight ends. Notre Dame set a record this season with touchdowns from the tight end position with 11. As for Iowa State, the player with the most receiving touchdowns is tight end Charlie Kolar with seven.
This is actually the fifth top-20 red zone offense Notre Dame has faced. Duke ranks No. 20, while Georgia, Virginia Tech and Navy all rank in the top eight.
