Part of becoming a champion is staying ahead of the curve — or at least ahead in the game.
The 9-0 and No. 2-ranked Notre Dame team has done just that this season. Of the 540 minutes played in regulation time (not including overtime, where minutes aren’t kept) this season, head coach Brian Kelly’s troops have trailed only 38:10 (per Notre Dame Athletics), and never by more than seven points. That translates to not having to play from behind 93 percent of the time.
Even more impressive is the way the Fighting Irish have answered on offense when they do find themselves trailing, and this was especially manifested during the 31-17 victory at No. 19 North Carolina on Friday afternoon.
• North Carolina’s opening series resulted in a quick 7-0 lead — but Notre Dame responded with a 75-yard touchdown march in nine plays to knot the score.
• The Tar Heels showed they meant business when less than two minutes later they went ahead 14-7. Once again, the unflinching Irish answered even more impressively with an 82-yard drive in four plays that took just 1:54 and tied the game at 14.
• North Carolina’s final drive of the first half resulted in a field goal for a 17-14 lead with 1:10 left and potential momentum at halftime.
Naturally, Notre Dame matched that with a 61-yard drive in seven plays, with Jonathan Doerer knocking home a 32-yard field goal as the first half expired with a 17-17 deadlock. The Irish then proceeded to dominate the second half while “officially” limiting the Tar Heels to 78 yards of total offense in those final 30 minutes.
There have two consistent patterns throughout the 9-0 start.
First, Notre Dame has seldom trailed, and never by more than seven points. Second, when it has fallen behind, it has been remarkably consistent at quickly quelling the opponent’s momentum.
Out of a possible 36 quarters played this season, the Irish trailed at the end of one only twice: 3-0 versus Duke after the first quarter in the Sept. 12 opener, and 17-14 at the end of the first quarter versus Florida State on Oct. 10. Beginning with that 42-26 victory versus the Seminoles, they have become a football version of an “answering machine.”
• After FSU went ahead 17-14 with 38 seconds remaining in the first quarter, Notre Dame responded with a 75-yard touchdown drive to go ahead for good.
When the Seminoles narrowed it to one score (28-20) on a field goal with 1:17 remaining until halftime, Notre Dame marched to a 57-yard touchdown with 11 seconds left until the intermission.
And just when Florida State thought it could make a game of it again by opening the second half with a touchdown to pull within 35-26 — again Notre Dame answered the ensuing series a with 73-yard touchdown drive that took 3:39.
• Versus Louisville the following week, Notre Dame found itself trailing in the second half for the first time this season after a Cardinals TD made it 7-6 at the 7:37 mark of the third quarter. After the kickoff (following a penalized on-side kick attempt), the poised Irish went 66 yards in eight plays and took the lead for good in the 12-7 victory.
• At Georgia Tech, Notre Dame never did fall behind, but the Yellow Jackets stunned the Irish with a 93-yard fumble return that tied the game 7-7 in the first quarter. No panic. Quarterback Ian Book after the kickoff quickly marched the troops 75 yards in seven plays for a 14-7 lead that would grow to 31-7 in the 31-13 win.
• In the Nov. 7 showdown with No. 1 Clemson, the Tigers’ first touchdown to cut their deficit to 10-7 was answered by a Notre Dame field goal.
The two times the Irish fell behind in the contest, 33-26 in the fourth quarter and 40-33 in the first overtime, it scored touchdowns to even the score — although it would take a second possession after the first. The first one, 91 yards in 1:26 with just 22 seconds left in regulation time, is one of the epic responses in the program’s annals.
• The following week in the ideal letdown situation at Boston College, Notre Dame trailed twice.
After BC went ahead 10-3 in the first quarter, the response from Book and Co., was a 77-yard touchdown march.
When the Eagles went ahead again 13-10, Notre Dame followed on the next series with a 75-yard touchdown drive to go ahead for good.
Both of Kelly’s 12-0 regular-season teams in 2012 and 2018 had similar patterns. The 2012 edition never fell behind by more than seven points in the first eight games, until having to rally from 20-6 down versus Pitt to win in three overtimes.
In 2018, Notre Dame didn’t fall behind by more than one score until the 12th game, 10-0 at USC before rallying to a 24-17 win.
For the record, the 1988 national champions never trailed by more than seven, and after the fifth game fell behind only twice in the final seven contests, 3-0 to Air Force and Rice in the first quarter, before quickly answering with touchdowns (the latter on a kickoff return by Rocket Ismail). It never trailed in the 31-30 victory versus No. 1 Miami.
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