In the end, Notre Dame did what it needed to do: collect a win over the uniquely pesky Midshipmen heading into the game of the year against Miami in South Bend this Saturday night. While the most important box was ultimately checked, the Irish did leave some doubt and questions that will bleed into the Hurricane buildup.

Notre Dame continues to start slowly

Notre Dame has been a very strong second-half team this year, and the Irish deserve credit for finishing strong most weeks. That being said, slow starts have been a consistent theme this season for the Irish.

Games against Wisconsin, Michigan State, North Carolina, BYU and Navy all featured a sluggish-looking Notre Dame team that failed to gain momentum early in games and allowed the opposition to get off to strong starts.

While the Irish overcame all of these sleepy starts with one massive and notable exception in BYU, this is a big red flag overall and for what lies directly ahead in Miami.

Something is amiss when Notre Dame enters each of these…