How Notre Dame is refocusing after taking 'big lump' against Miami

SOUTH BEND – Drue Tranquill took out his journal on the three-hour plane ride home from Miami and began writing.

The senior captain jotted down all of his feelings after Notre Dame was blasted 41-8 by an old rival. He detailed his frustrations from the game, what the rowdy environment was like, and how it all made his body feel.

The Fighting Irish (8-2) looked whip-lashed in the post-game after turning the ball over four times, allowing five sacks and giving up a season-high points. The offense only made it past the 35-yard line once (on the lone scoring drive), while the defense couldn't get to Miami quarterback Malik Rosier (no sacks, one hit).

Tranquill decided the flight home would be a good time to start refocusing for the rest of the season.

“Almost like refreshing myself to start the week,” he said. “And then kind of just, you know, coming in with a fresh mindset on Monday, ready to take in the next opponent’s film and get on to the next game."

The loss effectively kicked the Irish out of the College Football Playoff discussion. However, they are No. 8 in the latest Playoff rankings and if they beat Navy on Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET, NBC) and Stanford on the road the following week, the Irish could play in a New Year’s Six bowl game.

Perhaps Notre Dame’s biggest challenge now is mentally moving on from that disastrous performance. Brian Kelly admits he didn’t have his team prepared for the atmosphere that felt more like a national championship. It started before players entered Hard Rock Stadium with rambunctious fans throwing beer cans at the Notre Dame bus.

“We can’t control what’s happened in the past,” Tranquill said. “But we have an opportunity to go out these next two games and do something special.”

In the locker room after Saturday’s game, Kelly invoked a different Notre Dame rival as motivation for his team. He reminded his guys that after they demolished USC 49-14 in October, the Trojans went on to win three consecutive games. They’re now No. 1 in the Pac-12 South with a chance to win their conference and No. 11 in the College Football Playoff rankings.

Other highly ranked programs have had similar slip-ups and have been able to regroup.

“Look, Ohio State went on the road and had 55 points put up against them when they played Iowa,” Kelly said. “They came back the next week and really took it to a Michigan State team. It’s really how you respond in college athletics. We’ve got good kids. They really want to win. I expect them to come back with a higher standard of play.”

Mike McGlinchey isn’t worried about his team’s preparedness moving forward. He doesn’t feel like he needs to step in and say something profound as a two-time team captain, nor does he feel like there needs to be a sense of urgency.

“That’s the great thing about what this team has become,” McGlinchey said. “It’s such a different mindset. It’s a never-faltering, never-wavering kind of mindset that our football team has. And obviously we took a big lump on Saturday, but that’s not affecting who this team is and what this team is about. We’re going to prepare the same way that we’ve been trying to prepare, hopefully a little better and make sure that we get the win against Navy.

“There’s really not much else to say other than keep the process forward and make every day your best one.”

Follow IndyStar Notre Dame Insider Laken Litman on Twitter and Instagram: @lakenlitman.

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