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SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Notre Dame football waltzed off the field Saturday night following its 41-31 win over USC, an imperfect yet impressive victory that typifies the 6-1 start for the Irish heading into their bye week.

Through seven weeks, Notre Dame hasn’t been flawless. The Irish needed a last-ditch heave from DeShone Kizer to come from behind against Virginia on the road. They faltered defensively in the final minutes against Georgia Tech, making a thorough domination appear much closer, in the end. They stumbled out of the gates against Clemson and lost their grip in the second half. They allowed USC to control the second and third quarters Saturday.

But with a two-point exception at Memorial Stadium in South Carolina, the Irish have overcome adversity and responded each time, with the good far outweighing the bad and lifting Notre Dame to its current No. 11 ranking.

With an offense that ranks tied for 18th in the country in scoring offense (38.3 points per game), per CFBStats.com, Notre Dame’s primary fixes must come on the defensive side of the ball between now and its next game, Oct. 31 against Temple in Philadelphia.

Darron Cummings/Associated Press

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“We play at different times really, really good football,” Irish head coach Brian Kelly said Sunday of his defense’s performance through seven games. “We saw it against Georgia Tech where we were dominating at times. We just haven't put together four quarters of football defensively, and then there are simply issues of fundamentals and tackling and doing your job and not somebody else's job.”

Kelly said the Irish don’t necessarily need to tweak the defensive personnel or schemes during the bye week.

“It's really just being consistent with our coaching, being consistent with the messaging, being consistent with the fundamentals,” Kelly said. “If we keep on those three things, then we are going to see improvement, for not just two quarters. We are going to see this kind of play for three and four quarters, and that's what we have got to get.”

Notre Dame met as a team Sunday and will reconvene Monday to watch Saturday’s film and lift weights. The Irish will gather again Tuesday for a quick look ahead to Temple and a light workout before the players are free to head home (Notre Dame students have the entire week off from classes for a fall break) and the coaches hit the recruiting road.

When they return, the Irish can grow offensively, too, despite the strong overall numbers and the relative inexperience. It’s worth remembering former slot receiver C.J. Prosise is still a neophyte at running back and can improve on some of the intricacies of the position (pad level and pass protection, for example).

Darron Cummings/Associated Press

Similarly, Kizer has played well—he ranks 16th in the nation in passer rating, per CFBStats.com—since being rushed into action in the wake of Malik Zaire’s season-ending ankle injury in Week 2, but he’s still just five starts into his career. Kelly said Sunday the Irish can still “mature” at the quarterback spot. Kizer took a sack against USC to move Notre Dame out of field-goal range, for instance.

“The one thing with Kizer that I really like is that you tell him one time, and he gets it,” Kelly said. “And he’s going to come back the next time and he’s not going to make the same mistake twice.”

Elsewhere on the offense, Kelly said Notre Dame can improve at tight end. Chase Hounshell and Alize Jones each committed holding penalties on the perimeter Saturday, as the Irish continue to play all four remaining tight ends since starter Durham Smythe was lost for the season following the Virginia game.

There will always be room for improvement, even after a 10-point win over a talented rival. And with five regular-season games remaining after the bye week and a playoff berth still a possibility, the key is consistency for a Notre Dame team that has flashed its ability in bunches—but not yet for four full, continuous quarters thus far.

All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

Mike Monaco is the lead Notre Dame writer for Bleacher Report. Follow @MikeMonaco on Twitter.