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Bears look to respond after a tough loss against the Ravens in Cincy. Can the defense limit the two-headed WR monster in Ja'Marr Chase & Tee Higgins and is Caleb Williams primed for a big day against a bad Bengals defense? Cassie, Lou & Anthony preview Sunday's matchup in Cincinnati.
Here's what we learned about Notre Dame, Illinois, Northwestern and Northern Illinois during Week 10 of college football.
Notre Dame - Get rid of that ick
The way Notre Dame kept shooting itself in the foot on Saturday, you’d think the Irish would eventually run out of bullets.
In the first half alone, Notre Dame had: Fumbling on first-and-goal, an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that gifted a first down, Leonard Moore falling down in coverage, a missed extra point, a missed short field goal and a missed two-point conversion.
That continued in the second half. Notre Dame still won anyway, 25-10. That kind of mistake-filled football might be okay against a 1-7 Boston College team.
It won’t be against Navy and Pitt.
"We know there’s a lot of things to clean up," head coach Marcus Freeman said. "We’ve got to clean up a lot of plays that beat Notre Dame."
Pitt and the Midshipmen aren’t top contenders by any means. But the Irish still need to beat them to have a chance at the College Football Playoff.
As it stands, the Irish are No. 12 and are set to rise up potentially back into the Top 10. No. 9 Vanderbilt and No. 10 Miami lost. BYU will move up, and Notre Dame, as uninspiring as Saturday’s win was, still won. Teams shouldn’t be penalized for winning, especially when the Hurricanes and Commodores lost today.
Get that ick out of your system now, Notre Dame. The rankings will most likely fall your way if you win out.
There’s no time for the ick against Navy. The Midshipmen pride themselves on the triple option, which limits the number of their opponent’s possessions. Notre Dame can’t afford to get in a goal-to-go situation and fumble, or miss short kicks.
Pitt is 7-2 and has historically given Notre Dame fits. The Panthers are winners of five straight and have scored 48 or more twice in that span.
Notre Dame still has work to do to prove it's a playoff team. That starts with the Irish not harming themselves. Boston College didn’t have a sack Saturday. The banged-up Irish offensive line took care of its business. CJ Carr played mistake-free at quarterback.
Bad penalties and turnovers made this game closer than it needed to be.
Illinois - Win it for the good guys
Getting back on track was big for the Illini. But, it’s hard to feel good about where Illinois is in the wake of last week’s loss to Washington.
The CFP is no longer an option. Bret Bielema’s team has to figure out what the ceiling is now. That has to be sending off this core of Illini players correctly. It starts with quarterback Luke Altmeyer.
Illinois handled Rutgers 35-13. Altmeyer accounted for all five of those touchdowns, passing for four and rushing for one more.
The Illini are now bowl eligible. They’ll have a chance at a New Year’s Six game if they win out and get a little luck. Getting that kind of win would be a great ending to a disappointing season.
Players like Altmeyer helped change the trajectory of the Illinois program. It’s only fair to get it done for them.
"It's cool to be able to play in the postseason, those are cool fun moments," Altmeyer said. "Hopefully, we can get another win next week but keep on doing what we do. So it's cool, it's fun knowing that you keep on playing past the end of the regular season is always a good thing. I'm excited for our group, and we love to play. We're excited about it."
Northwestern - Get that sixth win
The ‘Cats had the week off. They needed to regroup after a loss to Nebraska in Lincoln, where Northwestern gave away a chance to win.
Don’t let that deter any goodwill towards Northwestern.
They’re 5-3. That’s one win away from bowl eligibility. It won’t be easy to get there, though.
Next up: at USC, vs. Michigan at Wrigley Field, vs. Minnesota at Wrigley Field and at Illinois.
With the way Northwestern’s defense is playing, they should have a chance vs. Minnesota and Michigan. The Wolverines are injured at running back.
Beating Illinois would be a sign that head coach David Braun is getting things where he wants to be. Winning games with a stout defense and a rising rushing game is a good thing; getting quarterback play to match that is the next step.
Preston Stone won for Northwestern. He might need to win more in the final four weeks.
Northern Illinois - Its time to show your growth
This young team finally showed some mojo against Ball State.
Losing six in a row stung. It mired the Huskies in a rut. Losses to Eastern Michigan and San Diego State could have easily been wins, but those are bruises this young team will remember.
Saying it builds character is easy. It needs to build wins. There’s a chance for that to show in the final four games of the regular season.
Three of NIU’s final four opponents have records under .500. The only team with a winning record is Western Michigan, and the Broncos are 5-4.
This was going to be a season where NIU head coach Thomas Hammock needed to see growth. This is the time where that can shine.