Notre Dame fans waited nine long months to see the Irish begin the 2026 "leave no doubt" revenge tour. The reward for this patience?

The Irish start out the year 1-0. The journey to collect this first win, though, was anything but smooth, and the first half was, in fact, ridden with the very doubt Marcus Freeman spoke about eliminating for the last nine months.

As the frustrating first half was unfolding, I found myself wondering why Notre Dame struggles to start fast. Is this too much to ask of the supposed number-four team in the country with an ax to grind at the entire college football world?

The first half had Irish fans thinking about the beginning of last season, an exercise nobody wanted to partake in. Marcus Freeman looked tight and uncomfortable. The entire offense looked tight and uncomfortable. Not ideal.

While everyone in the Notre Dame ecosystem would have loved a crisp, fast start, on a human level, I do understand that these are people and not machines.

Notre Dame has received nothing but praise all off-season as a title contender pick with a Heisman-level quarterback. It felt like every day Marcus Freeman and/or CJ Carr were on a major network talking about title expectations.

Notre Dame's program maturity was on display in the way this game ultimately ended up turning in its favor.

Rather than panic because the first half didn't go perfectly, the Irish used halftime to refocus, calm down, and adjust for the second half. After receiving the second-half kick, Notre Dame marched right down the field for a touchdown and followed it up with a pick-six to put the game out of reach.