Notre Dame football: Everett Golson proves resolve

Notre Dame Fighting Irish coach Brian Kelly benched freshman quarterback Everett Golson earlier this season against Michigan when he felt Golson was too turnover prone.

Golson also struggled with turnovers early in Saturday's 20-13 overtime win over Stanford. His first fumble resulted in a Stanford touchdown, giving them a lead they held until the fourth quarter. Golson also lost another fumble in the first half, but this time, Kelly stuck with him.

Golson made plays in the passing game in the second half, including a touchdown pass to Tyler Eifert that tied the game at 10 in the fourth quarter. He finished 12-for-24 for 141 yards. He also ran for 41 yards before a helmet-to-helmet hit knocked him out of the game. Kelly told J.J. Stankevitz of Comcast Sports Net that he was proud of how Golson rebounded from those early struggles:

"What I was really proud of, and I hope you'll take notice of this, Everett hit a point there where his dauber was down a little bit, his confidence was a bit shaken, and he came back with a great drive and did some really good things," Kelly said. "Whereas, when he had that situation against Michigan, we really had to move in another direction. He fought through that and made a big step today. He made some plays, he helped us win this football game."

The team hasn't said whether Golson will be healthy enough to play next week after the team's medical personnel wouldn't clear him to return to Saturday's game after the hit.