Notre Dame continues to gain trust in QB Everett Golson

Notre Dame FIghting Irish head coach Brian Kelly has relied on backup quarterback Tommy Rees to bail his team out at various times this year, most notably in close wins over the Purdue Boilermakers and Michigan Wolverines. But in last week's win over the Pittsburgh Panthers, Rees threw an interception and Notre Dame was led to victory by starter Everett Golson. On Tuesday, Kelly said that he is close to letting Gholson play through his struggles.

"We're getting close to playing through it because of what he did in the second half," Kelly said Sunday. "I don't think we could have done that earlier in the year, quite frankly. I think when we took him out (in September), he was done. He was just mentally done. He was not mentally done (against Pitt) ... he's closer to getting to that level where let's just keep fighting through it, because we saw him respond with that competitiveness in the fourth quarter and overtime."

(via CSN Chicago)

Gholson told reporters that on Saturday he was aware of what he was doing wrong, while against Michigan he was less certain. On the season, Golson has passed for 1,372 yards and run for 219 with 10 total touchdowns and four interceptions. Against Pitt, he used his legs in the fourth quarter to bring Notre Dame back to tie the game.

Rees, though, has also been effective this season, despite his poor pass on Saturday. He has thrown for 410 yards in eight games and thrown two touchdowns and two interceptions. He's also run for a touchdown.

The Irish are hoping they won't need to mix and match quarterbacks this coming Saturday when they visit the 2-7 Boston College Eagles.