Nov. 12--SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- On Saturday, Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly pinned the five turnovers in the Irish's loss to Arizona State on quarterback Everett Golson.
Kelly even went so far to question a reporter who suggested not all of the turnovers were on Golson.
"Why aren't they all on Golson?" Kelly said Saturday before relenting perhaps the reporter was correct.
On Tuesday, Kelly changed direction completely after seeing the film, saying he was proud of the way his quarterback took ownership of the mistakes but said the turnovers were the result of 11 players not doing their jobs.
"The kid has taken full responsibility, and it is fact of the matter is, when you look at it, he's not to blame," Kelly said. "There are 10 other guys that have a lot to do with those turnovers, but he took full responsibility."
Kelly pointed to a breakdown in protection form tight end Ben Koyack and tailback Tarean Folston that caused Notre Dame's first turnover, a Golson fumble. The second turnover, an interception, Kelly pitted on the coaching staff while Golson's final interception was a ball receiver Corey Robinson should have caught.
"I hate the turnovers," Kelly said. "It's certainly not what we want, because it causes us to obviously it puts us in a bad position. But we got a quarterback taking responsibility, wanting to get better at it and 10 other players that have got to play better. It's not just Everett Golson. There are 10 other players that have to play better football for our quarterback to be successful."
Zaire gets start ... at holder: Backup quarterback Malik Zaire will get the start for Notre Dame on Saturday -- but at holder. Regular holder Hunter Smith had trouble collecting a snap in the loss to the Sun Devils and had previously mishandled two field-goal attempts earlier in the season against Stanford. Kelly will make a change in advance of Saturday's game against Northwestern and have Zaire, a sophomore, hold.
