Notre Dame may have lost an important football game last week but the Irish were also a winner.

Notre Dame proved that it belong with the elite football programs in the country, at last. It has taken a long, long time for the Irish program to come back but head coach Brian Kelly appears to have most of the pieces in place. Of course, not all the pieces are in place, if they were last week's game would not have been decided by an ACC game official. There is little doubt in my mind that the Irish were a much better team than Florida State.The 31-27 loss to the Seminoles should not have been decided on an officials' call, one whose responsibility on the play was not watching pass routes. The officials who were there to watch for infractions such as the one called against ND, didn't throw a flag. Just like they didn't flag the FSU defensive back who held an ND receiver from the snap of the ball until the pass was completed.It was a tough loss but one that the Irish than learn from, can grow from. The Irish should believe in themselves more than ever that they belong in any national playoff conversations. One loss doesn't not eliminate the Irish from the playoff picture, but what it does do in puts their fate in the hands of somone else.ND dropped to seventh in the AP poll and eighth in the coaches poll but several of the teams ahead of them must play each other in the weeks to come, so a spot in the title picture in not over, yet.The Irish now must forget about the loss, and they have two weeks to do it since they are off today, and concentrate on a very demanding schedule ahead that begins Nov. 1 in Washington, D.C., against Navy. Then the real tests start on Nov. 8 when ND travels to potent Arizona State and then returns to South Bend for back-to-back games with Northwestern and Louisville, before finishing the regular season at USC. Not an easy task. But Kelly and company have to focus and show everyone that the performance last week at FSU was no fluke but that the Irish are for real and only a player of two from being a real national power.Concerning "the call" it did take a victory away from the Irish. Corey Robinson was wide open for the winning score. As Kelly said, Florida State blew the coverage on the play and got rewarded for it.The officiating crew from the ACC penalized the Irish for offensive pass interference, a 15-yarder, then proceeded to march off a 16 yard penalty. The ACC coordinator of football officiating told ND on Sunday that FSU cornerback P.J. Williams should have been flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct for removing his helmet on the field in celebration immediately after the Irish penalty was called.Since that was a dead ball foul, the two penalties, the interference against ND and that infraction, would have offset. The end result would have been ND having the ball on the FSU nine with a first and goal and 13 seconds left. Enough time for at least two plays. That alone does not guarantee a win, but with at least two more plays to get into the end zone, an Irish victory was certainly a real possibility.But ND can't let the result get them down. They have two weeks to recover before the Navy game and two weeks to think where a 11-1 Irish team will be playing over the Christmas holidays. So they must bear down on the November schedule and think positive that they can reach 11-1 and still have a shot at being one of the four teams picked for the championship series.It was a tough loss to swallow given the circumstances, but Irish fans can be proud of their team and more importantly that the foundation appears to be in place for a return to national prominence. And remember, basically, this is a young Irish team with many of the evolving stars only freshmen and sophomores.IRISH NOTES: For the game ND's young defense held FSU to just 50 yards rushing while the Irish had 157. ND also had 313 total passing yards to 273 for the Seminoles. ND's total offense was 470 yards to 323 for FSU.....Everette Golson completed 31 of 52 attempts and three touchdowns but had two interceptions, which hurt the Irish and their chance to win this one with some breathing room. Corey Robinson caught eight for 99 yards, and two scores; Will Fuler eight for 79 and a score; C.J. Prosise six for 59; Chris Brown five for 38; and Ben Koyack two for 29. Rushing leaders were Tarean Folston with 120 yards on 21 rushes and Golson 33 on 11. Kyle Brindza hit on two field goals, 34 and 46 yards ... Golson is among a group of six tied for seventh with 19 TD tosses ... ND is now 0-4 the last four times it faced a national passing efficiency champion at some point in their careers. FSU's Winston won the title last season and is currently 14th ... Three former Notre Dame football standouts are among the 75 players listed on the 2015 College Football Hall of Fame ballot. Linebacker Bob Crable, wide receiver Thom Gatewood and wide receiver/kick returner Raghib Ismail have all appeared on the ballot before. The hall of fame class will be announced Jan. 9, 2015....And finally, ND got a top linebacker recruit this week. Te'von Coney, a 6-1, 222 pound senior at Palm Beach Gardens High School, Fla., annnounced his commitment at a press conference at his school. He is rated a four-star prospect and turned down offers from Florida, Miami and a number of schools from the SEC.