The defense has been the story of No. 24 Notre Dame through the first three games of the season. First-year defensive coordinator Chris Ash has struggled to pick up where Al Golden left the unit when he bolted for the Cincinnati Bengals after the national championship game.
On Saturday, the Irish defense gave up 23 points to Purdue in the first half before Notre Dame ran away in the second half to win their first game of the season 56-30 in front of 77,622 fans at Notre Dame Stadium.
Following the contest, Irish head coach Marcus Freeman told the media that Ash needed to do a better job of matching pressure with his coverage scheme.
“Marcus Freeman says Notre Dame needs to do a better job of ‘marrying up’ coverage with pressure from the defensive front,” wrote Tyler Horka of On3 Sports.
Notre Dame was panicking on defense
Freeman added that the defense was panicking when they changed coverage schemes, but couldn’t stop Purdue in the first half.
Boilermakers quarterback Ryan Browne diced up the zone coverage, much like Marcel Reed did in Texas A&M’s 41-40 win over the Irish in Week 2.
Freeman defended Ash after the loss to the Aggies, saying the defense’s execution was more important than the play calling. The head coach had the same message for his players after beating Purdue.
“I don’t think they’re confused,” Freeman said of the defense. “We just aren’t executing. But it isn’t like our guys don’t know what they’re doing. They know what they’re doing.”
Freshman quarterback CJ Carr and the offense look capable of going undefeated for the rest of the regular season and competing for a spot in the College Football Playoff. But the defense is going to have to get better if they want to play meaningful football in December-January.
Notre Dame’s defense was a problem in Week 1 in Miami. Even though the Hurricanes were held to 27 points, Miami could have put up more points if quarterback Carson Beck was allowed to play as aggressively in the fourth quarter as he had earlier in the game.
When Ash calls zone, he’s going to have to find a way to generate a pass-rush. All three quarterbacks Notre Dame has faced this season have shown an ability to find open spots in the secondary when they have time to throw in the pocket.