SOUTH BEND, Ind. — After forcing 10 turnovers in two games, moments that led to 45 points, one might think Notre Dame’s defense could be satisfied with its performance. The Irish defense itself scored 21 points combined against USC and Pittsburgh, more than it gave up in the two games before the Panthers managed a garbage-time touchdown.
No. 12 Notre Dame (7-2) held its last two opponents to 4.5 yards per play, which would rank No. 10 in the country for the season. Doing that to two Power Five opponents, including the Trojans’ dynamic offense, underscores the validity of the season-long Irish defense average of 4.45 yards per play.
Given Notre Dame averaged 21.4 yards per turnover return, taking seven of those 10 for 150 yards, the Irish defense has been more productive than the opposing offenses in the last two games. That may be a new football definition of perfection.
“We’re getting really close,” head coach Marcus Freeman said Saturday night. “The hard part about it is, are you ever going to be perfect? No. But that’s what we’re chasing. We’re chasing perfection.”
That’s a steep grading curve.
Notre Dame’s defense has found a new level of thoroughness. Pittsburgh went 1-of-11 on third downs. It gained just 3.9 yards per carry, adjusting for a pair of sacks. The Irish forced the Panthers into failure on 71 percent of their offensive snaps before garbage time, per Game On Paper.
“It’s a bunch of coaches and players that aren’t satisfied, that constantly are striving to improve,” Freeman said. “That’s the spirit, that’s the sense of urgency, we have to improve.”
Of course, Notre Dame wants better and better, but at this point, the Irish defense cannot improve much more. It is No. 3 in expected points added per play against, trailing only UCLA and Michigan.
There is no clear weakness in it, not even where it matters most. A stat that will be repeated in various forms this week, Notre Dame has given up touchdowns on only 36 percent of opponent red-zone possessions, nine scores on 25 trips inside the 20, No. 5 in the country.
“What you see on Saturdays is a reflection of what our players know,” Freeman said Monday. “We can spend an endless amount of time coming up with gameplans, but at the end of the day, it’s what they can do, it’s what they understand, can do and go perform.”
The more surprising aspect this past weekend may have been how the entire defensive roster is apparently at that point of performance. Sophomore cornerback Jaden Mickey and freshman cornerback Christian Gray were not expecting to be vital pieces of the rotation in the defensive backfield, not until sophomore cornerback Benjamin Morrison was a game-time scratch with a quad strain.
Proud moment! https://t.co/mm3I3CNgTb
— Momma Mickey (@NmickNilka) October 28, 2023
Both Mickey and Gray picked off Pittsburgh quarterback Christian Veilleux, Gray’s one-handed falling snag bettered only by Mickey’s emotional touchdown. Both Mickey and Gray have shown preseason promise — Mickey for two years — but proving to be more than potential, to be talented and disciplined to Golden’s design, belies a level of defensive depth Notre Dame has not often known.
Come for phenomenal one handed interception by Christian Gray.
— Greg Flammang (@greg2126) October 29, 2023
Stay for the celebration afterwards. The sideline explodes, they completely mob him, injured starters, fellow freshmen.
It's 31-0. This is what culture looks like. 100% it's brought up in film. pic.twitter.com/yFN6U3Qdmx
“They did a great job,” Freeman said Saturday. “It was one of the first things we did, give those two credit for stepping up in big roles. Neither of them knew they were going to start or play — they probably thought they were going to play, but in the roles they played previously.
“For those guys to find out in warmup, hey, you’re starting at some point, … it’s a credit to those guys being ready.”
In the 2020 College Football Playoff semifinal, a North Carolina State transfer (Nick McCloud) and a freshman (Clarence Lewis) started for the Irish. Now, one could reasonably argue Notre Dame’s third and fourth cornerbacks, perhaps even fifth if including Oklahoma State transfer safety Thomas Harper’s daylighting at nickel back, would start for that defense.
To reiterate, that was a Playoff-level defense.
Saturday’s was better.
Yes, Veilleux is in over his head, this weekend being his third career start after supplanting Phil Jurkovec. And yes, the Irish defensive line kept him on his heels just as much as it did Caleb Williams a few weeks ago. But for no receiver to get loose, for Notre Dame to hold Pittsburgh to three explosive plays on 34 dropbacks, emphasized the lack of lapses, perhaps the toughest step toward perfection in Power Five football.
With a defense like this, spreading the ball around on offense becomes an exercise in diplomacy and preparedness, not a necessity.
Not just because the Irish defense has outscored USC and Pittsburgh in competitive moments in the last two games, but that should be mentioned again.
Notre Dame quarterback Sam Hartman threw passes to 10 targets on Saturday, including all five healthy receivers, his looks to them going 8-of-12 for 199 yards. Mentions of Pittsburgh’s offensive struggles warrant disclaimers; beating the Panthers’ defense needs no such hesitation.
Spreading the ball around Saturday may not have been completely vital to the victory, if at all, but it will be required at Clemson this weekend at 12 ET on ABC now that junior tight end Mitchel Evans will be sidelined for the season with an ACL tear.
Trenches set the floor in college football. Notre Dame knew it had a strong offensive line entering the season, and and the Irish defensive line has flexed the last few weeks.
Perimeter players set the ceiling in 2023, and Notre Dame’s defensive backs have raised that ceiling to heights that should not be tested yet this season.
ND defense is 12th in points per drive. Next 3 offenses they face in points per drive: Clemson 91st, Wake Forest 118th, and Stanford 78th
— Jamie Uyeyama (@jamieuyeyama) October 30, 2023
