Game Observations: Notre Dame Defense vs. Duke

Analysis of the Notre Dame defense from its performance against Duke

Notre Dame started the 2020 season off with a 27-13 victory over Duke, and at least for the defense, it was an impressive first game.

The Fighting Irish held Duke to 13 points and just 328 yards of offense, which included just 69 yards on the ground. Here is my instant analysis of the defensive performance.

** Notre Dame was very aggressive with its blitz packages against Duke. Early in the game they were ineffective, which allowed Duke to move the chains, including a long 55-yard gain on a third-down call. As the game went on, the pressures started hitting home, due in part to the front being more effective getting after the quarterback. 

** The defense also had some contain issues early on, with Duke have success hitting bootleg throws and finding room to run on cutbacks. Like we are accustomed to with a Clark Lea led defense, the Irish quickly adjusted, and when they did the Blue Devils had very little success moving the football.

** Sophomore defensive end Isaiah Foskey saw his first significant action of his career and he certainly made his presence felt. With the pass rush struggling early, it was Foskey who ignited the defense, coming away with two hits on the quarterback and a crucial third-down red zone sack that forced Duke to settle for a field goal.

** Senior ends Adetokunbo Ogundeji and Daelin Hayes both had quality first games of the season. Ogundeji was steady throughout, and he had a crucial second-and-goal penetration that resulted in a run stuff, and ultimately, a Duke field goal attempt. Hayes was slow out of the game as a pass rusher, but he had a key third-down coverage play in the third quarter that forced a Chase Brice incompletion and brought about Duke punt. Hayes turned the pass rush heat up in the second half as well.

** The play inside was a bit more up-and-down. Senior Kurt Hinish had some really good moments, showing the ability to penetrate and make plays. His first half performance was strong, but there were a couple too many plays where he got knocked off the ball, including Duke's third quarter touchdown run. Overall, however, Hinish played good football and had several disruptive moments. Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa stepped up in the second half, but he was mostly quiet in the first half.

** At times the rotation defensive tackles were impactful, and at times they had issues closing off lanes. Junior Jayson Ademilola didn't seem to be on the field a lot, but when he was on the field he was noticeable, especially as a pass rusher. Ademilola had two strong rushes in the game that ended with hurries, although the next step for him is finishing those plays off. Sophomore Jacob Lacey really emerged as a force inside on the limited snaps I saw of him in the final two quarters. Sophomore Howard Cross III showed quickness off the ball, but he needs to show better gap discipline.

** There were a few too many snaps early in the game where the interior couldn't close off run lanes, but they quickly settled in and played well.

** Senior rover Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah lost contain on the very first play of the game, giving up a 26-yard gain on a bootleg. There was also a pass snap where he was too far off the receiver and late to react to the slant, which allowed for another strong gain.

** Other than that, I felt Owusu-Koramoah was effective and impactful in the game. He finished the game with 9 tackles, 2 tackles for loss and a sack. He also had a forced fumble and a crucial pass break up on a third-down play, although a penalty from a teammate moved the chains. Owusu-Koramoah took awhile to time up his blitzes effectively, but when he did he was just too fast for the Duke blockers.

** Owusu-Koramoah got beat on another third down play, but he closed so quickly on the receiver that he was able to knock the ball out and Tagovailoa-Amosa recovered to give the Irish the ball.

** I'll need to dive into the film more to get a full view on senior Mike LB Drew White. I thought he was active in the game, and White had at least one pressure that hit home, but I couldn't get a feel live for his assignment correctness, block destruction and other areas. I'll have more on that when the grades come out on Monday. I did like how active White was playing to the sideline.

** The Buck linebackers had a rough game, especially sophomore Marist Liufau. His backside contain in the run game was erratic and he over-ran too many plays. Liufau lacked the consistency and assignment disciplined needed to thrive. It's not too surprising considering its his first game at linebacker, but he will certainly have plenty of room for improvement moving forward. 

** Sophomore safety Kyle Hamilton was outstanding in this game up until the moment he went down with an ankle injury, which knocked him out of the game. He got underneath a deep throw on the opening drive and helped force an incompletion. Two plays later he flied downhill and made a third-down stop, and then on fourth down he broke up a sideline pass to end a Duke drive.

** Hamilton was all over the field for the Irish as both a cover player and run defender. He also had a key open-field tackle on Brice that ended another Duke drive. Despite missing a good chunk of the second half, Hamilton still finished second on the defense with 7 tackles. He also had a quarterback hurry in the game, which shows Lea is already expanding his role and using his athleticism and playmaking ability in every facet of the defense.

** Sixth-year senior safety Shaun Crawford had a rough day during his first start at the position. Crawford had at least three missed tackles during the game, and he got beat for a 25-yard gain and a 16-yard gain during a Duke scoring drive. He also lost his cool a bit in the third quarter and kicked the football after a play, drawing a personal foul.

** Junior DJ Brown had a rough day in coverage. He missed a tight end wheel route that set up a Duke score, and a holding penalty away from the ball turned a potential third-and-10 for the Duke offense into a first-down, setting up a field goal.

** Grad transfer cornerback Nick McCloud gave up an 11-yard gain on the first time he was targeted and a 10-yard backshoulder gain on the next time he was targeted. Both plays came within the first three defensive drives of the game, and that was it for Duke when they tried to target McCloud.

** The veteran corner played extremely well the rest of the rest of the game. He was physical at the line of scrimmage and when Duke tried to test him on the sideline later in the game there was no room for the wideouts to work. It was a quality first game for the new Irish cornerback.

** We didn't hear a lot about cornerback TaRiq Bracy during fall camp, and that was a bit concerning, but he put any fears about his play this season to rest in the opener against the Blue Devils. I thought Bracy was excellent in this game. Not only was he tight in coverage all day, which is normally how he plays, but he also handled the bigger receivers and played the football very well. He had a key downfield pass breakup and every time Duke tried to test him deep he was right in position to make a play. He was credited with two pass break ups, but he forced at least two or three more incompletions with his tight coverage.

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