Notre Dame Rush Defense Needs To Find Some Answers

Notre Dame has played good defense in 2022, and for stretches of some games it has played outstanding football. There is still another level the defense can and must get to, and in a hurry if the Fighting Irish are going to have a chance to run the table.

Big plays have been an issue in recent games, and the linebacker position needs to get a lot better. But specifically, the area where the defense must make the biggest strides is stopping the run.

After getting gashed in the fourth quarter by Ohio State and by Marshall for most of the game, Notre Dame appeared to be on the right track in wins over California and North Carolina. After giving up an average of 195.5 yards per game in losses to the Buckeyes and Thundering Herd, Notre Dame held California to just 112 yards on the ground, and North Carolina's potent ground attack was held to 66 yards, and much of the production from those two teams were quarterback scrambles.

The unit took a big step back against BYU by allowing the Cougars to rack up 160 yards on the ground while averaging 5.5 yards per carry. As was the case with Ohio State and Marshall, the second half was the biggest issue. Notre Dame held BYU to just 52 yards on 13 carries in the first half, including just eight yards on four attempts in the second quarter as Notre Dame turned a 6-3 first quarter deficit into an 18-6 halftime lead.

Notre Dame was shutting down quarterback Jaren Hall, but the ground attack sparked the offense. A 20-yard gain on a 3rd-and-17 allowed BYU to put together a long drive that ended with the Cougars making it a 25-20 game. BYU finished the second half with 104 rushing yards and went for 156 yards for the entire game.

BYU was the first team to surpass its season rushing average against Notre Dame.

This has been an issue for the Irish defense for years. Its run defense has been solid for much of the season, and it would finish the season ranked in a decent place, but it wasn't consistently good enough, especially for what is expected to be a dominant group.

Notre Dame enters its matchup against Stanford allowing 145.8 rushing yards per game and 4.2 yards per carry.

There are 14 undefeated teams currently ranked in the Top 25 of the Associated Press poll. Of those teams, only USC (152.7 YPG, 4.6 YPC) and TCU (134.0 YPG, 3.7 YPC) are giving more up than 120 yards per game. Every other undefeated team in the Top 25 is giving up fewer than 119 yards per game.

1. Georgia - 89.7 YPG - 3.5 YPC
2. Ohio State - 93.2 YPG - 3.0 YPC
3. Alabama - 84.5 YPG - 2.4 YPC
4. Clemson - 63.7 YPG - 2.2 YPC
5. Michigan - 81.7 YPG - 2.6 YPC
6. Tennessee - 89.2 YPG - 2.8 YPC
8. Oklahoma State - 118.8 YPG - 3.3 YPC
9. Ole Miss - 117.8 YPG - 3.1 YPC
10. Penn State - 79.8 YPG - 3.0 YPC
11. UCLA - 100.0 YPG - 3.1 YPC
18. Syracuse - 95.0 YPG - 3.4 YPC
25. James Madison - 42.0 YPG - 1.4 YPC

The same is true for teams that compete for championships. In the last five seasons (2017-21), five of the teams to compete in the championship game gave up fewer than 100 yards per game on the ground, and all but three gave up fewer than 130 yards on the ground.

Georgia gave up 126 yards per game and 3.7 yards per carry in 2017, Alabama gave up 121.3 yards per game and 3.5 yards per carry in 2018, LSU gave up 120.8 yards per game and 3.7 yards per carry in 2019.

Even those numbers would be a big improvement for Notre Dame from a yards standpoint, and an incredible jump from a yards per carry allowed standpoint. The biggest jump, however, would be yards per carry. Notre Dame's 4.6 yards per carry average through five games is troubling and must get better. The Irish aren't making enough teams work for their yards.

On the season the 4.2 YPC is below average, but it is bolstered by giving up just 2.4 yards per carry against North Carolina. BYU went for 5.5 and Ohio State went for 4.9 yards per carry.

Stanford's 90th ranked rushing attack is a good first chance for Notre Dame to find answers with its rush defense. The Cardinal are averaging just 138.6 yards per game on the ground, and it's been worse in recent weeks. Stanford ran well in the first two games, including 221 yards in a loss to USC. Losing EJ Smith, who is out for the season and hasn't played since the USC game, has crippled the ground attack.

UNLV ranks just 73rd in rushing offense, but even that is misleading. The Rebels rushed for 365 yards and averaged 7.2 yards per carry in a win over North Texas. In its other five games UNLV has averaged just 106 yards per game 3.2 yards per carry.

Both opponents allow Notre Dame to find answers and improve the ground game before back-to-back games against Syracuse and Clemson. The Orange are averaging 190.4 rushing yards per game, and running back Sean Tucker ranks 11th in yards per game individually. This comes a season after he racked up 1,496 rushing yards. Quarterback Garrett Shrader is also one of the best rushing quarterbacks in the country.

Clemson has been solid on the ground, averaging 170.5 yards per game.

There have been flashes of big time run defense potential this season, and moving forward defensive coordinator Al Golden will need to find answers to the lack of consistency. He'll have to do so without Jacob Lacey, who quit the team last week. Better play from the linebackers is a must, but the interior of the defensive line must also be more consistent against the run.

If Golden and the defensive staff can find those answers the Irish defense, which has been good this season, will become much, much better.

Irish Breakdown Fans be sure to get your Notre Dame tickets from SI Tickets HERE

Be sure to check out the Irish Breakdown message board, the Champions Lounge

Irish Breakdown Content

Notre Dame 2022 Roster
Notre Dame 2022 Schedule

Notre Dame 2023 Class Big Board
Notre Dame 2023 Commits Board - Offense
Notre Dame 2023 Commits Board - Defense

Notre Dame 2023 Scholarship Offers
Notre Dame 2024 Scholarship Offers

Ranking The 2022 Signees - Offense
Ranking The 2022 Signees - Defense

———————

Become a premium Irish Breakdown member, which grants you access to all of our premium content and our premium message board! Click on the link below for more.

BECOME A MEMBER

Be sure to stay locked into Irish Breakdown all the time!

Join the Irish Breakdown community!
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown YouTube channel
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown podcast on iTunes
Follow me on Twitter: @CoachD178
Follow me on Gettr: @IrishBreakdown
Like and follow Irish Breakdown on Facebook

Sign up for the FREE Irish Breakdown daily newsletter

Add us as a preferred source on Google