A Deeper Look: Is Notre Dame Truly A Line Driven Program?

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman has stated time and time again that they will be a line driven program meaning the offensive and defensive line will be the foundation of the Fighting Irish football program. Personally, I agree whole heartedly with this philosophy; success on offense and defense begin up front and, like we saw last Sunday night, when the lines don't perform well, wins will be hard to come by.

The offensive and defensive lines for Notre Dame will have to step up this season moving forward if they wish to make another run at a national title. When you take a step back and look at Freeman's tenure big picture, it begs the question: is Notre Dame truly a line driven program? I took a deep dive into some numbers to see where the Irish stand as year four under Freeman has begun.

The Offensive Line

Over the past few seasons, Notre Dame hasn't put together one of those 'vintage' offensive line units fans have been used to seeing. There have been individual players who have seen success, like left tackle Joe Alt and right tackle Blake Fisher who are now in the NFL, but this unit as a whole has played inconsistently since the start of 2022. Pass protection has been a major issue; in 2022 they were the No. 40 ranked team in the country in sacks allowed with 21 sacks allowed in 13 games. In 2023, the Irish improved and ranked No. 17 in the country in sacks allowed with 16 in 13 games.

Last season, due to injury and inexperience, they took a step back and ranked No. 62 in the country in sacks allowed, with a mobile quarterback under center, and allowed 25 sacks in 16 games. For reference, Ohio State won the National Championship a season ago playing the same amount of games and allowed nine fewer sacks. This season, they're off to a bad start and currently rank No. 104 in the country in sacks allowed after giving up three against Miami on opening night.

They've been a pretty consistent run blocking unit. In 2022, the offense averaged 4.62 yards per carry which ranked No. 48 in the country. The following season in 2023, they improved significantly and averaged 5.28 yards per carry and finished the season ranked No. 13 in that category. Last season, they finished as the No. 7 team in the country averaging 5.66 yards per carry as a team. Currently, they rank No. 92 in the country in yards per carry after one game, but like their sacks allowed ranking, this will improve as the season goes on barring significant improvement from Joe Rudolph's group.

The Defensive Line

On the flip side of the football, the defensive line hasn't been able to create enough negatives with their front four lineman. In 2022, the defensive line totaled 29.0 sacks and 46.0 tackles for a loss. They were helped out that season by Isaiah Foskey finishing the year with 11.0 sacks and 14.0 tackles for a loss. In 2023, without Foskey, they dipped down to 20.5 sacks and 41.0 tackles for a loss. Last season, in 16 games, the defensive line finished with 28.5 sacks and 45.0 tackles for a loss.

The standard at Notre Dame is competing for championships, and when you look back at the numbers from the previous two national title winners, the numbers aren't close. Ohio State's defensive line in 2024 racked up 34.5 sacks and 54.5 tackles for a loss in the same amount of games the Irish played. In 2023, Michigan's defensive line totaled 29.5 sacks and 61.0 tackles for a loss in one less game than Notre Dame played in 2024.

Simply put, this unit has to generate more negative plays and become a more impactful pass rushing group for this defense to take that next step forward. Unfortunately, they didn't get off to a hot start in 2025 and failed to generate any consistent pressure on Carson Beck and only totaled one sack and two tackles for a loss in their season opener.

Looking at these two units big picture, there's improvements that have to be made. Have they played poorly over the stretch of Freeman's tenure? No, it's just been inconsistent. The offensive and defensive lines for Notre Dame will have to take that next step and play significantly better moving forward than they did in the season opener. The Irish have the talent on the roster to be a line driven program, now it's about going out and executing on the field.

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