Notre Dame football has an easy decision to help fix their abysmal defense that is blatantly obvious even with early struggles

The Notre Dame defense, or Chris Ash’s defense, is broken right now. That’s what our eyes tell us after the first two games of the season, and the numbers back it up, allowing 34 points per game, 413.5 total yards per game, and over 282 of those are being surrendered through the air. There aren’t many reasons to feel optimistic for that group following the team’s 41 to 40 loss to Texas A&M this past weekend. 

While people are busy screaming to fire Coach Ash, and deservedly so, there also needs to be some constructive conversations about how the Fighting Irish can fix this massive defensive problem. There won’t be any one move that will solve all the problems, but Notre Dame does have a few options on the table to help. One of the easiest answers for some immediate improvement should be simple at this point. Play sophomore linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa more. 

During each of the last two games, “KVA” has been the best linebacker for the Fighting Irish, and I’m not so sure it has been relatively close. For whatever reason, Notre Dame has been playing the sophomore defender under 50 percent of the snaps in their two games. Yet when on the field, the 6-3, 230-pound linebacker has been tremendous. 

The impact of KVA

The easiest impact for Viliamu-Asa can be found with splash plays in the run game. This defense just hasn’t been able to create enough negatives in the run game so far, and they need to find answers to force opposing offenses behind the sticks. That would greatly improve their impact in pass coverage, and create less options for passing attacks. 

Despite playing considerably less snaps than Drayk Bowen right now, KVA has made more plays with his impact downhill and in the backfield. Bowen has failed to record a single tackle for loss, while Viliamu-Asa has already managed 1.5 tackles for loss. KVA actually leads the entire team in that department currently, showcasing the impact plays that he can create. As a team, the Irish have only recorded four tackles for loss in total on defense. 

One of the other big appeals for Viliamu-Asa is the versatility that he also brings to the table on passing downs. Outside of Boubacar Traore, you can make a very real argument that KVA is the most natural edge pass rusher on the team right now. We saw those flashes last season as a freshman, yet opportunities have been scarce to begin the 2025 college football season. That needs to change. 

Between Viliamu-Asa’s traditional linebacker responsibilities and pass rush chances in subpackage, he should be playing a larger portion of the defensive snaps. The film and overall talent level both back that up. You have a potential star on your hands, and are deciding not to use him. That usage distribution needs to change for Ash, and right now. 

Your passing defense has been awful so far after playing on an elite level each of the past two years. What are potential fixes for that? Creating more negatives on early downs and getting more impactful as a pass rush unit. 

Viliamu-Asa can do both of those things, and at a very high level, even if he has some mistakes.