Notre Dame's Defense Has To Clean Up Missed Tackles And Pass Rushing Woes During The Bye Week

It was an uncharacteristic night for Notre Dame's defense on Sunday. August 31 was also the debut for new defensive coordinator Chris Ash who has come under fire for the defensive performance against the Hurricanes. While I'm not onboard with stating he's 'not the guy', it's also fair to say that he, along with the rest of the defensive coaching staff, have their work cut out for them ahead of their first home game against Texas A&M.

Some issues were more egregious than others while some issues we can attribute to it being their first game of the 2025 season. Nonetheless, Notre Dame's defense will have to make some improvements in key areas ahead of their matchup with the Aggies. Thankfully, they have a bye week to get that done.

Solutions In The Pass Rush

Notre Dame has failed to generate a consistent pass rush in their last six games outside of the Sugar Bowl against Georgia. There's numerous reasons across the board for why this is the case, but there's no denying the lack of a pass rush the Irish defense has been able to generate. Sunday night, Miami quarterback Carson Beck was way too comfortable in the pocket, allowing him to pick apart Notre Dame's defense on their three 75-yard touchdown drives of the game.

Over the course of the evening, the Irish had seven players credited with pressures, four of them only had one. Defensive end Boubacar Traore recorded the only sack of the night while Bryce Young and Donovan Hinish recorded the only other hits on the quarterback. Linebacker blitzes continued to be ineffective against a five-man protection and the next time they step foot on the field, they'll be going against an even bigger and more experienced offensive line than the one they faced on Sunday night.

Traore and Young will continue to get better as the season progresses. Defensive line coach Al Washington will need some of his guys to step up along the interior and Ash will have to get more creative with linebacker pressures to assist the front four lineman. This issue carries over from last season and will have to get turned around quickly if Notre Dame wishes to make another run at a title.

Missed Tackles

This was one of the more head scratching aspects of the defense's performance against the Hurricanes. Notre Dame tallied 12 missed tackles Sunday night, six more than they recorded in a bad home loss to Northern Illinois in 2024. Junior captain middle linebacker Drayk Bowen was credited with four missed tackles against Miami after only recording five missed tackles in all of 2024. Their star players on defense (Bowen, Adon Shuler and Leonard Moore) combined for seven missed tackles and only three run stops.

The Irish are gearing up to face a dynamic backfield consisting of Le'Veon Moss, Amari Daniels and Rueben Owens, a dual threat quarterback in Marcel Reed and shifty receivers like KC Concepcion, Terry Bussey and Mario Craver. Bowen, Shuler and Moore, along with the rest of the defense, will have to play technically sound against this offense and not allow the extra yards after contact they allowed against the Hurricanes or they could be in for a repeat performance against the Aggies.

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