Bird law has been restored
What to make of this Notre Dame Fighting Irish team through the month of September? On the one hand, they have suffered probably the most humiliating loss in program history and looked downright bad at times even in their wins; on the other, two wins over ranked opponents and some truly dominant play, particularly on the defensive side of the ball.
All these sides of the Irish and more were on display yesterday against the Louisville Cardinals, with the the Irish seeming to battle their own demons as much as Jeff Brohm’s squad throughout the day. Ultimately the better angels triumped in a season-preserving exorcism; with the Irish now head into a much needed bye, let’s get into three reasons why we aren’t already writing this year off after yesterday.
The Old Guys Delivered
Another week, another solid showing from Notre Dame’s secondary. This time the Irish were forced to deal with injuries to starters Christian Gray, who dressed but did not play; and Benjamin Morrison, who played but missed much of the game. Notre Dame thus had to rely heavily on veteran transfers Jordan Clark and Rod Heard in coverage. The good news – Clark and Heard both were up to the challenge.
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While Tyler Shough played an impressive game and got his numbers, the Cardinals were unable to win this game through the air when they had to because of the effectiveness of the Irish secondary, and Clark and Heard played the lead roles in making that happen. Both veterans were all over the field – covering receivers at all levels, making tackles in the open field, notching key pass breakups on 3rd and 4th down plays and even getting into the backfield to create havoc.
Notre Dame is still learning how to best leverage the transfer portal, but bolstering its secondary depth through these two was an unambiguous win and a desperately needed one on Saturday.
As Did the Youngsters
At the same time, this game also saw a number of younger players for the Irish make huge plays that changed the complexion of the game. True freshman corner Leonard Moore, forced into a starting role by Gray’s absence, made one of the game’s most important plays when he punched the ball out of Shough’s hands after a 46-yard scramble, turning a huge offensive play for the Cardinals into a turnover. While Moore was targeted against effectively at other points in the game, his savvy and aggressiveness in this moment fueled the early surge that the Irish were able to cling to in the late going.
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Fellow true freshman Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa was also contributed one of the game’s biggest impact plays, a sack of Shough that put a promising Louisville behind the chains, which then ended with a punt. On the defensive line, both Bryce Young and Donovan Hinish showed impressive athleticism and penetration up front in relief roles. Whether they were long-term starters or forced into action, Notre Dame’s freshman class showed out on defense Saturday in big moments.
The Sloppiness Continues
How many games do you win that begin with you fumbling the opening kickoff and immediately yielding a touchdown to your ranked, undefeated opponent? How about when you fumble again at your own 9 yard line? What if I told you that you also went 2-for-8 on third down, with many of those misses coming on dropped or missed easy throws? Throw in 45 penalty yards, almost all of which came either pre-snap or via a veteran defender (Clark, who as mentioned above was superb otherwise) committing one of the most bizarrely stupid personal fouls you will ever see. How many times do you expect to win that game?
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Here’s a fun number for you – Louisville only had one touchdown drive on Saturday that didn’t begin inside Notre Dame’s 25. I don’t want to take anything away from the Cards, who never quit and made the Irish pay for their mistakes. But this game didn’t have to be close and it wouldn’t have if Notre Dame had had their heads in it throughout.
Hopefully Marcus Freeman and co. take some time during the upcoming bye to get this team off the emotional rollercoaster it’s been riding for the last five weeks, instill some focus and reinforce the basics because there is still a lot this team can accomplish if it stops undermining itself.