Can Notre Dame Bounce Back from Their Sluggish Start?
Coming off a historic 2024 season, which included a trip to the CFP finals, Notre Dame had high expectations going into this season. However, with the departure of some talented players on defense to the NFL draft, the Fighting Irish haven't looked as iron-clad. In Week One, they allowed a field goal from Miami with just a minute left to take the lead, and just this past week, they let Texas A&M put up 41 points, which included a fourth-quarter collapse and a game-winning drive. Despite their new starter at QB, CJ Carr, Notre Dame is continuing their dominance on the ground with the two-headed monster of Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price, who have a combined four rushing touchdowns this season, three of those coming in the Texas A&M game. Head coach Marcus Freeman is far from the problem, as he has shown signs of being a leader and has the potential to get this team on another historical run. The real problem lies on the defensive side, mainly with their new defensive coordinator, Chris Ash.
After former DC Al Golden’s departure to the Cincinnati Bengals this year, Notre Dame picked up Chris Ash, who was most recently a scout for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Ash has had just one stint as a head coach for Rutgers, which was from 2016 to 2019, where he finished with a record of 8-32. So far this season, Ash’s squad has allowed 34 points per game, 413.5 yards per game, with 282 of those being from the air. This is simply abysmal compared to last year, where there were just two games in the regular season that they allowed more than 20 points. It is possible for Notre Dame to bounce back, as they do have talented players on defense, such as Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, a standout sophomore linebacker who, when on the field, has a huge impact by disrupting the offense. “KVA” actually leads the team in tackles for loss at 1.5, yet has played less than 50% of the snaps so far. If Coach Ash would play KVA more, along with Defensive Lineman Boubacar Traore, who has a total of seven tackles so far.
My Thoughts
Looking ahead for the Irish, they actually should have some optimism as they don’t really play any strong opponents until USC during Week Seven. That game should be a thriller. It is possible Notre Dame could sneak into the CFP with one of the last spots, barring some sort of collapse in the SEC or Big Ten. I do find it hard to believe that if they finish with a 10-game winning streak, the committee would leave them out.
