Game Observations - Defense: Notre Dame Beats Pitt
Notre Dame continued its brilliant defensive start to the season, holding its third opponent in five games to single digit points.
Let's be honest, Pitt does not have a good offense, and Notre Dame owned a mismatch on paper and from a talent standpoint. The Irish defense did exactly what a great defense is supposed to do in these types of situations, and that is dominate your opponent.
*** It didn't start off well, as the Irish defense gave up a pair of third-down conversions on the opening drive, which ended with a Pitt field goal, the only scoring drive of the game.
*** Following that opening drive, the Irish defense gave up just one more third-down conversion the entire game. That is absolute dominance.
*** Notre Dame gave up just 162 yards of offense and the Panthers averaged just 3.1 yards per play.
*** A key to success in this game was defensive coordinator Clark Lea giving his defensive line a chance to dominate the run game, and they rewarded his faith in them. Notre Dame's front four throttled the Pitt offensive line throughout the game. The Irish were consistently winning off the ball, getting a push, getting into gaps and giving Pitt no room to work.
*** The Panthers rushed for just 44 yards, and almost half of that came on a pair of draw plays.
*** By allowing the front to control the run, Lea was then able to use his speed at linebacker and safety to guard against the Pitt pass game, which was it strength coming into the game. There were a couple of long throws the Irish allowed, but only one was really a bad play by the defense. The other was a well designed play, a great throw and a great catch.
*** Notre Dame also got two interceptions from its linebackers, something that wouldn't have been possible if they were needed to blitz on passing downs. The fact Notre Dame picked off three passes, after having just one in the first four games, was a welcome sign.
*** Defensive ends Adetokunbo Ogundeji and Daelin Hayes were stout against the run throughout the game. Their ability to set the edge effectively eliminated any chance Pitt had at getting its outside zone concepts going. Pitt was constantly being forced into early cuts, and the edge setting from the ends was a big part.
*** Junior end Justin Ademilola flashed throughout the game. His hustle and physicality on the edge allowed him to be active all game, and he was just as effective setting the edge as the veterans.
*** I didn't focus a lot on the interior players and plan to break them down further when I go through the game again. From what I did see, junior Jayson Ademilola was very active in the pass game and sophomore Jacob Lacey was stout at the point of attack. Ademilola had third-down pressures (including a sack) on back-to-back drives to start the game. The first forced a Pitt field goal attempt, the second forced a Panther punt.
*** What I did notice throughout the game was that whoever was in the game, the interior players consistently reset the line of scrimmage in the defense's favor and were gap sound.
*** Senior rover Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah had another excellent performance. His stats won't blow you away, but he was active and impactful throughout the game. Whether it was jumping all over a swing pass to force an incompletion, blowing up the edge, eating up blockers or getting on routes in the pass game, Owusu-Koramoah seemed to be all over the field. An Irish safety was beat deep on the first drive of the third quarter, but an Owusu-Koramoah pressure forced an errant pass that fell incomplete.
*** Senior linebacker Drew White had a bounce back performance in the victory. White was aggressive attacking downhill throughout the game. Early on the Panthers tried to run an outside zone and White flew outside and forced the runner back inside where his defensive line ate up the back in pursuit.
*** Junior Bo Bauer had an active game, and he made a game-clinching play for the Irish defense. With Notre Dame leading 14-3, and the Irish offense scuffling, Bauer stepped up. On a third-down snap, Bauer quickly got into his pass drop, kept his eyes on the quarterback and reached up for his first career interception. He ran it back 16 yards into Pitt territory, setting up an offensive touchdown that made it 21-3 and all but ended Pitt's chances at winning.
*** Bauer also had a key pass rush in the game and was stout coming downhill against the run.
*** Sophomore Buck linebacker Marist Liufau was his most aggressive and active in the game. I was impressed with how fast he was when he attacked the cutback runs and runs away. He looked far more confident and comfortable in the game.
*** Fellow Buck linebacker Shayne Simon was a bit up-and-down, but he was better than he was in previous games. Simon was a bit more aggressive against the run, and Lea used him on more run stunts, and that is when Simon is at his best. When not used on stunts he wasn't as effective against the run. He had an especially bad fit on the opening drive of the second half, allowing Pitt to rip off a 19-yard gain on a draw play.
*** Where he really thrived in this game was against the pass. Simon made good reads in the pass game, did a better job of using his feet to stay with backs instead of trying to grab, and he forced several incompletions because of this. His tackling in space still needs a lot of work.
*** Cornerback Nick McCloud got beat in the first half for a 33-yard gain, but it was actually more about Pitt than it was him. Pitt used its formation to get McCloud matched up in the slot, which gave their top wideout more room to work on the sideline, and the quarterback made a great throw to beat McCloud. Outside of that, I thought McCloud played well. He was physical in coverage, did a solid job against the run and he made his first interception of the season.
*** Freshman cornerback Clarence Lewis got beat on a double move for a big gain on the first drive of the game, but he settled in after that. Pitt didn't test him much, his coverage was solid and Lewis did a good job coming up in support against the run.
*** Sixth-year senior safety Shaun Crawford did a solid job against the run, but he was inconsistent in coverage. Crawford was late getting over the top in help on the play where Lewis got beat. He recovered and seemed to be in position to deliver a hit after the catch, but Crawford hesitated at the end and allowed the catch. He also got beat over the top on a second half throw that could have gone for a big gain, but the pressure forced an errant throw. Crawford was flat-footing on the play, which allowed the receiver to run right by him.
*** Junior DJ Brown got beat on a third-down slant on the opening drive. After that I felt he settled in and played solid football, including squeezing off a backside seam and forcing an incomplete pass in the red zone on the same drive where he previously got beat on third-down.
*** Sophomore Kyle Hamilton got called for a pass interference penalty in the first half, but outside of that his coverage was outstanding. Pitt challenged him more than I expected, but Hamilton blanketed Pitt wideouts throughout the game. Hamilton wasn't used as much as a blitzer or in the run game as we've seen in the past, and that allowed him to be more active in the pass game, and that also contributed to him making more plays in coverage.
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