Key Takeaways Of The Notre Dame Defense From The Win Over California

Breaking down what we learned and saw from the Notre Dame defense during the victory over the Golden Bears

Notre Dame (1-2) got on the board for the 2022 season with a hard fought 24-17 victory over California. The Fighting Irish defense had its own issues in the game, but for the most part the unit played well and kept the team in the game until its offense finally woke up.

There are some very interesting takeaways from this game, including some things that could bode very, very well for Notre Dame should it be able to build on what it did in this victory.

Interior Defensive Line Dominated

Notre Dame's defensive line was expected to be one of, if not the primary strength of the defense in 2022, if not the entire team. Through two games the unit was solid but unspectacular, but that changed a bit against Cal.

This is especially true for the interior of the line, which absolutely dominated Cal for four quarters. It didn't matter who Notre Dame put on the field up the middle, they consistently won at the point of attack, got off blocks, got into gaps and they made a lot of plays. 

Cal's running backs combined for just 76 rushing yards and 4.2 yards per carry, a number that was aided by a 24-yard run from DeCarlos Brooks. Notre Dame's defensive line was stout against the run for much of the game, and it did a far more effective job setting the edge than it had been in previous games.

That allowed the interior to be even more impactful as the backs were forced back inside where the tackles could clean things up.

Senior Jacob Lacey was the star, racking up five tackles, two tackles for loss and two sacks in the win. Lacey wasn't alone, and nose tackle Howard Cross finished with seven tackles and a hurry and Chris Smith was stout against the run in a way that his numbers (1 tackle) simply don't do justice to.

Standout defensive tackle Jayson Ademilola hadn't shown much in the first two games, but he certainly came to play against the Bears. Ademilola finished with four tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks in the win.

Stars Show Up

Ademilola stepping up was incredibly important because Notre Dame's best players simply were not playing well enough in the first two games. He made his presence felt right away, stuffing Cal's second play of the game, turning a 2nd-and-3 into a 3rd-and-3.

He wasn't alone, and we saw senior end Isaiah Foskey finally make his presence felt. Foskey and the rest of the line had some containing issues (see below), but he was far, far more disruptive in this game. Foskey finished with four tackles, two tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. 

Cornerback Cam Hart still had miscues in the game, costly ones, but he also showed flashes of being his former self. The most important thing is this was the healthiest and quickness Hart has looked through three games. 

Disruption Was Key

The Notre Dame defense had not been nearly disruptive enough in the first two games, with disruption focusing on tackles for loss, sacks, pass break ups and turnovers. Although the Irish have yet to record a turnover, this was the most disruptive defensive game of the season.

Notre Dame's six sacks were two more than the team had registered in the first two games combined. It was the defense's best sack performance since it racked up six last November against Georgia Tech, and it tied for the second highest output of the last three seasons.

The three pass break ups was the team's most of the season, and the Irish defense forced more throw aways in this game than it had in past games in 2022. That played a major role in California averaging just 5.0 yards per pass attempt.

If the defense would have turned some of its disruptive plays that ended with the quarterback scrambling for big yards this number would have been far, far greater and the game would not been as competitive.

QB Contain Proves Costly

That leads into the biggest problem in the game, and that was the inability to keep quarterback Jack Plummer from ripping off big gains on the ground. The veteran quarterback had -10 and -16 yards rushing in the first two games, and he had only three positive rushing yard games in the 2022, 2021 and 2020 seasons combined. Plummer rushed for 34 yards despite losing 47 yards to sacks.

It was an all around problem. The defensive line lost contain and didn't come off blocks effectively in those instances. Clarence Lewis, who played quite well otherwise, whiffed on a corner fire that should have been a sack.

Linebackers Continue To Struggle

The linebackers were also a problem when it came to containing the quarterback runs. Their angles to the ball were often poor and their inability to close on the football was problematic all game long.

According to the official statistics from the game, Notre Dame's linebacker corps did not register a single solo tackle, and the unit combined for just 10 total tackles, which is really, really disappointing production.

Notre Dame's linebackers need to get a lot better in a hurry.

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