Key Takeaways From The Notre Dame Win Over South Florida: Defense
Notre Dame faced a great deal of adversity even before its matchup against South Florida, but the unit responded with a dominating performance. The Irish improved to 2-0 after blowing out USF by a score of 52-0. So yes, Notre Dame lost three starters and multiple backups before the game but still pitched a shut out.
Let’s look at the key takeaways from the win.
THE DEPTH IN THE FRONT SEVEN IS EXCEPTIONAL
Notre Dame can just throw waves of defensive linemen at opponents, and it really has become impressive. The starting defensive line handled its business in solid, but unspectacular fashion against the Bulls. The linemen that came off the bench were actually the players that made most of the highlight real plays against South Florida, and it speaks to how deep and talented this front is.
Sophomore Isaiah Foskey proved his breakout performance against Duke wasn’t a fluke. He once again made impact plays on the edge, and getting 32 snaps against USF will help him develop even more moving forward. Freshman end Alexander Ehrensberger registered a sack on the first play of his career, and classmate Jordan Botelho showed an impressive burst off the edge.
Inside, Jacob Lacey had a strong performance, improving his play from the opener. Notre Dame also was able to significant limit the number of snaps that Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa (16 snaps) and Kurt Hinish (14) played in this victory.
Think about it, Notre Dame dominated the line of scrimmage and we aren’t even talking about anything that Adetokunbo Ogundeji, Daelin Hayes, Hinish or Tagovailoa-Amosa did in the game.
CLARK LEA IS GOING TO HAVE SOME TOUGH - BUT GREAT - DECISIONS TO MAKE
Notre Dame was without Buck linebackers Marist Liufau and Shayne Simon against South Florida, and they are unlikely to have either next weekend against Wake Forest. The lateness of their departure from the availability list meant the replacements had limited practice opportunities to get acclimated.
You wouldn’t have known that on Saturday by the way Jack Kiser and Jack Lamb played off the bench. Kiser got the start and played most of the Buck snaps in the first half. Kiser led the defense with eight tackles and two tackles for loss, and he was as steady as he was spectacular. There are some areas where he needs to improve (got sucked inside a couple of times, late responding to a crossing route), but he was excellent considering the circumstances.
When Lamb stepped into the lineup he also played well, and Pro Football Focus actually gave him the highest grade of any player on the defense. Lamb’s knock in the past has been getting after the quarterback, he was effective when he blitzed on Saturday.
This duo will likely be manning the Buck position next weekend as well, and if they play against Wake Forest like they did against South Florida it means defensive coordinator Clark Lea will have some very difficult choices to make in regards to who gets the majority of the Buck reps when the Irish get back at it following the bye week.
It’s a great problem to have.
POSITIVE STEPS FOR HOUSTON GRIFFITH
With Kyle Hamilton out of the lineup we saw more snap for Houston Griffith, and he was without question the best safety for the Irish in the victory. Griffith was sound in the run game, coming downhill aggressively and making plays as a tackler. His willingness to attack aggressively downhill, and make plays when he arrived at the ball, was a tremendous sign for the Irish defense.
Starting safety Shaun Crawford struggled for the second straight game at strong safety, and thus far the veteran hasn’t looked as comfortable playing so far away from the line of scrimmage. I certainly expect Crawford to get better, but an emergence from Griffith could be the final piece to the secondary puzzle. Not only does it give Notre Dame more size at safety, it also allows them to use Crawford closer to the line and in a more natural cornerback/slot alignment.
Griffith took advantage of the opportunity, but he wasn’t alone. I also liked what I saw from sophomore KJ Wallace.
TACKLING ISSUES WERE CLEANED UP A BIT
A bad missed tackle by Crawford early in the game resulted in South Florida ripping off a 42-yard gain, and there are certainly some angle issues and in-space issues for the Irish defense, but they got better against the Bulls.
I was especially encouraged by the lack of tackling miscues by the younger players. Freshman cornerback Clarence Lewis was quite good in the run game and tackling in space, as was Wallace. Griffith graded out well in this department, and both Kiser and Lamb were sound tacklers in the win.
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