Key Takeaways From The Notre Dame Defense

Notre Dame had a brutal loss to Stanford last night, dropping a 16-14 contest to a team that came into the matchup having lost 11 straight games to FBS opponents. Eight of those 11 losses were by double figures, yet Notre Dame's offense struggled to do anything against the Cardinal in what was a stunning defeat.

There were a lot of takeaways from the game. We already broke down the offense, now it's time to look at the defense.

THIRD DOWN DEFENSE WAS BAD

The defense held Stanford to just 16 points, but the performance wasn't as good as those point totals represent. A big part of the team's lack of ultimate success was its inability to get off the field in key third downs, or limit third down success in other clutch situations.

Stanford converted 7-16 third downs, which was good for 43.8%. It wasn't an awful statistical performance, but in context it's highly disappointing. For one, Stanford had not converted more than five third downs in a game since 2020. That's a streak of 17 straight games, but that changed against Notre Dame.

Notre Dame began the game in a three-safety nickel defense, but on the first third down of the game (3rd-and-4) the Irish went to their three linebacker looks. Stanford went right after Jack Kiser, the linebacker brought into the game, and beat him for a 13-yard completion. That set up Stanford's first touchdown.

Notre Dame had a chance to stop Stanford on a 3rd-and-1 at the ND 36-yard line late in the second quarter, but the Irish gave that up. The 4-yard gain, and then a 6-yard gain two plays later allowed Stanford to attempt, and make, a 45-yard field goal. Stopping Stanford on 3rd-and-1 would have meant the Cardinal would have attempted at best a 55-yard field.

Stanford didn't convert a third down on its game-winning field goal drive, but on a 3rd-and-12 from the ND 35-yard line, Notre Dame allowed Stanford to gain 11 yards on a shovel pass (the second time the Irish gave up a chunk play on a shovel), which allowed Stanford to get into position to make a 43-yard field goal that proved to be the difference.

Stop Stanford there and they are attempting a 50+ yard field goal, which would have been much tougher to make. Which then could have put Stanford in position to attempt a fourth-down opportunity from a longer distance.

D-TACKLE DEPTH IS BECOMING AN ISSUE

Notre Dame lost junior defensive tackle Aidan Keanaaina in the spring, which was a depth hit. Senior Jacob Lacey quit the team over unhappiness about his playing time two weeks ago. That same week, senior starter Howard Cross III went down with an ankle injury, which he appeared to aggravate last night. Then fifth-year senior Jayson Ademilola went out with a rib injury.

Notre Dame's interior had been a strength through the first four games, but the depth is becoming a major issue, and last night it became an even bigger problem. Without Ademilola, Cross and Lacey down the stretch the defense could not make the big stops it needed when the game was on the line.

ADJUSTMENT ISSUES?

One of the frustrations from last night's game is the failure of the defense to adjust, and in one area the defense has failed to adjust for most of the season.

Notre Dame has had issues for much of the season when it comes to getting out-leverage on the perimeter and also properly recognizing and making plays on the perimeter. Teams seem to know when they need to make a play they go to the perimeter, with either outside runs, off tackle runs or quick throws outside.

Stanford did that all game long. It allowed quarterback Tanner McKee to be lights out on short throws. He went 15-17 for 134 yards on throws that traveled less than 10 yards past the line of scrimmage.

Stanford also ran shovel passes throughout the game. Notre Dame made a stop on the first one but after that the Cardinal had way too much room to work. The ends didn't handle it well, but more importantly the linebackers had no idea how to defend it, and that's why the Stanford coaches ran those plays.

The fact Notre Dame's linebackers have failed to get better at any point this season points to the fact that the staff continues to "keep doing what it's doing" without realizing it must take steps with its preparation, scheme volume and play-calling to allow the linebackers to play with more confidence and speed.

Also, the insistence on bringing safety blitzes from depth, while getting gashed on those calls at such a high volume, is very troubling. It wreaks of a "it makes sense schematically" thought process by Al Golden that doesn't take into account that his players, for whatever reason, aren't good at executing that type of pressure either at the safety level or on the outside coverage behind it.

TACKLING WOES

Notre Dame's tackling has been inconsistent all season, but last night it was really bad. According to Pro Football Focus, Stanford to rack up 195 yards after the catch and forced seven missed tackles.

All night long Notre Dame missed tackles, allowed yards after contact and took poor angles to the ball carrier all night long. We also saw a lot of Notre Dame defenders flying past Stanford ball carriers after trying to do shoulder tackles instead of proper form tackling.

It was a very disappointing performance from a technical standpoint.

WHERE WERE THE STARS?

To be a good team you need your best players to play like your best players, and do so consistently. That has been an issue for Notre Dame all season.

Star defensive end Isaiah Foskey didn't generate a single pressure, and outside of one good edge stop he was largely silent. When the game was on the line late we often saw Foskey on the sideline. Cornerback Cam Hart was solid in coverage, but he struggled as a tackler, especially in clutch situations. Safety Brandon Joseph has been silent for much of the season, and his inability to get off blocks on the perimeter was a key problem last night.

While not stars, linebackers JD Bertrand and Jack Kiser were returning starters, and Bertrand was a captain. They also struggled too frequently last night in the loss.

Notre Dame's best players were the role players. Ends Rylie Mills, Justin Ademilola and NaNa Osafo-Mensah were the best front players last night. Freshman Ben Morrison was the best cornerback, as has been the case all season.

What does all that mean? I don't know, and I'll keep some of my guesses as to why this is the case to myself, but it's concerning and it needs to be figured out .... now.

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