Notre Dame Defense Confident In Plan To Slow Down Alabama
One thing is clear heading into Friday’s game against Alabama, Notre Dame’s defensive players have an immense amount of trust in their coaches and the gameplan they’ve prepared to try to slow down a Crimson Tide offense that hasn’t just put up video game-like numbers this season, but has actually looked like a video game.
Alabama quarterback Mac Jones and wide receiver DeVonta Smith have been named Heisman Trophy finalists while Crimson Tide running back Najee Harris finished fifth, just outside the final quartet.
“All great guys, all great players,” Notre Dame linebacker and Butkus Award winner Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah said on Tuesday. “Every great player can be contained, every great player can be limited.
“You just have to find their weakness. That's been our challenge all throughout the week is to find each and every guy that is explosive, which is nearly everybody they have on their offense, man…Our challenge is to find a weakness in each one of them.
“I don't think I should get into specifics on how we are going to stop them, but we just have to find the weaknesses and make sure we execute on those.”
Notre Dame All-American safety Kyle Hamilton likes the plan that has been prepared for the Irish defense heading into the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Rose Bowl in Dallas.
“Coach has been preaching just to do your job, all 11 guys need to do their job and stay within ourselves,” said Hamilton. “If I do that and the other 10 guys do that, we can take care of the run game and passing game at the same time.
“I think our plan is very sound. I think as we get deep into the week the players get more comfortable with it, more confident in it. If I do my job, the guys next to me do their job, I think we'll be perfectly fine.”
Irish safety Shaun Crawford offered some more details.
“It will be a challenge for us to try to contain them and just try to continue to go out there and throw different looks, throw disguises, try to make it difficult for their coaching staff and for Mac Jones as well back there so he can't get a good read on us,” said Crawford. “Just try to play top down and contain the receivers as much as we can.”
It won’t be easy.
Notre Dame defensive coordinator Clark Lea lauded Alabama offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian for putting together a unit that has averaged almost 50 points and 550 yards per game this season.
“Then you combine that with the fact that they have like a really talented group,” Lea continued. “I think it starts with the o-line. There's a toughness there and a physical approach that we have to match and exceed in our game and our style. Then, they have skill at every position outside the o-line and it's going to force you to win in coverage, to win your one-on-ones. And they've got a quarterback that can deliver the ball.
“So, there's a lot for us to have to work towards in terms of finding our success on the field.”
Irish linebacker Drew White acknowledged the Crimson Tide aren’t the kind of offense where you can simply take away one element and force them to do something they aren’t comfortable doing.
“They're definitely not one-dimensional,” White said. “They have a really good passing game and a really good run game as well. I think the focus is to make them snap on the ball as many times as possible and limit the big plays.”
That didn’t work against Clemson in the ACC Championship Game earlier this month, when the Tigers hit the Irish with explosive scoring plays en route to a 34-10 victory.
“If we're disciplined in the back seven and then disciplined in our run defense as well and be gap sound, I think we can limit their explosive plays, which will make them have to drive the ball and have long drives,” White said. “I think at that point, it gives us more opportunities to make big plays and get negative-yardage snaps and make them get behind schedule.”
Irish defensive tackle Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa knows one way to do that.
“Just dominating the line of scrimmage, affecting the QB,” Tagovailoa-Amosa said. “If you ever watch, put on the film…Mac Jones has all day back there and I don't think there's been a defensive line that has really challenged the pocket.
“It's just going to be about creating pressure, making opportunities when given the passing situation.”