How Al Golden Hopes to Take the Notre Dame Defense From Above Average to Elite Again
Three late-game drives killed Notre Dame in its losses to Ohio State and Marshall.
Each lasted a minimum of 10 plays and chewed up between 4:43 and 7:06 of game clock. All three also resulted in a back-breaking touchdown.
“It’s not good enough, not good enough,” said Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden. “It’s as simple as that. We have to get it corrected. That's on us. That's what we have to get fixed.”
For as disappointed as Golden is in how his defense finished in his first two games as a coordinator in more than 15 years, he’s far from discouraged.
If you remove one or two of those late-game drives from Ohio State and Marshall, and Notre Dame could be 2-0 instead of 0-2.
Either way, the defense has limited two quality scoring offenses to lower-than-average point totals.
“I wish we had a different result, but we're at 20 points per game right now,” Golden said. “[If we had made] a couple plays, we could be under that. Total points, at the end of the day, is really important.”
Of course, it does Golden and the rest of the defense little good to point to the 15.5 points per game the Irish offense is averaging.
It’s his job to do everything in their power to ensure Notre Dame wins games, and thus far the defense hasn't done that.
It starts with Golden. Though the players have failed to execute late in games, Golden says he needs to do a better job of adjusting to potential fatigue and call the game accordingly.
“Absolutely,” he said. “Again, it's on my shoulders to put them in the right position to execute and to make a play, and we came up short.”
A major area of concern is the team’s ability to tackle. On average, the defense is whiffing on 10 tackles per game. It’s not an outrageous figure by national standards, but many of those misses are coming on pass plays that resulted in big offensive gains for the opponent.
What’s odd is that tackling issues can often develop when a team avoids contact too frequently during training camp. But if anything, Notre Dame’s fall camp was too physical.
“There's no excuse,” Golden said. “We just didn't tackle well enough to win the game in the fourth. We tackled plenty. We practiced it tons. There's no excuses. We didn't tackle well enough, period.”
Up front, the Irish defensive line must do a better job of setting the edge and finishing on the quarterback
Two sacks per game are fine. It ranks 64th nationally.
But the Irish defensive line and its vaunted pass-rush ability were supposed to be the strength of the defense. In 2021, Notre Dame tied a single-season school record with 41 sacks, and most of that production returned this season.
"We've just got to keep going,” Golden said. “Maybe we left a couple of sacks out there last two weeks. We're getting some pressure. We've got to get a little bit more.”
Lastly, the Fighting Irish defense has yet to force a turnover in 2022.
After the loss to Marshall, defensive lineman Howard Cross said that turnovers were a point of emphasis throughout fall camp, which makes their struggles in this department all the more frustrating.
“They come in bunches,” Golden said. “So as a coach, that's something we've always said. Just stay at it. Just keep working at it. Maybe change a couple of things that you've done. Refresh it. Repackage it. Whatever you have to do.”
There’s still optimism the Notre Dame defense could go from slightly above average to the dominant force most expected it to be prior to the season.
It starts by cleaning up sloppy tackles, sacking the quarterback more often and forcing a turnover or two per game. If the defense can do that, then finishing better in the fourth quarter should come as a byproduct.
"It's not like we have to have a big overhaul here,” Golden said. “The bottom line is it's not good enough. In terms of defense, that starts with me. I’ve got to look at what we're doing and make sure we get it corrected. That's what we're fixing to do right now."
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