Notre Dame's Defense Outshines Tar Heels Again
North Carolina entered Saturday’s clash with Notre Dame as one of the most prolific offenses in the country averaging over 50 points per game.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Drake Maye and the UNC offense started hot as the Tar Heels went 76 yards in 12 plays to take a 7-0 lead after the first drive of the game.
Notre Dame’s defense quickly made quick adjustments and focused on the details to keep Maye at bay.
“We just decided to stick to our keys,” Notre Dame linebacker Marist Liufau said of the first drive of the game. “Those are plays we let him loose a little bit. We didn’t stay enough on the inside in terms of our defensive line and keeping him in the box.”
Defensive coordinator Al Golden prepared the defense all week for draw plays from the quarterback and it paid off as Notre Dame limited the Tar Heels to just 11 yards on 11 plays over the next three drives.
”It was the quarterback scramble,” explained Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman. “I told those guys, we have to understand this quarterback can run. We have to keep contain. The other part of that is you can’t play spy. That’s not going to be what affects a quarterback like that. You have to be aggressive, but understand you have to stay in your rush lanes. It was good to see the adjustment from our defensive line.”
For Liufau, it wasn’t a big adjustment, but rather it was a mindset that allowed him to find success as he registered six tackles on the night. The Notre Dame defense found success stopping the run as North Carolina finished with just 66 rushing yards and 2.4 yards per carry.
“We knew early on we needed to stop their momentum,” Liufau stated. “They’re a good offense. I was just thinking ‘do my job’ so my teammates can do theirs. If we’re all doing our job, eventually we’ll succeed.”
The Irish defense was also down a linebacker for most of the game as JD Bertrand missed the first half due to a targeting penalty against Cal and then was ejected for another targeting hit in the fourth quarter.
And despite the loss of a starter, Liufau didn’t feel any pressure to raise his game in Chapel Hill.
“No, I didn’t feel any pressure,” Liufau stated. “I have 100 percent trust in the other linebackers to step up. Jack Kiser really stepped up because JD was out.”
Notre Dame will now enter the bye week at 2-2, which isn’t where Notre Dame expected to be, but the Irish have momentum.
Liufau and his teammates will now look to build on the progress they made entering the showdown with BYU in Las Vegas.
“I think the big emphasis was learning a lot from our mistakes - learning a lot from our losses and using that to move forward and get better every day,” stated Liufau. “Coach says we need to get better every day in everything.”
Liufau also seems to be finding a comfort level on the field at linebacker and rush end, which could be a significant development for the Irish defense.
“I definitely feel a lot more comfortable out there,” said Liufau. “Just being older and more mature - I’ve learned a lot throughout the process. I’m getting more used to being out there playing the game.”
