Notre Dame Looks to Limit Big Plays While Rotating in Young, Talented Defenders
Major defensive lapses hindered Notre Dame's chance at blowout victories in each of its last two games.
The Irish defeated North Carolina by 13 points but still gave up three pass plays of 40 yards or more. Each either resulted in a touchdown or led to six Tar Heel points moments later.
Last weekend, Notre Dame limited BYU to 280 yards of offense and took down the No. 16 Cougars, 28-20. If not for two major defensive breakdowns, the Irish might have left Las Vegas with a 15-to-20-point victory instead.
The first came midway through the third quarter with the Irish up 25-6. With the Irish in cover 2, cornerback Jaden Mickey lined up across from BYU wide receiver Kody Epps lined up in the slot.
Epps stutter stepped 10 yards downfield and Mickey bit, hoping to jump an out route. Instead, Epps streaked down the seam and into the end zone for a 53-touchdown reception.
“I'm looking at the coach and saying we didn't coach it well enough,” Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said. “That's on us. We've called this defense multiple times, and we didn't execute it. What happens when you don't execute versus a good team? It goes for a 40- or 50-yard touchdown.”
To open the Cougar's next offensive drive, Notre Dame tackled BYU for losses of 6 and 2 yards. Backed up at their own 5-yard line on third and 18, running back Lopini Katoa scampered up the middle, hoping to pick up a few yards and give his punter more room.
On several occasions, Irish defenders failed to bring Katoa down as he picked up 20 yards and momentum-swaying first down.
“It's a heartbreaker,” Freeman said. “We have to be better. It’s 3rd and 18 and you're on defense, that's something you have the utmost confidence in — you're in a really good position. That's where we got to be better.”
A few plays later, 230-pound running back Christopher Brooks scored from 28 yards out, cutting Notre Dame’s lead to five in the fourth quarter.
That’s a handful of inexcusable mistakes in each of the last two games. While the Irish were victorious in each, those plays can often represent the difference between a top-25 program and College Football Playoff contenders, which most expected Notre Dame to be prior to the season.
Overall, the Notre Dame defense does well in limiting explosive plays.
When it comes to plays allowed of 20-plus yards, the Irish rank 16th of 131 FBS teams. What makes their performance in this department even more impressive is that the Irish faced Ohio State and North Carolina, both top-10 offenses that rank No. 2 and No. 3 in plays of 20 yards or more.
This is primarily due to how the Irish performed against the intermediate passes. Notre Dame ranks in the top 10 in
At the same time, the Irish struggle to limit chunk plays against the run. They’re allowing 5.8 runs per game of 10 yards or more, the 23rd-worst mark in the FBS.
Irish defense is also trending in the wrong direction when it comes to gut-wrenching pass plays. Notre Dame allowed one play of 30 yards or more in each of its first three games, with none going for more than 33 yards.
Of course, the Irish have allowed four completions of 43 yards or more since.
“There’s a very fine line between executing and giving up a big play for a touchdown,” Freeman said.
Benching Mickey Isn’t the Answer
Mickey played just eight snaps against BYU, which tied his season low against Marshall.
He also gave up a 24-yard, go-ahead touchdown reception to Ohio State wide receiver Xavier Johnson in the season opener. Without help deep due to a double safety blitz, Mickey failed to get inside leverage and was beat over the middle.
In five college games, Mickey has shown an uncommon level of maturity in the face of adversity, especially true freshman who didn’t turn 18 until the middle of September.
"When you have a little bit of negativity, you're going lose some confidence. But Jaden is a confident kid that has to continue to play at a high level and he will. He's a good football player. He's playing more than probably 90 percent of our freshmen right now.
Against BYU, he had subbed in to give TaRiq Bracy a breather when he gave up the long touchdown pass to Epps.
“He was jumping a different route,” Freeman said. “We have to make sure that he understands you can't jump the out route in cover 2. You’ve got to make sure you carry that guy up the seam.”
Other coaches might use Mickey’s inexperience as a scapegoat and refuse to play him going forward. But Freeman knows his young corner has the maturity and ability to make that play and help the Irish in 2022 and beyond.
Instead, Mickey’s mistakes serve as teaching moments for both himself and the coaching staff. What must the coaches do to make sure there aren’t similar lapses going forward?
“I'm not going to sit here and point the finger at the player,” Freeman said. “These players have class, they have life, they have everything else going on and we get them for a couple of hours a day to try to get them to execute what we need them to do.
“This is our life. This is what we do. We as coaches have to meet that player. We have to challenge them and we got to push them physically and we're going to push them mentally. It starts with us challenging ourselves.”
Expect Mickey to get more than eight snaps this weekend against Stanford, especially with Bracy, Notre Dame’s starting nickel questionable after he pulled a hamstring this past Saturday.
No matter how much Mickey plays, the Irish coaching staff
“Let's coach better, and Jaden's got to execute better,” Freeman said. “He will. He is going to be a great player.”
Prince Kollie Earns Playing Time
Sophomore Prince Kollie is another young player with the potential to be great.
But with a host of veteran linebackers ahead of him in the rotation, the former top-100 prospect has rarely seen the field at Notre Dame.
Kollie only played 58 snaps in 2021, each coming in blowout victories. In Notre Dame’s first three games this fall, he failed to earn a defensive snap.
Yet his role changed three weeks ago when he played 10 snaps against North Carolina and recorded two tackles, one of which resulted in a two-yard loss for the Tar Heels.
Against BYU, Kollie played eight snaps and picked up two more tackles, including a sack of Cougar quarterback Jaren Hall.
"I challenged him last week,” Freeman said, “‘Prince, continue to build trust in practice. There is no such thing as a gamer. Your team needs you to be a great practice player.’”
If he continues to make plays in practice, his minutes will increase, which would be a good sign for Notre Dame’s defensive potential.
“That builds confidence in your coaches to put you out there in the game,” Freeman said. “That's what I hope to see him do because, listen, talent sets the ceiling of how good you can be and Prince has a high ceiling.”