In recent years, Notre Dame’s defense has consistently been at the top of college football.
There’s a standard. There’s an expectation.
The 2025 Notre Dame Fighting Irish have failed to meet expectations under defensive coordinator Chris Ash.
Entering Saturday’s contest with Purdue, Notre Dame has one of the worst defenses in the country on paper despite returning starters at all three levels of the defense.
TEAM DEFENSE RANKINGS
Total Defense: 108
Scoring Defense: 124
Passing Yards Allowed: 124
Passing Efficiency Defense: 103
Rushing Defense: 68
Red Zone Defense: 83
3rd Down Conversion: 53
Turnovers Forced: 117 (12 programs tied for last)
Tackles for Loss: 132
What does Notre Dame have to do to get right back on track?
Captain Adon Shuler believes it starts with execution and eliminating the lack of focus that has been evident during the first two games of the year.
“We just gotta play together,” explained Shuler. “I feel like we just gotta play together more and do it for the brother next to you. Like Coach says all the time, clarity equals velocity. You just gotta be clear on our jobs and just play fast and be violent when we do it.”
Shuler, who started all 16 games in 2024, doesn’t believe there is a difference in the defense from a year ago outside of a few new faces.
“I wouldn’t say there are differences,” stated Shuler. “It’s just who’s out there and who’s willing to do the job right. That’s kind of the biggest thing and it’s kind of been the coaching point for these last few weeks. We just have to do the job right. If we know what our jobs are, we’ll be able to play fast.”
Ash’s scheme has been called into question and rightfully so, but Shuler doubled down and doesn’t believe the issues from the defense are coming from the play calls.
“I don’t think it’s a scheme thing,” Shuler said. “I think it’s just a technical thing. We just have to play together. We’re not playing together. We just have to be more clear in everything we do, just getting lined up and trusting the person that’s next to you.”
One disconnect is what every team in the country goes through each week and that’s adjusting to the offense rolling out new looks, personnel or changes from their previous games.
In the past, Notre Dame has been able to correct those issues, but now it seems like the Irish need halftime to make adjustments and get their footing.
“I would just say every week, you plan for certain things and teams don’t give you exactly those things,” Shuler explained. “That is kind of the biggest thing. We go scout team all week, and we’re gonna see certain things, but when you’re in the game, there’s gonna be little tweaks and differences that the offense throws at us. That’s how it is every week, so we just have to adjust on the fly and be clear about what the coaches expectations are.”
As a leader, Shuler is making sure there is more clarity and, more importantly, he’s making sure the Irish aren’t throwing blame at each other.
“Just being a standard and making sure the guys know what it is, and just kind of harping on it,” Shuler said of his role. “Making sure the guys know that the coaches are working hard to make sure that the game plan is the game plan, and we just have to execute better. It’s not a “point the fingers” thing. We all have to take accountability for our actions, and that’s just what it is.”
Shuler will be taking accountability for the first half of Saturday’s game as he was called for targeting against Texas A&M.
There have been conversations between Shuler and his coaches to correct his tackling technique, so the Irish aren’t without a captain moving forward.
“Definitely talked about it with all the coaches and just keep my head up,” stated Shuler. “It’s a bad position to be in. He’s going to the ground. Maybe I could’ve done a little something different, but it’s the call, it’s the call. I just gotta move forward and make a better tackle next time.”
The world might be falling to pieces on every Notre Dame message board with the 0-2 start, but in The Gug, Shuler believes that the Irish can get back on track by playing their style of football.
“It’s football,” said Shuler. “We just gotta fix our stuff and play with clarity and violence. Just get back to playing Notre Dame football. I feel like that’s the main thing for us. We just have to play our style of football.
“Not to be that guy, but we can’t listen to what everyone is saying. What the coaches say and what Coach Free says is really the main thing because we’re the ones on the field and no one else can go out there and do what we do.”
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