Notre Dame Loses Ashton Craig, Defense Focused on High Flying USC Offense
Notre Dame has suffered its first significant injury of the season as center Ashton Craig will miss the remainder of the season with a knee injury.
It’s the second year in a row Craig’s season will end early as he suffered a torn ACL against Purdue last fall.
“Unfortunately, just yesterday found out that Ashton Craig will be out for the remainder of the season,” stated head coach Marcus Freeman, “He had a right knee injury.
“Your thoughts go to the young man who worked so hard from last year, after three games, to get himself back into the position he was in this year and was playing extremely well for us. Just unfortunate for him. He's in great spirits. He'll get healed up and look forward to returning next year.”
Redshirt sophomore Joe Otting will now get the call to step in at center and the 6-foot-4, 308-pounder has the confidence of his teammates and the coaching staff.
“Otting’s been practicing well and in his opportunities up to this game,” explained Freeman. “He has done a really good job, and in the plays that he had in this game, he really played well. I probably had more confidence watching, evaluating this last game when he had to step up and go in there and get his job done. He did a really good job. So there's a lot of confidence in Joe Otting. Cam Herron's done a really good job of developing as a young player and in that whole line room. But there's a lot of confidence.”
It’s not an ideal week for the Irish to make a major change on the offensive line as USC’s defensive line has wreaked havoc on offenses for much of the year.
USC registered five sacks against Michigan last week and will enter this weekend sitting at No. 7 in the country in team sacks.
“Their defense is an aggressive attacking unit,” explained Freeman. “They're getting pressure with four guys. I think they're fifth in the country in sacks. Their D-line's really good. I think they forced 11 turnovers, which is top 15, top 20 in the country. They're playing well on both sides of the ball. They're a competent team.
“We have to continue to focus on what's important. That's the preparation. That's what's important is the way we prepare for this opportunity we have on Saturday.
On the other side of the ball, USC slot receiver Makai Lemon has Notre Dame’s full attention. The 5-foot-11, 195-pounder already has 44 receptions for 682 yards and six touchdowns in 2025.
“If you want to play zone, he'll find a way to find open space and they'll attack,” Freeman said. “If you want to get on body is what we call it, he can run by you. He can make you miss. He's quick. He's fast and he's got great ball skills.
“There's not a simple answer and solution to defending him. What you can't do is let him beat you, right? He’s one of the most talented players you'll see. He's a huge part of their offense. You have to have a plan to try to not let that one person beat you.”
The risk is giving too much attention to Lemon and letting Ja’Kori Lane get free. Lane has a 100-yard receiving game this year and came up big a year ago against Texas A&M with seven catches for 127 yards and three touchdowns in the Las Vegas Bowl.
“When you do that, you're going to open up some deficiencies in other areas,” Freeman stated. “Some holes in other areas. We just got to do a good job mixing it up and making sure pre-snap, they can't just identify if we're in zone or man just by our pre-snap alignment.”
Freeman also addressed Notre Dame’s short-yardage issues. The common thought on message boards has been to get under center more, but Freeman doesn’t believe that’s the issue.
“If we thought going under center in short yardage situations was the answer, we would do it,” said Freeman. “If we said that's the reason why we're not converting, then you're insane not to work on it and practice it. We don't believe that's the reason why we're not having success as much as we want in those short-yardage situations.”
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