Notre Dame’s defense had been under the gun for the last three weeks, but Chris Ash’s group showed up in a big way when the lights were brightest in a 31-24 win over No. 1 Miami.
Ash deployed an aggressive scheme against the Hurricanes, turning Notre Dame’s athletes loose and allowing them to attack.
“Miami's a great team,” said Notre Dame defensive end Boubacar Traore. “They got a great offense and that's a great quarterback. The whole game plan was kind of just getting after him and getting after their O-line. I feel like that worked tonight.”
It certainly worked, and the defensive line's performance caught the attention of head coach Marcus Freeman.
“They were relentless,” Freeman said. “Relentless in the run and the pass. They weren't always perfect, but they continued to be relentless in their effort to stop the run and to get after the quarterback.”
Miami finished the night with 101 rushing yards, but the Hurricanes averaged just 3.6 yards per carry. Darian Mensah threw three touchdowns, but the Heisman contender also threw an interception and completed just 56 percent of his passes as Notre Dame consistently made him uncomfortable in the pocket.
Ash's defensive approach also featured a shift away from playing zone coverage, instead putting more emphasis on man defense, omething the fan base had been calling for throughout the season.
Safety Luke Talich believes Ash's game plan gave the defense some life during the week, especially knowing it would be challenged by Miami's talented receiving corps.
“When you're playing man, it's very simple,” explained Talich. “You got your guy, and you better not let him win. That gets the guys going, and even when we like playing man coverage, we want to prove that we're better than the guy across from us. The game plan was very simple and we felt very confident. I feel like we executed it.”
Talich delivered one of the biggest plays of the night in the final minutes. Miami appeared to have a touchdown that could potentially tie the game, but Talich knocked the ball out of Elijah Lofton's hands to give the Irish possession with 2:13 remaining.
“The quarterback's out of the pocket, scrambling around,” recalled Talich. “I took my eyes off my guy for a second, and then he ended up going vertical, followed him on the field. When I turned around, it was a back shoulder fade, and he went up to make the catch. We were just taught to play through the hands and finish the play, and so that's what I did. I was able to get the ball out.”
Notre Dame's defense also delivered in the second quarter, holding Miami to a field goal after the Hurricanes had six plays inside the five-yard line.
Traore made a huge third-down stop and believed the stand provided a significant momentum swing for the Irish.
“It took all 11 guys doing their job to get that stop,” stated Traore. “I feel like this week, just everybody doing their job and playing together, and that was just the product of that play right there.”
The win gives Notre Dame confidence heading into the final three games of the season, but it also served as revenge for last year's season-opening loss in Miami.
“We knew that our back was against the wall,” Talich explained. “We knew that we had to win this game, and we didn't make it anything bigger than it was. This was a get-back game for us in a way. We left it up to the judges last year and we knew that we couldn't do that this year.
“It was a huge momentum game. Hopefully this can kick us forward the rest of this year.”
Traore echoed Talich's comments and believes the Irish proved to themselves just how good they can be.
“I feel like we made a big statement,” said Traore. “We're a great team. I feel like everybody knows we're a great team. But tonight, we kind of showed what we're capable of doing.”
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