Notre Dame Fighting Irish Football: Grades – Defense vs. Michigan State

The Irish defense allowed 496 yards but only 5.8 yards per play.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team seized the stage on Saturday night with a victory over Michigan State. Despite allowing 496 yards to the Spartan offense, the Irish defense played well. Forcing turnovers highlighted their exceptional play. Here are the grades for their battle with Michigan State:

The Notre Dame Defensive Line played a huge rotation on Saturday night. 7 Irish players recorded tackles but many more played including Ade Ogundeji and Micah Dew-Treadway.

Although the front played strong, there was not a “wow” moment during the Michigan State game. Tillery and Okwara combined on a sack of Michigan State Quarterback Brian Lewerke.

Senior Rover Linebacker Drue Tranquill tallied 6 tackles, 1 sack and 1 pass broken up. His back-to-back plays in the 2nd Quarter slowed the Spartans momentum. Despite breaking out to a 14-0 lead, Michigan State looked poised to make a quick comeback. On the first play, Tranquill sacked Quarterback Brian Lewerke for a 10-yard loss. On the second play, immediately following the sack, he stopped a Spartan screen.

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In addition to Tranquill’s impactful play, the 3 other Notre Dame Linebackers led the team in tackles. Senior Linebacker Nyles Morgan collected 9 tackles including 0.5 tackles for loss. After Morgan, Greer Martini and Te’von Coney both notched 7 tackles.

There is not much to complain about with the Linebackers. Coney allowed Lewerke to escape on a Quarterback sneak. Some run fits were missed. But, overall, this was a great performance.

The Irish Defensive Back group definitely had their moments against the Spartans. On Notre Dame’s first series, Sophomore Cornerback Julian Love intercepted Lewerke and returned it 59 yards for a an Irish touchdown. Playmaker and Nickel Cornerback Shaun Crawford forced a fumble as Michigan State Running Back LJ Scott approached the goal-line. These plays changed the entire complexion of the game.

The Defensive Backs also failed to make some plays. For example, Lewerke threw a fade to Spartan Wide Receiver Darrell Stewart. Love was in perfect position to turn and make a play. However, he did not turn. Stewart scored.

Notre Dame yielded the majority of their yardage after taking a 38-10 lead. By playing a prevent defense, the Irish allowed a lot of yards but they essentially sealed the game because the Spartans spent too much time moving the ball. Any criticism on the amount of yards yielded can be put to bed.

The Irish defense turned the ball over to the offense. This allowed Notre Dame to sail to an easy victory over the Spartans.