Notre Dame Football Grades: Defense vs. North Carolina State

One of the biggest differences for the Notre Dame football team is the play of the Irish defense. The Notre Dame defense nearly pitched a perfect game on Saturday night against North Carolina State. Here are the grades for Mike Elko’s unit:

The Notre Dame Defensive Line did not tally stellar sack numbers on Saturday. Because Wolfpack Quarterback Ryan Finley throws quickly, the game did not call for that. However, they held North Carolina State to only 50 yards rushing on 24 attempts. The Wolfpack average 161.50 yards per game. Sophomore Defensive End Daelin Hayes finished with a position high 5 tackles including a tackle for loss.

Te’von Coney continues to play extremely well. Coney finished with 9 tackles including a tackle for loss and a Quarterback hurry. He continues to drive the defense in execution and inspiration.

Senior Linebacker Drue Tranquill collected 7 tackles including 0.5 sacks, a tackle for loss and a pass broken up.

With an injured shoulder, Middle Linebacker Nyles Morgan tallied 6 tackles and a Quarterback hurry.

The Linebackers helped stuff the Wolfpack running game. Coney’s stop on 4th down during the 3rd Quarter completely swung the game in Notre Dame’s favor.

Mike Elko implemented an aggressive game plan with his Defensive Backs. As a group, the Defensive Backs broke up 7 passes broken up. This approached forced Finley into an uncomfortable situation. The Senior North Carolina State Quarterback completed 17 of 37 passes for 213 yards. Typically, he completed 66.3% of his throws. In addition, Finley threw his first interception of the season. On that interception, Julian Love returned the pick 69 yards for the Irish touchdown.

Notre Dame held a team that averages 32.8 points to only 14 points. 7 of those 14 points occurred on a blocked punt for a touchdown. So, in reality, the Irish held North Carolina State to only 7 points. This was an excellent game plan that was executed exceptionally well by the defense.