Notre Dame Football: Key Defensive Matchups vs. New Mexico

The Notre Dame football team has returned to South Bend and is set to play their first home game of the 2019 season against New Mexico. The Irish should look much improved on defense after having a week off.

South Bend, Indiana will be buzzing this Saturday as the Irish prepare to play their home opener. Their opponent might not excite the fanbase, but Notre Dame has a chance to improve to 2-0 before a pivotal trip to Athens, Georgia the following week.

New Mexico also enters this game with a 1-0 record after defeating Sam Houston State 39-31 in week one. The Lobos are hoping for an all-around improvement after finishing last season with a record of 3-9.

Here are the matchups to watch when Notre Dame is on defense.

Notre Dame Linebackers vs. Ahmari Davis

The Lobos lost their leading rusher from last season, but Ahmari Davis is more than capable of filling that void. In their Week 1 matchup against Sam Houston State, Davis rushed for 107 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries and had 58 receiving yards off of two catches.

Davis appears to have taken a leap after a relatively quiet season in 2018, when he rushed for 185 yards and four touchdowns. Now, he looks like one of the top weapons on the New Mexico offense.

Limiting Davis’ production on Saturday will be a priority for the Irish defense, who allowed 249 total rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns against Louisville in the season opener.

The linebackers, who had a less than inspiring game against Louisville, need to be disciplined in their gap assignments and sound in their tackling.

Notre Dame Secondary vs. New Mexico Receivers

When playing an inferior opponent, one of the things your defense cannot allow is big plays. During their Week 1 matchup, the New Mexico offense showed that they are very capable of generating big plays in the passing game.

In their game against Sam Houston State, six different Lobos receivers had a reception of 25 yards or more and the team finished with 340 total receiving yards. The Notre Dame defense needs to limit those big plays.

The Lobos’ receiving corps may not have any big names, but they are not lacking experience. Their depth chart is filled with juniors and seniors. That experience is comforting for whoever is taking snaps at quarterback.

This game is a great opportunity for the Irish secondary (backups included) to get some good reps as they prepare to enter the meat of their schedule. I anticipate that New Mexico will force Notre Dame to play with their nickel package on the field for good portion of this game. This should give Clark Lea and his staff the chance to rotate a few more defensive backs into the game.

Notre Dame Defense vs. New Mexico Quarterbacks

Yes, that is quarterbacks, plural. The Lobos had three quarterbacks vying for the starting job this offseason: Tevaka Tuioti, Sheriron Jones, and Brandt Hughes.

Tuioti won the starting job as a sophomore last season. However, he suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in the fourth week of the season. Sheriron Jones replaced him after the injury, but he did not take all of the quarterback reps the remainder of the season. Brandt Hughes entered the Lobos quarterback competition this offseason after transferring in from Butte Junior College.

Since none of those players have been able to separate themselves from the other two, the Irish had to game plan and prepare for three different quarterbacks this week.

Jones and Hughes both played in the opener. Tuioti did not make an appearance in that game. However, that is likely because he missed a practice time due to a family matter. There is still a chance we see him play this Saturday. Hughes will miss the Notre Dame game due to a shoulder injury.

Tuioti and Jones are dual threat quarterbacks. They will run plenty of read options as well as some designed quarterback runs. Jones rushed for 35 yards and two touchdowns against Sam Houston State.