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Notre Dame Football: Grading the Irish defense against New Mexico

By Ben Belden

SOUTH BEND, INDIANA - SEPTEMBER 14: Jalen Elliott #21, Khalid Kareem, and Daelin Hayes #9 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish pose to celebrate the victory against the New Mexico Lobos at Notre Dame Stadium on September 14, 2019 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images)
SOUTH BEND, INDIANA - SEPTEMBER 14: Jalen Elliott #21, Khalid Kareem, and Daelin Hayes #9 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish pose to celebrate the victory against the New Mexico Lobos at Notre Dame Stadium on September 14, 2019 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images) /
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Notre Dame football took the field at Notre Dame Stadium for the first time this season and the Irish defense answered its billing.

Notre Dame football fans will undoubtedly have mixed feelings about its defense following Saturday’s 66-14 drumming of New Mexico. Many will point to the fact that the Irish defense gave up over 200 yards against a New Mexico team that doesn’t hold a candle to the talent of Notre Dame. Still, there was more good than bad in Saturday’s win.

Let’s take a look at Notre Dame’s defensive position groups:

Defensive line

Without a doubt, the Irish defensive line performed admirably against New Mexico. The interior of the defense found was to get a great deal of penetration into the New Mexico backfield that made it difficult for the Lobos to sustain drives, despite hitting on a few big plays.

The Lobos hit on a couple run plays, which helped the overall rushing number. One of those big plays took place in garbage time.

In the passing game, the defensive line was disruptive, highlighted by Daelin Hayes’ deflection that lead to a Kyle Hamilton interception. While the Irish didn’t register a sack, they did make life difficult for New Mexico quarterbacks.

The defensive line gets a B+ in this one. 

Linebackers

The linebacking corps looked much improved after an extra week of practice. As mentioned, New Mexico hit on a few big running plays, but it’s fair to say that it was difficult for the Lobos to be consistent in moving the football throughout the game.

Asmar Bilal looked much improved and Drew White continued to impress as the starting group of linebackers looked stronger as the game went along.

The linebackers get a B in this one. 

Defensive backs

The Irish secondary was tremendous, with the biggest play coming at the hands of safety Kyle Hamilton, who intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown to start the scoring for the Irish.

Put simply, New Mexico couldn’t pass the ball against the Irish. Two quarterbacks combined to complete only 10 passes in 29 passing attempts.

Take away a couple questionable pass interference calls and we’d be talking about a perfect afternoon.

The Irish secondary gets an A for this one. 

Next. Grading the Notre Dame offense against New Mexico. dark

Overall, it’s worth noting that the Irish defense will never be perfect. However, it will continue to improve and adjust as the games go on. No one expects the Irish defense to carry the day, but if they can be just effective enough, the Irish will have a fighting chance against any opponent.

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