Notre Dame Football: 5 reasons the Irish will beat Toledo in Week 2
By Andrew Hall
Notre Dame Football: 5 reasons the Irish will beat Toledo in Week 2
Marcus Freeman’s defense needing improvement
The Notre Dame defense began the 2021 season by forcing multiple 3-and-outs against Florida State. After initial success, the wheels began to fall off. On Florida State’s third attempt, Jashaun Corbin ran for 89 yards for a score. Linebacker Shayne Simon and safety D.J. Brown whiffed on tackles.
The poor tackling and misalignments were themes of the defensive performance on Sunday evening. Obviously, Marcus Freeman will have the attention of the defensive players. Freeman, who came to Notre Dame with much fanfare, must find answers.
“Well, you get to know your personnel better,” said Kelly about what Freeman learned from his first game with the Fighting Irish. “You know what you can and can’t do. You know there are some things that, ‘OK, I got to be really careful making some of these calls in these situations.”
However, simply learning the personnel will not solve all of Notre Dame’s issues. The team must play fundamentally sound first and foremost. While it may not be apparent if Freeman found the answers against Toledo, he and the Notre Dame football team can take major strides in that direction.