Notre Dame football vs Cal: Things to watch on defense in 2022 Week 3
By Brad Weiss
The Notre Dame football team takes on the Cal Golden Bears on Saturday, and here are three things to watch for on defense.
This week, we have already looked at some offensive things to watch for the Notre Dame football team against Cal this weekend, and now, we take a look at the defense. It has been a rough go for this Irish defense in 2022, as they were expected to be elite, and were recently beaten by a so-so Marshall team.
Now, they set their sights on undefeated Cal in hopes of getting their first win of the 2022 season. To beat Cal, the Irish are going to need a better effort from their defense, and here, we look at three things to keep an eye on in this crucial Week 3 matchup.
Notre Dame football vs Cal: Things to watch on defense in 2022 Week 3
Isaiah Foskey gets some pressure
The first thing the Irish need to do on Saturday is to finally start getting some consistent pressure, and it all starts with Isaiah Foskey. Foskey was seen as a borderline second-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, and his returning to South Bend was supposed to lead to him elevating his game, and possibly being one of the first edge rushers off the board next April.
Well, it has been a quiet first two games of the season for him, but on Saturday, I fully expect him to get after the quarterback in a big way. He has familiarity with quarterback Jack Plummer, sacking him last season when he was with Purdue, and I expect two or more sacks in this one.
Multiple turnovers from the secondary
The Notre Dame football team has to start forcing some turnovers, especially against opponents whom they are heavy favorites against. In this one, they have to not only get some pressure on Plummer, as stated earlier, but the secondary has to play a more opportunistic brand of football.
Plummer has had a tendency in his career to force things, but last year, Notre Dame was not able to get any interceptions from him, though they did pick off Aidan O’Connell twice in that game. Al Golden has to dial up a game plan that forces Plummer to make mistakes through the air, and guys like Brandon Joseph and Cam Hart have to be waiting with open arms.
Hold Cal under 15 points
The time has come for this defense to step up and look like the team many expected them to look like before the season. They have multiple guys on this defense that are considered first-round talents, but through the first two games of the season, they have not put together four good quarters on that side of the ball.
Holding this Cal offense under 15 points will go a long way in the Irish coming away victorious, as we do not know what we are going to see with Drew Pyne under center on offense this Saturday. The Irish won a lot of games last season on the strength of their defense, and against Cal, that has to be priority No. 1.