Notre Dame football fans think Al Golden is owed an apology
Notre Dame football fans think that the Fighting Irish defensive coordinator has been maligned incorrectly of late and think some need to issue mea culpas.
Al Golden hasn’t always been loved in South Bend. Especially when the defensive line has had problems getting a pass rush going. However, after a blowout of USC led by the Golden Domers’ defense, Golden is drawing quite a bit of praise on social media on Sunday.
It’s hard not see a gameplan that worked to perfection for Notre Dame football. Caleb Williams was picked off three times in one half (and one game) for the first time in his college career. The Trojans turned it over five times.
Golden’s unit scored a touchdown of its own, as well as allowed Notre Dame football’s offense to have scoring drives of just 9 yards, 2 yards and 12 yards on Saturday night.
There’s an argument to be made that Golden’s unit was so effective that he covered up for some problems that Gerard Parker’s offense still has moving the ball consistently. With all that in mind, it should come as no surprise that quite a few Irish fans were even talking about how the defensive coordinator should basically be able to stick around South Bend as long as he wants.
Notre Dame football defensive coordinator owed an apology?
Al Golden is pretty damn good at his job, and there are a lot of Notre Dame fans who owe him an apology.
— Locked On Irish (@LockedOnIrish) October 15, 2023
I love Al Golden. He gets a lot of criticism bc he’s had bad RZ numbers, low turnovers, bad tackling. Units that lack elite talent or had injuries. Double safety blitzes.
— Knute Rockne (@Rocknes_Ghost) October 15, 2023
And yet the defense almost always ends up keeping points down. Good coach’s perform through the obstacles
Notre Dame QB Sam Hartman jokes that he guesses he needs to buy Al Golden another Ferrari. pic.twitter.com/D1Wx86XZSV
— Matt Fortuna (@Matt_Fortuna) October 15, 2023
Notre Dame QB Sam Hartman and DC Al Golden share one heck of an embrace after the Fighting Irish’s 48-20 win over USC. pic.twitter.com/2WDHvXAhMa
— Tyler Horka (@tbhorka) October 15, 2023
If there is a coach who deserves all the praise it is Al Golden. That’s years of experience on display tonight & making use of the athleticism on defense. Caleb Williams made plays tonight but ND’s defense got him to flinch big time too.
— OnlyBlueandGold (@sfgfan58) October 15, 2023
make that 6. What a night for Al Golden’s bunch. USC had been on the ropes for a few weeks now. ND’s defense landing the knockout blow. https://t.co/P0hcRp97fq
— Mike Golic Jr (@mikegolicjr) October 15, 2023
In addition to forcing the turnovers, the Notre Dame football defense held Caleb Williams to just 199 yards passing. That’s the Trojans’ quarterback’s lowest yardage total since October of 2022, in a game against Washington State. USC still won that game, by the way.
Notre Dame also recorded six sacks. Williams has only been sacked that many times two other times in his college football career. He was sacked seven times by Utah last November and he was sacked six times back in November of 2021 by Oklahoma State when the quarterback was still a Sooner.
While not everyone agrees that Al Golden has totally vindicated himself:
That's an odd take, and an emotional one. That's how Charlie Weis got his big deal, and Mel Tucker got a big contract after one year.
— Bryan Driskell (@CoachD178) October 15, 2023
It's okay - and normal - to praise the job a guy is doing in the moment without taking that kind of leap. That's bad business, and unwise.
It is clear that on Saturday night, the Notre Dame football defense brought a lot of smiles back to South Bend after a week of wondering where the program was headed.