It is now fully a week after the Notre Dame football team's loss to Miami to open the season, and it is officially time to turn the page and look forward to 2-0 Texas A&M. The Aggies bring a different approach to the game than Miami did, in what will be another top 20 matchup between the Irish and their opponent.
In addition, it is practically a must-win game, as suffering another loss to start the season might knock the Irish out of College Football Playoff consideration. In order to win and keep their playoff hopes alive, Notre Dame must make a slew of changes to their defensive strategy and execution as they aim to limit an explosive Texas A&M offense.
Notre Dame football must turn up the dial on their pressures
One thing that really stuck out during the Miami game was the complete lack of pressure Notre Dame generated on Carson Beck. They finished the game with only four total pressures, their fewest since 2017 against Navy, who only threw the ball nine times that game.
When they did manage to get pressure on Beck, good things happened, including a sack and an ill-advised throw that Adon Shuler could have (and maybe should have) intercepted before a potential catch of the year nominee put the Hurricanes up 14-7.
That being said, four pressures are simply not enough for Chris Ash and his star-studded defense. He MUST bring more pressure against Texas A&M and quarterback Marcel Reed.
Even Marcus Freeman said that if Notre Dame cannot pressure the quarterback, it will be tough for them to win games. So the question is, how can they create more pressure this upcoming week?
For me, it is a simple change. First, the front four must generate more pressure, including some situational opportunities to get the best four pass rushers on the field together. I really like the idea of Traore sliding inside with Hinish, and then letting Jaylen Sneed and Kyngstonn Villiamu-Asa rush the passer off the edge with their athleticism.
This would allow the Irish to get their best defenders on the field while also not sacrificing pass rush for coverage.
Another simple fix is to start bringing five or six man rushes on obvious passing downs. This is something they just simply did not do against Miami, which was very surprising. Making Marcel Reed make quick decisions on passing downs may create some poor reads or decisions, as well as allow the Irish coverage specialists to be more aggressive on the back end.
The Irish must play more man defense
Notre Dame may have the best combination of cornerbacks in the entire country with Leonard Moore and Christian Gray. They also feature Alabama transfer Devonta Smith in the slot and star safety Adon Shuler. Throw Jalen Stroman, a transfer from Virginia Tech, in the mix, and you could argue Notre Dame has one of the truly elite secondaries in the country.
It is a shock, then, that Notre Dame decided to play so much zone defense against Miami, which really lacked a proven dynamite receiving threat going into the game.
Notre Dame played zone defense, and a loose zone at that, significantly more in this game than it had in years prior. This philosophy ran counter to the strengths of Gray and Moore to play press-man coverage and take away Miami's receiving threats.
Making matters worse was that Miami true freshman receiver Malachi Toney was carving up the Irish secondary replacements, most notably Karson Hobbes. Texas A&M has a very deep and talented receiver room that will almost certainly be better than what Miami had going into Week 1.
Chris Ash must trust the best unit of his defense and allow them to play more man coverage and play more aggressively than bailing into soft zone defense. Especially on early downs, when Miami seemingly averaged 6 or 7 yards per play on easy checkdowns.
The Irish Linebackers Must Play More Downhill
Notre Dame has some truly scary linebackers on the roster with their ability to play sideline-to-sideline and attack downhill. Jaylen Sneed, Kyngstonn Villiamu-Asa, and Jaiden Ausberry are three of the most violent defenders in the nation.
That does not even include Drayk Bowen, the most talented backer of the group, and the most experienced as well, having started every game a year ago.
What made Notre Dame's linebackers so great last year was their ability to attack the line of scrimmage aggressively and plug holes when they saw they needed to.
Against Miami, it seemed like Bowen and Sneed, especially, were playing timidly, or at least unsure of their responsibilities. This led to neither playing downhill, but rather being passive, often making contact with Miami's running backs five yards downfield.
One crucial play in the game was when Miami was driving during the final drive of the game. It was a second and long, and Miami was not fully in field goal range yet. A stop and Notre Dame would have forced them to attempt a really long field goal, or punt the ball back to the Irish.
Miami handed the ball off, and rather than meeting the running back in the hole, Drayk Bowen ran unblocked across the field before missing a tackle five yards downfield. On the next play, Miami got the short third-down conversion, drained the clock, and kicked the winning field goal.
This mindset MUST change against Texas A&M. A&M is a powerful SEC opponent that will definitely look to run the ball at Notre Dame again with their talented backs and very good running quarterback Reed. If Notre Dame football wins the game, it might be because Bowen, Sneed, KVA, and Ausberry are aggressive in attacking the ball.