While most of the talk about the Notre Dame Fighting Irish the last few weeks has centered on the offense, it's been the defense that has played a massive part in their winning five straight games. It's not a coincidence that a big part of that defensive turnaround was the return of sophomore cornerback Leonard Moore from injury.
Against USC on Saturday, Moore was assigned to the Trojans' best wide receiver, Makai Lemon, no matter where he lined up on the field. In the win, Moore once again showed that he's one of the best DBs in college football, allowing only 3 catches for 36 yards on 5 targets by a team that threw the ball 42 times.
If those numbers aren't impressive enough for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish defender, keep in mind that his average depth of target when the ball was thrown his way was -0.6 yards. In other words, behind the line of scrimmage.
Jeremiyah Love sets South Bend record
Yes, Leonard Moore had a perfect game, but it was indeed the offense that really allowed Marcus Freeman and Co. win the game against the Trojans. In fact, Jeremiyah Love set a Notre Dame stadium record for rushing in a game.
Love ran for 228 yards, the most an Irish running back has put up since "The House That Knute Rockne Built" was constructed in 1930. For good measure, he added 37 receiving yards in the 34-24 win over USC.
More Notre Dame Fighting Irish news
- One reason why the game against USC was so big is that there is at least a chance it could be the last game in the series between USC and Notre Dame, at least for a while. ESPN's David Hale knows that, and he let Lincoln Riley and Co. have it with both barrels in his latest weekly wrap-up article.
- In recruiting news, all signs point to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish winning the battle for Kemon Spell. In the process, Spell had some pretty harsh words for Penn State, who he decommitted from earlier this month.