Following Notre Dame’s gut-wrenching 41-40 loss to No. 16 Texas A&M on Saturday night, blame on whose fault it was flew in every direction from students on campus and fans online. From senior holder Tyler Buchner to the referees and everything in between, everyone had an opinion on what moment led to the loss.
However, it’s unfair to put the blame on one player, and disingenuous to do so regarding a missed call. The truth is, when the Notre Dame offense scores 40 points in a game, it simply should not lose. The last time the Irish scored 40 or more and lost was in 2016, falling to Texas in an overtime thriller.
Just a season ago, Notre Dame had one of the most formidable defensive units in college football. Ranked fifth in total defense, the Irish allowed 307.4 yards per game. In the first two games of the 2025 season, the Irish defense resembled a shell of its former self. Notre Dame has surrendered a staggering 802 yards through two games and ranks fifth-worst in total defense among power-conference programs. The team has fallen to 0-2 for the second time under head coach Marcus Freeman as a result.
That harrowing fact raises questions as to why the Notre Dame defense has taken a considerable step backward this season. The glaring answer is that the Irish’s fierce man-coverage from 2024 has given way to a more passive zone scheme. The result has been blown coverages, missed assignments and an inability to pressure the quarterback.
“It’s not good enough. Not good enough in the run and pass, not good enough getting pressure on the quarterback. We had some unexpected injuries, but it doesn’t matter. You’re on the field. We’ve got to put you in the position to make plays,” Marcus Freeman said in his postgame press conference.
This drastic shift in defensive identity poses the next question: What does defensive coordinator Chris Ash want his unit to be? The former Rutgers head coach, most recently a scout for the Jacksonville Jaguars, initially stated he didn’t plan to change much from his predecessor Al Golden’s regime. At his first press conference in February, Ash stated, “I look at it as, ‘if it’s not broken, don’t fix it.’”
He later said, “There have been really good football players here on defense. There have been standards and accountability. They’ve been well-coached. We’re just looking at ways we can try to enhance it and make it better.”
Through two games, Ash has done the opposite. Notre Dame’s defense is fractured. The pass rush has only recorded one sack, despite having two weeks to prepare for Texas A&M after an unimpressive showing against Miami. They averaged 2.5 per game a year ago. Similarly, the Irish registered 2.1 turnovers a game last season. This year, that number has dropped to a measly 0.5 — which would be zero had it not been saved by sophomore cornerback Leonard Moore’s impressive first-quarter interception. The Irish also grade 103rd in the country in tackling, 117th in pass rush and 129th in coverage. Those numbers are a sharp decline from 2024 when they finished ninth, 15th and third in those respective departments.
Even with all of the defensive woes, Freeman is committed to Ash as the play-caller on defense.
“It’s not the call. It’s the execution, and I’ve always believed that. I think sometimes calling things — I’ve been a play-caller — at times can be overrated as such as it’s the execution of that play call. So that’s what we’ve got to evaluate,” Freeman said. “Maybe we’ll look and say we probably shouldn’t have called this in that situation. There’s things you always look at. At the end of the day, why aren’t we able to execute in a way that we believe we need to and should? That’s the question we’ve got to get answered.”
The execution was certainly lackluster. In the first quarter, senior cornerback Jalen Stroman bit on a fake, leaving Aggies receiver Mario Craver wide open for an 86-yard touchdown. Notre Dame was unable to stop Craver all night long. The speedy receiver had a field day, racking up seven receptions for a jolting 207 yards. The Irish wanted to mix in more zone coverage to keep the opposition on its toes, but it has had the reverse effect. Now, the Irish defense is increasingly on its heels.
Adding insult to injury is the fact that Notre Dame returned six defensive starters from 2024, as well as several key contributors and the injured Jordan Botelho. It’s not as if the Irish are lacking experience on defense, even if it appears that way through both the eye test and statistically.
The response Ash makes against Purdue will be telling. While some are calling for his job, that’s far from warranted. What matters is how Ash responds to the adversity, just as Freeman did a year ago after the Irish’s shocking loss to Northern Illinois.
If Ash is to get the defense back on track, it has to be by discovering what made the 2024 defense special and not shying away from it. He needs to do this quickly, or else Notre Dame risks squandering the final season of potential top-10 pick Jeremiyah Love. Time is of the essence for Ash and Notre Dame’s struggling defense. They must at least attempt to emulate the ways of the past in order to reach college football’s promised land once more. They have the talent. They have the backing. Now it’s time to simply get the job done.
