To hoist championship trophies, Notre Dame must stifle opponents on crucial third downs. Their 2026 defense needs to lock down, following the champions' path.
The goal of any college football team is to be the last one standing at the end of the season, hoisting up the National Championship trophy. For Notre Dame, they've gone without a title since 1988, but have had some close encounters. Head coach Marcus Freeman is heading into his 5th year at the helm and is looking to bring home the 12th national title to South Bend.
In order to do that, there are some key areas of focus this program will have to hone in on during the 2026 season. Some areas are closer than others; certain areas of focus are up to par based on the 2025 season while others need significant improvement if the Irish wish to close the gap. We always talk situational football on the Irish Breakdown Podcast, and a big key to that is third down defense.
This past season, Notre Dame ranked 35th in the country in third down defense, allowing opponents to convert of 35.2 percent of their third down attempts. Not bad, but it could be better. If you look at where the National Championship winners have been, they've had a Top 10 third down defense more times than not.
The Indiana Hoosiers won the title earlier this week; they ranked 8th in the country in third down defense holding opponents to a 30.1 percent conversion rate. In the title game, Indiana held Miami to just 3 of 11 on third down. In 2023, Michigan had the No. 7 ranked third down defense in the country holding opponents to a 29.1 percent conversion rate.
In 2022, Georgia was the No. 2 defense in the country on third down holding opponents to a 26.6 percent conversion rate. In 2019, LSU had the No. 6 third down defense in the country holding opponents to a 29.6 percent conversion rate. Combine that with their high powered offense, you start to understand why that was such a dominant team.
Like anything in college football, there are always exceptions. Ohio State ranked 30th in the country in third down defense in 2024. Alabama ranked outside of the Top 25 in 3rd down defense in 2020. It's not a 'one size fits all' conversation. That being said, getting off the field on third down is an area where the Notre Dame defense has to improve. This past season, USC converted 42.8 percent of their third down attempts, Boston College converted 44.4 percent of their third down attempts and Boise State converted 42.9 percent of their third down attempts.
Those three games were all games where the Irish had the opportunity to win by more, and in some cases like Boston College, significantly more. But their inability to get stops on third down and get off the field played a role. Obviously, it wasn't all bad. Pitt went 0/13 on third down against this defense in their matchup in November. They're closing the gap, but if they aspire to win a championship, the third down defense will play a big factor.
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