Yesterday, Notre Dame beat the 4-2 NC State Wolfpack 36-7 in a game where the defense absolutely shined. This unit was heavily scrutinized, rightfully so, through the first three games of the season. Since the Arkansas week, Chris Ash's unit has turned things around drastically and the improvements have been very noticeable week over week. Notre Dame's defense held NC State's explosive offense to seven total points, 233 yards of offense and picked off quarterback CJ Bailey three times. In the last three outings, the Fighting Irish defense hasn't allowed a single point to be scored in the second half.
They've also picked off seven total passes and sacked the opposing quarterback eight times in the last two games. This unit held NC State to 3.9 yards per play and 5 of 16 on third down. The Wolfpack never reached the red zone, only crossed the 50 yard line twice and only had 12 first downs the entire game despite having the football for 28:28 of game time. Here are my key takeaways from the Notre Dame defense against NC State.
Aggressive Philosophy Remained
There was a concern that the aggressive philosophy we saw this defense have against Boise State wouldn't be present when they hosted NC State. Thankfully, that was not the case yesterday afternoon. Notre Dame's defense overwhelmed the Wolfpack offense throughout the game. The defensive line and linebackers played aggressively downhill, which was a major factor in running back Hollywood Smothers ending the afternoon with 46 rushing yards on 12 carries, his lowest output since November 9, 2024 against Duke. NC State's premier back averaged 3.8 yards per carry, which actually led all ball carriers for the Wolfpack.
Pass Rush Was Dominant
Bailey was never comfortable in the pocket yesterday afternoon. The Notre Dame pass rush had another phenomenal game and was able to get home on the 6-6, 215-pound quarterback. The defense finished the game with 21 total pressures and six hits plus sacks on the quarterback according to PFF. Notre Dame has combined for 58 total pressures and 14 hits plus sacks on the quarterback in their last two games. Defensive end Boubacar Traore picked up two sacks on the afternoon bringing his season total to 5.5. The Boston native is on pace for a 10+ sack season. Fellow defensive end Junior Tuihalamaka also ended with three total pressures. They'll need this group of pass rushers to be at the top of their game next week when they host the USC Trojans who just beat the 15th-ranked Michigan Wolverines 31-13.
Linebackers Are Returning To Form
For weeks, we've been begging this linebacking corps to return to their 2024 form. Yesterday, we saw a familiar sight: a fast, violent and aggressive unit. Three of the four leading tacklers for Notre Dame were linebackers. Junior Drayk Bowen, redshirt sophomore Jaiden Ausberry and sophomore Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa combined for 17 total tackles, one interception and a handful of bone-crushing hits. This linebacker trio combined for nine total run stops with fellow linebacker Jaylen Sneed adding one more run stop to the total tally. This was the last major domino to fall in the philosophy change and they didn't disappoint.
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