The Notre Dame defense started the year under fire, but their performance over the last two weeks, especially this afternoon, has been a pleasant surprise. The defense held Boise State's offense to seven points and 315 total yards of offense, 205 yards under their average on the season. They picked off quarterback Maddux Madsen four times, three times in the second half, and sacked him four times. Head coach Marcus Freeman was pleased with how much the defense has grown the last few weeks.
"To think where that defense was and how they felt two weeks ago, after week two against Texas A&M and after week three versus Purdue, it was a low point for us all," Freeman explained. "They've stayed committed and stayed together. They worked tirelessly to come up with a better output. I'm so proud of them. They worked hard. To play that way, to play like they played last week, play like they played this week, and it's not perfect, but to get that type of outcome and the number of points you give up, I'm extremely happy for them."
Several players shined for Notre Dame in today's game and sophomore cornerback Leonard Moore, who came back from injury, ended his afternoon with two interceptions. Freeman was more than pleased with Moore's performance and credited his work ethic to work his way back.
"You talk about a guy that's been out and hasn't been able to practice much," Freeman said about Moore. "He's been able to do some work with our strength staff but not practice much. And this week he was able to limit his practice reps. We were able to get him in there but he didn't practice full. It shows you he's a special player. I don't want to say this too loud because we've got players in here, but practice is important, and we preach how important practice is. Leonard [Moore] got enough work that he can go out there and do his job. It's just a confidence that we, as a coaching staff and the team has, when he's out there."
Redshirt freshman safety Tae Johnson also had an interception in today's game and also finished with five total tackles. Johnson was all over the field this afternoon and has looked more and more comfortable with each passing week.
"He's been starting the past two games," Freeman said about Johnson. "That shows you the confidence we have in him. He's earned it through the way he's practiced. He's been close the last couple of games in getting some of those picks and it was good to see him get one today. He's a good football player. He's an improving football player and he's a freak athlete, but he's also improving in terms of how he's playing the game. He has a high ceiling, and I'm excited for his future."
It's been a slow burn, but the Notre Dame defense looks to finally be turning a corner. It isn't perfect, but this unit now has two good performances to build off of. If this afternoon was a preview of things to come, this football program is putting itself in a prime position to go on another stellar run.
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