Angela Driskell, Irish Breakdown
Oct 22, 2026 12:00 PM
After a dominant start, the Irish defense has surrendered nearly 100 more yards per game. Rediscovering that early-season elite form remains vital for a late-season championship push.
Through the first four games of the season, Notre Dame's defense looked like the dominant unit they ended the season as in 2025. Obviously, their regular season opponents prior to BYU didn't receive much national attention, but knowing what we know now about Wisconsin's and Purdue's offense, it should garner a little more respect than in the preseason.
The Fighting Irish had an elite defense the first four games of the season allowing an average of 199.3 total yards per game. Only Wisconsin averaged more than 3.7 yards per play (4.7) and across all four games, the Irish only allowed an average of 8.3 points per game. They were dominant in both phases, against the run and versus the pass.
In the first four games, Notre Dame didn't allow a single team to rush for over 68 yards and allowed an average of 53.8 yards per game. No opponent through the first four weeks averaged more than 2.2 yards per carry and only one team scored a rushing touchdown. Those are elite numbers for a team striving to build a championship-caliber rush defense.
The pass defense was also playing at a very high level through the first four games. The Irish allowed just 145.5 passing yards per game through the first four outings. They only gave up two passing touchdowns and picked off opposing quarterbacks three times. Only one opponent, Wisconsin, threw for more than 200 yards against this defense. Defensive coordinator Chris Ash and his staff had this unit firing on all cylinders.
Unfortunately, that has not been the case the last three games against North Carolina, Stanford and BYU. Stanford is the outlier, but even they were able to hurt Notre Dame's defense at times, the Irish just had the far superior athletic advantage.
In their last three games, Notre Dame has given up 282.6 yards per game, almost 100 more than what they allowed through the first four games. Two of the three teams they faced, North Carolina and BYU averaged over 5.3 yards per play. In their last three outings, the defense allowed 20.3 points per game, shades of where it was in the first four games (8.3 PPG).
The rush defense still put up good numbers, but went from allowed teams to average 53.8 yards per game and 2.2 yards per carry to 85.3 yards per game. All three of Notre Dame's opponents in that stretch averaged over 2.7 yards per carry and considering no team in the first four games averaged more than 2.2 yards per carry, that's a step in the wrong direction.
Notre Dame's pass defense also took a step back. In the last three games, Notre Dame has allowed 197.3 yards per game, six touchdown passes and five interceptions. They've generated more turnovers, but allowed four more touchdowns in the last three games than they did in the first four. Two of their three opponents went for over 208 passing yards as well.
Head coach Marcus Freeman, Ash and the defensive staff have to utilize the bye week to get back on track. They struggled getting off the field in crucial moments against North Carolina and BYU. Their performance in two of the last three games has not been up to the standard and with Miami looming in the near future, correcting some of those mistakes will be crucial. It's time for this defense to get locked back in.
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