We often hear the phrase “play Notre Dame football,” but what exactly does that mean? During the last couple of years under head coach Marcus Freeman, this Fighting Irish squad has been built on physicality, a dominant run game, and a stellar defensive unit. The latter isn’t the identity of the 2025 version of this team, and the descent for this once ferocious defense has been horrific to watch. 

During the previous two years under former defensive coordinator Al Golden, this Irish defense had played at an elite overall level. That was buoyed by the pass coverage, which was headlined by the likes of Benjamin Morrison, Xavier Watts, Cam Hart, and Leonard Moore. It felt like secondary coach Mike Mickens had created a talented group with the opportunity to sustain excellence. 

After the team’s 41-40 loss against the Texas A&M Aggies on Saturday night, the Irish fan base isn’t happy following the pitiful performance, and they are completely justified to have those feelings. When former Ohio State defensive coordinator and Rutgers head coach Chris Ash took over the Notre Dame defense this offseason, the move was met with a lot of questions and even more criticism. Ash hadn’t called a defense in five years, and a successful one in a decade.

Disgraceful performance against the Aggies

For those who saw the game against the Aggies, there was a disturbing amount of open wide receivers throughout the football game. Star pass catchers Kevin “KC” Concepcion and Mario Craver made countless big plays throughout the contest, and honestly, it could have been a lot more. Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed had several misses throughout the night and could have had well over 400 passing yards. There were several plays where Aggie pass catchers were running down the field without a defender within a couple of yards of them.

The Notre Dame defense was built on being an aggressive group, pressure-oriented, and a heavy-man coverage secondary. Where were those qualities on Saturday night in South Bend?

If the Aggie playmakers were just flat out better than Notre Dame, that would be one thing, but there seemed to be a high amount of miscommunication on the second and third levels. That demonstrates a lack of confidence in the scheme, not necessarily a deficiency of talent. This defense played incredibly fast in the past, but even the quickest players on that unit appeared a step slow while being weighed down with uncertainty. There is just way too much thinking going on, especially in the secondary.

All offseason, the media and fans were fed the line that Ash would be “running the Notre Dame defense, not his own.” Yet, here we are. As we continue to see more and more zone coverage than ever and a lack of aggressiveness on the second level, the illusion that Ash is running “the Notre Dame defense” is nothing more than a farce, complete and utter nonsense. It is fooling no one.

Perhaps Ash gets this turned around, maybe even somewhat similarly to how Golden did, but the vibes around the Irish defense are certainly low right now following the performances against the Aggies and Miami Hurricanes. He walked into a situation with a lot of talent and suddenly has people questioning the team’s speed on that side of the football. Whatever the answer ends up being, Ash must find it quickly, or else the Brian VanGorder 2.0 noise will continue to grow louder, especially after a home loss.

With the defense facing the Aggie offense with the game on the line, everyone already knew the impending result. That feeling has been a foreign one in recent years and is demoralizing to all the positive feelings Freeman created in 2024.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish News

The outstanding, the ugly, and the uncertain for Notre Dame heading into their primetime matchup with the Texas A&M Aggies

Trying to figure out what we do and don’t know about Notre Dame football heading into the Texas A&M matchup

Ryan Roberts