Latest Notre Dame injury setback turns major strength into a potentially costly weakness ahead of the rivalry game vs. USC

Notre Dame just suffered a loss that is extremely troubling heading into the matchup against the USC Trojans.

Ryan Roberts — National College Football Writer
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Heading into the (13) Notre Dame football matchup against the (20) USC Trojans, all eyes are going to be on the Irish defense and their ability to slow down Lincoln Riley’s explosive offensive attack. After a rough start to the year, Chris Ash’s defense seems to have made some massive improvements. That will be put to the test on Saturday against the likes of quarterback Jayden Maiava and star wide receiver Makai Lemon. 

While a majority of the focus will be on Leonard Moore, Adon Shuler, and the Irish secondary being able to match up against the USC pass catchers, many believed that Notre Dame had an advantage in the run game. That defense, led by linebackers Drayk Bowen and Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, has allowed just 106.2 yards per game on the ground to opponents, as well as a mere 3.4 yards per carry. That unit has been pretty consistent throughout the 2025 season so far. 

In this particular matchup against the Trojans, that side was dealt some difficult injury news recently with the losses of running backs Waymond Jordan and Eli Sanders. Both will be out for the rest of the season, meaning the Trojans will be relying on redshirt freshman King Miller. On paper, Miller has done well, but he is still a walk-on, and the depth has quickly become a major issue in the backfield for USC. 

On the Notre Dame side, the hope was that the Irish defense would be able to stop the run with as little support as possible. Riley’s offense is predicated on creating lighter boxes with spread formations, trying to win the numbers advantage in the run game. If the Irish were able to stop the run effectively in those situations, that means that they would have increased support on the back end against the USC pass catchers. 

That sounds great in theory, but that advantage on paper just became a potentially costly weakness on Thursday. It was announced that senior defensive tackle Gabriel Rubio would be out for this weekend’s game with a left elbow injury. Rubio, who is an imposing interior presence at 6-5 and 321 pounds, has had a really nice season stopping the run, and without him, the defensive tackle position just got a lot smaller and more inconsistent against the run. 

How does Notre Dame deal with the loss of Rubio?

Without Rubio, Ash’s unit is going to have to depend heavily on Jason Onye, Jared Dawson, Elijah Hughes, and Donovan Hinish, the latter of whom has also been banged up in recent weeks. While all four are quality football players, that means that two of your top four defensive tackles are less than 290 pounds. Without Rubio, you can bet that this USC offense is going to try to establish a heavy run game, perhaps even more than their initial intention.

If that four-man group is not able to hold up effectively, there is a chance that Notre Dame will have to try and overcompensate with other positions playing more into the box. That is where USC gains a notable advantage on the perimeter and in the running game. Riley’s offense wants to win by being balanced, and becoming a one-dimensional passing attack is not how they ideally want to operate. The loss of Rubio hurts their ability to slow down the run, and hurt that fight for balance.

Will other defensive tackles step up in Rubio’s place? The box score (13 total tackles, a half tackle for loss) doesn’t show just how important he is, especially with keeping the talented linebackers clean to make their reads and fills. This will be a loss worth monitoring closely.

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