Notre Dame defender makes his presence known in victory over Arkansas, and it could be the most crucial breakout of the season
Notre Dame football kept their momentum during a 56 to 13 victory over the Arkansas Razorbacks. That includes a breakout Fighting Irish defender.
Head coach Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame football turned in an impressive performance on Saturday, defeating the Arkansas Razorbacks by a score of 56 to 13. The offense stole the show for the Fighting Irish, led by huge days from quarterback CJ Carr, dynamic running back Jeremiyah Love, Jadarian Price, and wide receiver Jordan Faison. This has a chance to be the best Notre Dame offense we have seen in some time, and that was evident once again down in Fayetteville.
Chris Ash’s defensive group was in desperate need of a good performance heading into the day, and there were certainly some signs for his unit beginning to carry their weight. The day for the Irish defense didn’t get off to a great start, and it looked like we might have a shootout on our hands in the first-ever battle between the two teams. Things settled down toward the middle of the second quarter, and the defense managed to hold Arkansas scoreless during the last two and a half quarters.
Notre Dame defensive breakout
Notre Dame received a nice performance from redshirt sophomore Boubacar Traore, a pass rusher that this unit needs desperately. The ability for Ash’s defense to get after the passer has been one of the team’s biggest issues through three games, and while they still need to grow in that department, Traore added a much-needed bump. His presence was felt even when he wasn’t finishing the play.
Even if Traore’s numbers don’t necessarily pop off the page as a history performance, we saw a big sack earlier in the contest, several impressive plays in the run game, and pretty consistent pressure working off the edge. For a secondary that is still trying to get more comfortable, having a player like Traore to provide a more consistent impact on obvious passing downs is essential.
With Traore coming back from the knee injury last fall, Notre Dame fans have been waiting for the 6-4, 250-pound defensive end to get back to his old self and look healthy again. We saw more and more of that vintage Traore explosiveness down in Fayetteville. The hope is that No. 5 continues to flash more each week through the end of the season. That is the best-case scenario for Ash’s group.
If the defense is able to have some sort of breakout over the next few weeks, this Notre Dame team has a chance to be a really tough team down the stretch of the season. The offense has had to carry the defense so far, and it needs to be more of a complimentary group that Coach Freeman is searching for.
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