Notre Dame football has an easy decision to help fix their abysmal defense that is blatantly obvious even with early struggles
The Notre Dame defense needs to get a lot better under defensive coordinator Chris Ash. There is one clear answer that the Irish need to utilize.
The Notre Dame defense, or Chris Ash’s defense, is broken right now. That’s what our eyes tell us after the first two games of the season, and the numbers back it up. It’s allowed 34 points per game, 413.5 total yards per game, and over 282 of those are being surrendered through the air. There aren’t many reasons to feel optimistic for that group following the team’s 41-40 loss to Texas A&M this past weekend.
While people are busy screaming to fire Ash, and deservedly so, there also needs to be some constructive conversations about how the Fighting Irish can fix this massive defensive problem. There won’t be any one move that will solve all the problems, but Notre Dame does have a few options on the table to help. One of the easiest answers for some immediate improvement should be simple at this point. Play sophomore linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa more.
During each of the last two games, “KVA” has been the best linebacker for the Fighting Irish, and I’m not so sure it has been relatively close. For whatever reason, Notre Dame has been playing the sophomore defender under 50 percent of the snaps in its two games. Yet, when on the field, the 6-3, 230-pound linebacker has been tremendous.
The impact of KVA
The easiest impact for Viliamu-Asa can be found with splash plays in the run game. This defense just hasn’t created enough negatives in the run game so far, and it needs to find answers to force opposing offenses behind the sticks. That would greatly improve its impact in pass coverage and create fewer options for passing attacks.
Despite playing considerably fewer snaps than Drayk Bowen right now, KVA has made more plays with his impact downhill and in the backfield. Bowen has failed to record a single tackle for loss, while Viliamu-Asa has already managed 1.5 tackles for loss. KVA leads the entire team in that department, showcasing the impact he can create. As a team, the Irish have only recorded four tackles for loss.
One of the other big appeals for Viliamu-Asa is the versatility that he brings on passing downs. Outside of Boubacar Traore, you can make a real argument that KVA is the most natural edge pass rusher on the team. We saw those flashes last season as a freshman, yet opportunities have been scarce to begin the 2025 college football season. That needs to change.
Between Viliamu-Asa’s traditional linebacker responsibilities and pass rush chances in subpackages, he should be playing a larger portion of the defensive snaps. The film and overall talent level back that up. You have a potential star on your hands, and are deciding not to use him. That usage distribution needs to change for Ash, and right now.
Your passing defense has been awful so far after playing at an elite level each of the past two years. What are potential fixes for that? Creating more negatives on early downs and getting more impactful as a pass rush unit.
Viliamu-Asa can do both of those things, and at a high level, even if he has some mistakes.
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Notre Dame football has the supports in place to make an aggressive decision that could solve a major issue for the Fighting Irish
Notre Dame football has an interesting dilemma on their hands. Should they eye a change now or let things play out a bit more?
