Notre Dame fans sound off on Marcus Freeman, Chris Ash, and CJ Carr ahead of do-or-die showdown with No. 1 Miami
Notre Dame football faces a massive Saturday night against Miami. What needs to change for the Fighting Irish, and who is responsible?
Notre Dame football is in a strange spot. The Fighting Irish are 7-1 and ranked No. 4 in the latest AP poll, but there is a growing sense of frustration surrounding the program.
Head coach Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame welcome No. 1 Miami to South Bend on Saturday night in what could be the biggest game of the 2026 college football season. It is also an enormous recruiting opportunity for the Irish.
On paper, everything looks fine in South Bend. The results and the feeling around this team tell a different story.
Notre Dame suffered a 28-24 upset loss to BYU in Provo a couple of weeks ago. After a bye week, the Irish found themselves trailing Navy 13-7 with a couple of minutes remaining in the first half before eventually pulling away for a 35-13 victory. The win helped, but it did little to quiet the concerns about how this team performs in important moments.
Then came the first College Football Playoff rankings. Despite sitting at No. 4 in the AP poll, Notre Dame opened at No. 11 in the committee’s rankings. That puts even more pressure on Saturday’s matchup.
A loss to Miami would leave the Irish with very little margin for error as they try to work their way into the playoff picture. This is as close to a must-win game as Notre Dame can have in November.
As a Notre Dame fan born in 1991, I understand the frustration. I asked readers on X (@RiseNDraft) to share their thoughts and questions, and the responses turned into a de facto Notre Dame mailbag. Here is where I stand on some of the biggest topics surrounding the program.
Notre Dame’s defensive play calling and Chris Ash
I don’t think Freeman is going to strip defensive coordinator Chris Ash of his responsibilities. It would surprise me, however, if Freeman didn’t have a much bigger say in the defensive strategy every Saturday.
Like Al Golden, Freeman believes in an aggressive, press-man-heavy system that can bring pressure from different places and create chaos for opposing quarterbacks. That approach will occasionally give up an explosive play. It also gives Notre Dame opportunities to attack the football, disrupt timing, and create turnovers.
The problem is that, during Ash’s time with the Irish, the defense has too often become passive in the moments when it needs to be at its best. If Notre Dame comes out aggressively against Miami, it could be a sign that Freeman has taken a more active role in shaping the game plan.
Should he take over play calling? I would say no. But he absolutely needs to establish the identity and expectations for what this defense should look like in the biggest games.
Is Ash getting the most out of his talent? In big games, I don’t think so. The results against BYU this season and Miami and Texas A&M last year are difficult to ignore. People in my DMs, emails, and text messages have asked whether I’ve overrated this defensive talent.
My answer is no.
There are future NFL players all over this unit. Notre Dame’s defense is allowing just 13.4 points per game through eight games, which ranks among the best marks in the country. The Irish are also giving up only 236.1 total yards per game, the best figure in the FBS.
Those numbers make the inconsistent performances in big moments even more frustrating. When a talented defense doesn’t consistently play with the speed and confidence you’d expect, I start looking at the coaching and the structure of the scheme. I believe that’s where the issue lies.
Is Notre Dame wasting a loaded roster?
If Notre Dame loses to Miami and ultimately misses the College Football Playoff, it would be one of the biggest wastes of talent the program has experienced since the turn of the century.
Even in the NIL and transfer portal era, this roster has high-level talent at nearly every position. People keep telling me CJ Carr is a first-round quarterback, and I understand why. The offensive line is bigger and more talented from one through five than I can remember. The wide receiver room is the best it has been in several years, and the defense has potential high-round draft picks at all three levels.
The overall production backs up the idea that this is a talented team. Notre Dame is averaging 40.4 points and 442.8 yards per game through eight contests. The Irish are also one of the better teams in the country at taking care of the football, with a plus-14 turnover margin. This isn’t a roster lacking the pieces to compete for a national championship. It’s a roster that needs to play closer to its potential when the stakes are highest.
Why do Freeman’s teams come out flat?
I think it’s a combination of things. Defensively, there seems to be a passive approach that takes over at times, perhaps because of Freeman’s defensive background and a desire to avoid giving up the big play. That is a difficult balance to strike with a unit built to be aggressive.
Offensively, it often comes down to controlling the ground game, working the clock, and waiting for the perfect play. The players don’t always seem to play loose until they have to. That’s a big reason why Notre Dame can look so different in the first half of a big game compared to the second.
This is my biggest criticism of Freeman. I think he’s a good coach, a great recruiter, and a tremendous representative of the program. At times, though, I believe he handcuffs his players. A team that is constantly worried about making mistakes is rarely going to reach its full potential.
Notre Dame has enough talent to dictate the terms of a game. It shouldn’t need to fall behind before it starts playing with urgency and confidence.
What needs to change on defense?
The fix is more systematic than simply playing Player X over Player Y. Injuries have limited how exotic Notre Dame can be defensively, but there are still ways to make this group more aggressive.
Players like Leonard Moore, Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, and Boubacar Traore should be turned loose. Bring pressure from the second level. Let Moore and the other talented cornerbacks get up in the faces of opposing receivers. Don’t sit back and wait for the offense to make a mistake. Make the offense uncomfortable.
The scheme has also become too predictable in some of the biggest moments. Playing a heavy dose of zone coverage when the game is on the line isn’t necessarily the best way for this team to win. This isn’t about making the defense more complicated. It’s about allowing fast, athletic players to play fast and athletic.
On the defensive line, Boubacar Traore and Bryce Young should continue to get plenty of opportunities at defensive end. I would also like to see true freshman Rodney Dunham get more snaps. He’s too talented to spend so much time watching from the sideline.
Inside, Notre Dame’s depth could be tested with the availability of Francis Brewu and Jason Onye in question (I would be surprised if either plays). The four defensive tackles the Irish have leaned on are Armel Mukam, Tionne Gray, Elijah Hughes and Sean Sevillano Jr. When everyone is healthy, I would like to see Brewu and Gray, the two transfers, command a significant share of the snaps, with Mukombe and the others rotating heavily.
Bryce Young and Adon Shuler
I don’t want to make assumptions about what’s going on in Adon Shuler’s world. He suffered a difficult loss in his family earlier this season, and I can’t imagine the personal toll that takes. He started the year playing well, but the last couple of games have been more difficult. Shuler is one of the most competitive players on this roster, and after an underwhelming performance against Miami last season, I expect him to be locked in for this one.
Young, meanwhile, is one of the most athletically gifted players on the roster. At 6-foot-6 and 260 pounds, he has the physical tools to be a difference-maker off the edge. The Navy game needs some context because the triple-option offense naturally limits traditional pass-rush opportunities. Still, Young is a work in progress technically. If he can get back to the basics and play with more consistency, I think he’ll be just fine.
CJ Carr, the offense and a national championship shot
I wouldn’t say Carr looks like a quarterback who is losing confidence. He’s naturally confident, but there’s also a perfectionist side to his personality. He can be hard on himself, and that sometimes leads to mistakes sticking with him longer than they should. Freeman has talked about Carr having a short memory, but I’m not sure I completely agree.
Offensively, Notre Dame needs to stop obsessing over finding the perfect play. Play with more tempo and let Carr get into a rhythm. Overthinking things only limits his aggressiveness. The Irish have plenty of talent at wide receiver, yet the rotation seems to shrink in the biggest games. That’s something I would like to see change.
At running back, Jonaz Walton needs to get more opportunities. He brings the ability to create explosive runs, and that element is important for an offense that can become too predictable. He should be part of the rotation alongside the more complete skill set of Nolan James Jr.
Is Freeman ultimately responsible for the defensive struggles? Absolutely. When something isn’t working, the head coach has to find a way to fix it. That doesn’t mean I’m calling for Ash to lose his job. Freeman sees the same issues everyone else does, and something needs to change.
Can Notre Dame still win a national championship? Yes. This is one of the more wide-open fields we’ve seen in several years, and the Irish have enough talent to compete with anybody. But talent alone isn’t going to get it done. Notre Dame needs to trust its identity, play with more confidence, and find a way to put together four quarters of its best football.
That opportunity starts Saturday night against Miami. The Irish have spent the last few weeks giving people reasons to question them. Now they get a chance to answer those questions against the No. 1 team in the country.
