Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com OCT. 2, 2021 37 GAME PREVIEW: CINCINNATI For Notre Dame, through its first three games it had already recorded 13 sacks and was tied for 10th nationally with five interceptions, three of those by junior All-American safety Kyle Hamilton. Advantage: Cincinnati NOTRE DAME RUNNING GAME VS. CINCINNATI RUN DEFENSE A unit that is still expected to eventually become the strength of the Irish offense — though still fronted with an injured, rebuilt and so far maligned offensive line — Notre Dame's ground attack strug- gled during its first three games. Notre Dame ranked only 115th nationally with 105.7 rushing yards per game, which represents nearly a 50-percent drop-off from last season when it averaged 211.1 rushing yards and ranked 24th nationally. And as a team, the Irish were averaging only 2.9 yards per carry through three games, the ninth- lowest mark in the country. Led by graduate student Darrian Beavers — a 2020 second-team All-AAC selection — Cincinnati's rush defense features three talented linebackers. Beavers has 23 tackles, two sacks and two fum- ble recoveries. Sophomore Deshawn Pace leads the team with 25 tackles and has two tackles for loss and one interception, while graduate student Joel Dublanko adds 20 tackles, three tackles for loss and four quarterback hurries. With only five touchdowns and no field goals allowed in 11 red-zone trips by its opponents, Cin- cinnati also holds down a top-five national ranking in red zone defense. Advantage: Cincinnati NOTRE DAME PASSING GAME VS. CINCINNATI PASS DEFENSE Through masterful recruiting and aggressive coaching last season under defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman — now Notre Dame's first-year defensive coordinator — Cincinnati built one of the best overall defenses in the country, a unit that still features multiple NFL-caliber players, especially against the pass. The strength of Cincinnati's coverage unit starts with a secondary that features three cornerbacks who are all in the running for first-team All-AAC honors. In fact, junior Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner — already a two-time All-AAC first-team selection — is a le- gitimate All-America candidate and makes a case as the best cover corner in the nation. Gardner is joined by senior cornerback Coby Bryant, another 2020 first-team All-AAC honoree, who led Cincin- nati with four interceptions last season. Add to the cornerback mix junior Arquon Bush, and moving the ball through the air becomes a difficult challenge against a unit that finished third nationally last season in pass efficiency defense, eighth in scoring defense and third in total inter- ceptions with 16. Bush already has two of Cincinnati's six intercep- tions and leads the team with five pass breakups. Headlined by senior defensive end Myjai Sand- ers, who led the Bearcats with seven sacks last season, Cincinnati's defensive line is also loaded with NFL prospects. And while Sanders is off to a mundane start this season with only five tackles and 0.5 sacks, he's tied for the team lead with four quarterback hurries. The Bearcats have only four sacks this season, but have managed 13 quarterback hurries and 14 passes broken up. Sanders is joined up front by sophomore Jowon Briggs — a Virginia transfer and a former top-75 recruit — who is off to a fast start with 12 tackles through three games. Junior tailback Jerome Ford, a transfer from Alabama, led the Bearcats with 300 rushing yards and six touchdowns on 50 carries in the first three games this season. PHOTO COURTESY CINCINNATI ATHLETICS