Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM SEPT. 27, 2025 37 GAME PREVIEW: ARKANSAS BY ERIC HANSEN ARKANSAS RUNNING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME RUN DEFENSE The unlikely sidekick to the nation's leader in total offense, Arkansas dual-threat quarterback Taylen Green, never started more than four games in his one season at New Mexico State in 2024, or during any of his three in a Buffalo Bulls uniform (2021-23). But senior running back Mike Washington Jr. has finally arrived. And at 6-foot-2, 228 pounds, the former three- star prospect from Cicero, N.Y., will test first-year Irish defensive coordinator Chris Ash's scheme tweaks as well as the physicality of the Notre Dame front seven. That is when the 6-6, 235-pound Green isn't doing that himself with his arm or his legs. Run defense was the one puzzle Ash's predeces- sor, Al Golden, left unfinished in his three seasons with the Irish. Never did Golden's defense rank in the top 25 nationally in the critical metric in which national champs and contenders for titles tend to be elite. And last season, when Notre Dame was 11th in total defense and fourth in scoring defense, the Irish were still an unimpressive 49th in run defense. And that vulnerability showed up in both of their losses — to Northern Illinois and to Ohio State in the College Football Playoff national cham- pionship game. Through its first two games in 2025, Notre Dame took a step further back and ranked 68th heading into its matchup with Purdue Sept. 20. Meanwhile, Washington was Arkansas' second- leading rusher heading into its nonconference matchup with Memphis Sept. 20, averaging a ca- reer-high 8.4 yards a carry with 260 rushing yards overall and 2 touchdowns. What makes him more effective is the constant run/pass dilemma Green puts defenses in. He came into Week 4 as Arkansas' leading rusher, averaging 9.6 yards a carry with 2 scores (307 yards on a team-leading 32 carries). On Sept. 13, Green became the first Razorback ever to pass for 300 yards or more and rush for 100 yards or more in a game. And it came against an SEC opponent, no less, and on the road in a 41-35 shootout won by the host Ole Miss Rebels. Arkansas has depth in its running game as well — the Razorbacks rotate 6-1, 238-pound sophomore Braylen Russell in with Washington at running back. Advantage: Arkansas ARKANSAS PASSING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME PASS DEFENSE For almost every Irish matchup of 2023 and 2024, this was a category where it was hard to build a case for any opponent facing Notre Dame — the two-time statistical national champion in pass efficiency defense. In 2025? The Irish have talent, depth and per- haps the best defensive backs coach in college football, but they have yet to look like that against a top quarterback. And that indeed is what Taylen Green is — at least out of the gate. His pass efficiency rating heading into the Memphis game last weekend was roughly 50 points higher (182.7) than either of his two years as a starter at Boise State or last season at Arkansas. One of the reasons he's flourishing is the influx of transfer talent at the wide receiver and tight end positions, led by Charlotte transfer wideout O'Mega Blake. The 6-foot-2, 187-pound redshirt senior was sec- ond in the FBS last season in yards per catch (24.8) in his one season at Charlotte. One of 31 transfers Arkansas brought in overall in the offseason, Blake started his career and spent three seasons at South Carolina. In 2022, in a reserve role for the Gamecocks, Blake played against Notre Dame in the Gator Bowl, catching 1 pass for 1 yard in Notre Dame's 45-38 victory to cap Marcus Freeman's first season as head coach. Arkansas' second-leading receiver, Jalen Brown, also is a transfer and at his third school in his three- year college career. The 6-1, 171-pound redshirt sophomore started his career at LSU under former Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly and played against the Irish briefly last season for Florida State in the 52-3 Irish waxing of the Seminoles. He had a kickoff return for 19 yards in that game. Through three games for the Razorbacks, Brown has 10 catches for 114 yards and 2 touchdowns. Even if Notre Dame grows into its potential in pass coverage, the slow start to the season with its pass-rush prowess and Arkansas' elite ability to protect Green when he's not running himself out of trouble both make this a tough matchup for the Irish defense. Advantage: Arkansas NOTRE DAME RUNNING GAME VS. ARKANSAS RUN DEFENSE It's staggering to see the Irish sitting at No. 115 nationally in rushing offense, even in a weekly sta- tistical snapshot, and even after having played two strong opponents to start the season. As far as the end of the season, it's happened only once since Notre Dame began archiving some of its national stat rankings after World War II (1946), and that No. 115 rush offense ranking was owned by coach Charlie Weis' 2007 Irish team that On PaPer Through three games this season, senior running back Mike Washington Jr. was averaging a career-high 8.4 yards per rushing attempt while racking up 260 yards and 2 touchdowns. PHOTO COURTESY ARKANSAS ATHLETICS