Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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4 OCT. 4, 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED I n what could best be called a case of "opposite déjà vu" — if there is such a thing — Notre Dame finds itself in the same situation this season as it was in last season at this time, only on op- posite sides of the football. Remember last season? Through four games under first-year offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock, Notre Dame with millionaire gradu- ate transfer quarterback Riley Leonard ranked 114th out of 133 FBS teams in passing efficiency, 108th in passing of- fense and 122nd in passing yards per completion. Leonard had only 1 touchdown pass on the season and looked confused and uncomfortable in Denbrock's offense. When asked early last season if im- provement was coming, even Denbrock admitted, "It looks like a long and dusty trail now, doesn't it?" Leonard improved, Notre Dame scored at least 31 points in its final eight regular-season games — all wins — and finished as national runner-up. Fast forward to this season, and only time and performance will tell if an Irish defense that has also looked confused and uncomfortable this year can make the same turnaround the Irish offense did last year. Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman became so frustrated with his defense after Purdue scored 30 points against it Sept. 20 — the most for the Boilers in this in-state series since 2007 — he summoned an emergency meeting of his defensive staff the following day, despite an easy 26-point Notre Dame victory in the game. "Not a comfortable meeting, and I didn't want it to be comfortable," shared Freeman about sending this strong message to his staff. "We're going to do this and get our guys better and believe in what we're doing, or we'll separate. And if we separate, it's not going to be good for anybody." In the same way Denbrock was taking his share of heat this time last year, the bulk of the defensive blame so far this season is falling on first-year defensive coordinator Chris Ash. Notre Dame entered its game against Arkansas last weekend giving up 32.7 points and 398.7 yards a game, two marks that ranked near the bottom of the NCAA. Following the Purdue game, Pete Sampson of The Athletic shared on so- cial media an interesting statistical dis- covery that the 98 points Notre Dame had already surrendered this season were the second most through three games in program history. The only worst defensive start than this year's came in 2007 when the unit led by head coach Charlie Weis and de- fensive coordinator Corwin Brown al- lowed 102 points during an 0-3 start and a 3-9 season. Not far behind in third place, Notre Dame in 2016 led by head coach Brian Kelly and defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder, gave up 96 points in its first three games. That 2016 defense allowed another 38 points in a loss to Duke in Game 4, leading to the abrupt in-season firing of VanGorder. For what it's worth, if a high-powered Arkansas offense scored more than 36 points against Notre Dame last week- end, Ash's unit supplanted VanGorder's as the worst scoring defense in Fighting Irish history through four games. And things could get worse under Ash. Five future Irish opponents featured offenses last week that ranked in the top 25 in total yardage: USC (third), Boise State (11th), Navy (17th), Syracuse (23rd) and Boston College (25th). The Notre Dame record for most points allowed in an entire season came in 2014 when the Irish gave up 29.2 points per game. This year's group was giving up 32.7 points a game through its first three outings. With proven players at every posi- tion group, the Irish certainly have the defensive talent to make a similar turn- around this season under Ash that the Notre Dame offense made last season under Denbrock. But there is one notable difference between the two coordinators. The pressure on Denbrock during his slow start last season wasn't as intense as what Ash is facing this year. Denbrock came to Notre Dame after leading LSU to the best and highest- scoring offense in the country, and quarterback Jayden Daniels to the Heis- man Trophy. Ash came to Notre Dame having not coached a college defense since 2020. For the time being, Freeman said he had no intention of taking away play- calling duties from Ash. "It's not what play we're calling at this time, or why we're calling it," Freeman said. "It's why aren't we executing it? "We're going to do whatever it takes to get this thing fixed, because we be- lieve in it. We believe in each other, and we believe in this coaching staff." ✦ The Fighting Irish allowed 98 points in its first three games, the second most in school history trailing only the 102 points given up during an 0-3 start in a 3-9 season in 2007. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER Todd D. Burlage has been a writer for Blue & Gold Illustrated since July 2005. He can be reached at tburlage@blueandgold.com. UPON FURTHER REVIEW TODD D. BURLAGE Notre Dame Needs Fast, And Vast, Improvement