Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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26 OCT. 11, 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 1. Notre Dame Needed A Game Like This Notre Dame was not going to score 50 points a game for the rest of the season, no matter how much the Irish tried to prove otherwise against Arkansas and Purdue. They were bound to play a game like the one against Boise State, when they left at least 14 points on the table and finished with "only" 28. They needed to experience this type of game in case it happens again when they face a team bet- ter equipped to take advantage. The offense, which got pretty much whatever it wanted in Weeks 4 and 5, also needed to test itself against adversity. And it faced some in Week 6, in the form of a fourth-down stuff at the goal line and a missed throw on a would-be fourth-down conversion for a touchdown. Its response, Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman said, was what he wanted to see. "They're pissed," Freeman said. "If they weren't upset — 'Man, it's OK, next play' — probably not the competitors that I believe we should have. They own it. They find the answers. They go out there and attack. "You're not gonna be perfect, but they executed when it mattered most." 2. With Outburst At Refs, It Looked Like Free- man Was Trying To Make A Point The NBC cameras caught the beginning of Free- man's tirade at the referees after redshirt senior Jason Onye was called for a questionable roughing the passer penalty that nullified an interception by redshirt junior linebacker Jaylen Sneed. They didn't catch the full extent of it, though. During the ensuing TV timeout, Freeman yelled at the officials to a point where it looked like he was running out of breath. The fourth-year Notre Dame head coach looked like a baseball manager, trying to get thrown out of the ballgame. And when managers do that —the smart ones, anyway — they're usually looking to make a point, either to the officials or their own team. Freeman is smart, and though he can get ani- mated when he's furious during a game, he doesn't do things for no reason. "I have a lot of respect for those guys, I do," Freeman said. "It was head-of-the-moment. They know. I'll never disrespect them." Freeman could have been looking to fire up his own players if he thought they were discouraged by the dubious call. He also could've been trying to tamp down a laundry-happy officiating crew, who called 11 penalties on Notre Dame (and another 13 on Boise State). Either way, that was as upset as we've seen Free- man at the officials since Jordan Faison's fake punt for a touchdown was called back due to an illegal formation penalty with which the Irish disagreed. That was, as it turned out, the same crew that worked this game. 3. Leonard Moore: Notre Dame Defense Found Its Identity And obviously, his return from a high ankle sprain was a significant part of that. Moore hauled in 2 of Notre Dame's 4 interceptions, and his sticky coverage helped cause 4 sacks as the Irish held Boise State to 7 points. As Broncos head coach Spencer Danielson noted, the Irish played a ton of man coverage. But the biggest difference wasn't the play calls. It was the play style. "We go out there playing fast and violent," Moore said. "I wouldn't compare it to last year. It's a new group, a new team. But we went out there, and we played violent." That's what this Notre Dame defense needs to be. The star power (sans Moore) isn't as preva- lent without Jack Kiser, Rylie Mills, Howard Cross III, Benjamin Morrison and Xavier Watts. But the speed and violence has to be. The Irish also did a much better job with one of Freeman's sticking points: marrying pass rush and coverage. In other words, the two sides of Notre Dame's pass defense helped each other. "There were still times in the fourth quarter of the game I felt like the quarterback was scram- bling a little bit too much for my liking," Freeman said. "I'm a perfection guy. We've gotta make sure we get him down all the time. But it's definitely improving." 4. Malachi Fields And Jordan Faison Make Good Things Happen Every game, a Notre Dame wide receiver stands out for his blocking. This time, it was redshirt se- nior Malachi Fields. Fields was holding his blocks and moving people in the run game, turning good plays from running backs Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price into great ones. And when that happens, Price explained, the ball tends to find you — as it did for Fields on his 6-yard goal-line fade for a touchdown. "You saw Malachi, heck of a catch that didn't count," Price said. "But then we went back to him, and he had the catch. The ball doesn't lie, man." On the other side, junior wide receiver Jordan Faison has become an absolute menace. He added 6 receptions for 83 yards, and he is as much of a human joystick as anyone on the Irish aside from Love. Their numbers might be more modest than the running backs' but they played an outstanding game on the outside. 5. Jaylen Sneed Might Be Back His top two plays were nullified by questionable officiating, but this was Sneed's best game of the season and it's not particularly close. He was still the fourth wheel at linebacker, play- ing 24 snaps while sophomore Kyngstonn Viliamu- Asa, junior Drayk Bowen and redshirt sophomore Jaiden Ausberry played 62, 55 and 38, respectively. But in those snaps, Sneed was productive. He was involved in 2 sacks, made a run stuff that looked like it stonewalled the Broncos on third-and-short and intercepted a pass, even though it didn't count. Why is this worth a thought? Because Sneed is not always on, but Notre Dame's defense is better when he is. And when he plays well one week, odds are higher that he'll play well the next. FIVE THOUGHTS BY JACK SOBLE Redshirt junior linebacker Jaylen Sneed (No. 3) played his best game of the season to date, making the most of his 24 snaps while recording 3 tackles and 1 sack. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER