Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1541560
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM NOV. 29, 2025 25 NOTRE DAME CONTINUES TO RIDE THE SURGE OF A DEFENSIVE AWAKENING A few hours before No. 9 Notre Dame eviscerated Syracuse with its most pro- lific point total in 93 years, coaching icon Nick Saban, on ESPN's College GameDay show, gave a master class on the Irish defense. And the retired Alabama coach turned talking head expertly detailed the evolved X's and O's and schematic nuances behind its dramatic and em- phatic turnaround for the ages. Shortly after the Irish finished relent- lessly overwhelming the visiting Or- ange on both sides of the ball and spe- cial teams at Notre Dame Stadium by a 70-7 count, Irish head coach Marcus Freeman recalled the turning point that triggered it all. At the time, he called the Sunday coaches meeting following a 56-30 win over Purdue Sept. 20 "uncomfortable" and necessarily so. And the upshot of those intense discussions bled into the player ranks. And it changed the trajectory of Notre Dame's season, not to mention the per- ception of first-year Irish defensive co- ordinator Chris Ash. The Irish were 1-2 at that juncture. The Syracuse team that they just de- stroyed was 3-1 and coming off a 34-21 road upset of Clemson in which former Irish backup quarterback and Syracuse's starter, Steve Angeli, suffered a season- ending Achilles tear. That's when Notre Dame leaned into its culture, a term media types like to throw around undefined and intangibly. Well, this is what it looks like in Free- man's program. "We gave up a lot of yards [against Purdue]," Freeman said. "And I re- member you guys asking me, 'Did you ever think about calling plays? Did you ever think about making a change?' I just remember the moment. Not the questions. "I remember that was the moment where we had an option — and they had an option. Either you stick together and you attack it and you just work at it and trust each other and believe in each other, or you do what outsiders would do and point the finger at one person, and that being Chris Ash, because he hap- pens to be the defensive coordinator. "They have two options. But they all said, 'We're going to stay together, point the finger at myself — and I'm talking players and coaches included.' That was the point when they made the decision, 'No, we're doubling down. We're going to work this thing.'" In the sixth game since the inflec- tion point, the Notre Dame defense held Syracuse to 207 total yards, the fewest any opponent has gained this season. And that's with the Orange offense on the field for 80 plays to Notre Dame's 39 and holding the ball 41 minutes and 50 seconds to Notre Dame's 18:10. SYRACUSE GAME NOTES BY ERIC HANSEN AND TYLER JAMES The Fighting Irish defense limited the Orange to 2.9 yards per play — their best mark this season — and held them off the scoreboard until seven seconds remained in the game. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER OFFENSE QB: CJ CARR, Kenny Minchey, Tyler Buchner RB: JEREMIYAH LOVE, Jadarian Price, Aneyas Williams, Nolan James, Jake Tafelski WR (X): MALACHI FIELDS, Micah Gilbert, Cam Williams, Leo Scheidler WR (Z): JORDAN FAISON, KK Smith, Elijah Burress, Alex Whitman WR (Y): WILL PAULING, Matt Jeffery, Logan Saldate TE: ELI RARIDON, Ty Washington, Jack Larsen, Justin Fisher LT: ANTHONIE KNAPP, Styles Prescod LG: SULLIVAN ABSHER, Will Black, Robbie Wollan C: JOE OTTING, Cam Herron RG: GUERBY LAMBERT, Chris Terek, Devan Houstan RT: AAMIL WAGNER, Matty Augustine, Owen Strebig DEFENSE LDE: BOUBACAR TRAORE, Jordan Botelho, Loghan Thomas, Preston Zinter, Joe Reiff DT: JASON ONYE, Elijah Hughes, Cole Mullins, Gordy Sulfsted NT: JARED DAWSON, Donovan Hinish, Armel Mukam, Davion Dixon RDE: JOSHUA BURNHAM, Bryce Young, Junior Tuihalamaka, Kobi Onyiuke, Christopher Burgess MLB: DRAYK BOWEN, Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, Kahanu Kia, Ko'o Kia, Jerry Rullo WLB: JAIDEN AUSBERRY, Jaylen Sneed, Madden Faraimo, Teddy Rezac, Bodie Kahoun BCB: LEONARD MOORE, Chance Tucker, Cree Thomas FCB: CHRISTIAN GRAY, Mark Zackery IV NB: DEVONTA SMITH, Dallas Golden, Karson Hobbs, Ben Minich BS: ADON SHULER, Luke Talich, Taebron Bennie-Powell FS: JALEN STROMAN, Ethan Long, JaDon Blair SPECIAL TEAMS Kickoff return: Gi'Bran Payne, Jalen Stroman, Loghan Thomas, Madden Faraimo, Kahanu Kia, Joshua Burnham, Kobi Onyiuke, Henry Garrity, Preston Zinter, Leo Scheidler Kickoff coverage: Ko'o Kia, Kahanu Kia, Loghan Thomas, Jaylen Sneed, Mad- den Faraimo, Luke Talich, Dallas Golden, Teddy Rezac, Ben Minich, Matt Jef- fery, Ethan Long, Bodie Kahoun, Alex Whitman, Charles Du, Dylan Devezin, Jerry Rullo Punt return: Luke Talich, Adon Shuler, Teddy Rezac, Loghan Thomas, Jalen Stroman, Bryce Young, Preston Zinter, Ben Minich, Matt Jeffery, Bodie Kahoun Punt coverage: Jason Onye, Joshua Burnham, Will Pauling, Jordan Faison, Jaiden Ausberry, Ben Minich, Luke Talich, Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, Preston Zinter Long snapper: Joseph Vinci Holder: Tyler Buchner Kick returners: Jadarian Price, Aneyas Williams, Nolan James Jr., Isaiah Dunn Punt returner: Jordan Faison, Aneyas Williams Placekicker: Erik Schmidt Kickoff specialist: Erik Schmidt, Marcello Diomede Punter: James Rendell PARTICIPATION CHART