Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM OCT. 3, 2026 53 W hile Notre Dame's offense sorts through a rushing attack that has yet to be as consistent or dynamic as expected, the Irish defense has been putting on a clinic by shutting down opposing running games. The Irish entered Week 4 ranked No. 6 in the FBS in rushing defense after al- lowing just 58.3 rushing yards per game during the team's 3-0 start. Notre Dame ranked one spot higher in yards allowed per carry (1.90). Only LSU, Navy, Geor- gia and Alabama gave up fewer yards per rush. What makes Notre Dame's perfor- mance so impressive is that its first three opponents put a premium on try- ing to run the ball. In its first two games after playing Notre Dame, Wisconsin rushed for 350 yards and 4 touchdowns with an average of 5.7 yards per carry. The Badgers managed just 2.2 yards per attempt against the Irish. Notre Dame limited Rice to 1.9 yards per carry. The Owls averaged 5.9 yards per carry in the two games against Houston Christian and Western Michigan that sandwiched the meeting with the Irish. The gap between Michigan State's performance against Notre Dame and its performances against its first two opponents — 4.3 yards per carry against Toledo and Eastern Michigan and 1.6 against Notre Dame — wasn't as wide but the Irish prioritized limiting what the Spartans could do on the ground. Defensive coordinator Chris Ash and the rest of the defensive coaching staff put together another game plan that worked well. "A major key to victory for us is to be able to stop the running attack," Free- man said. "If that's a key to the victory, you must have a great plan for it. Coach Ash has done a tremendous job of doing different things to stop the run. "It's not one defense. It's not one per- son. It's different looks, different fronts. Is it a pressure? Are we playing base de- fense? We want the ability to change up the looks for the offense so they're not just anticipating what defensive front we'll be in and who's in the fit. And then our guys have to go out and execute it. "But it starts with how our coaching staff, our defensive coaching staff, and Coach Ash, have game planned to stop the run." Michigan State managed to record the first run of at least 15 yards against the Irish, running quarterback Cam Fancher doing so on his touchdown run in the second quarter. But if that's the big- gest mistake for the run defense in three games, that's a pretty good standard. "As much as you want to be perfect, you have to prioritize what's important to making sure we have success each game," Freeman said, "and stopping the run in the first three games has been ultra-important." That importance won't lessen as Notre Dame approaches its toughest games of the regular season in Octo- ber and November. BYU — which the Irish will play in Provo, Utah, Oct. 17 — owned the No. 13 rushing offense at the FBS level entering Week 4. The Cougars averaged 262.7 rushing yards through their first three games. Miami, which will visit Notre Dame Nov. 7, wasn't far behind BYU. The Hur- ricanes' rushing offense was ranked No. 22 through three games with an av- erage of 236.3 rushing yards per game. Of course, Navy's triple-option of- fense will remain among the top rushing offenses in the country. The Midship- men, who averaged 376.0 yards in their first two games, will host the Irish at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., on Halloween. Even as many college offenses have become more reliant on production in the passing game, rushing defense re- mains a strong indicator for a national championship contender. Each of the past 11 national champions has finished their seasons with a rushing defense ranked among the top 25 in the FBS. Eight of those champions were ranked in the top five in their respective seasons. Notre Dame nearly bucked the trend when it made a College Football Play- off run into the national championship game with a rushing defense that fin- ished ranked No. 49. It narrowly avoided a CFP semifinal loss to Penn State while allowing 204 rushing yards and 3 touch- downs to the Nittany Lions. Then the Irish surrendered 214 rushing yards and 2 rushing touchdowns in the 34-23 loss to national champion Ohio State. Notre Dame improved to No. 12 in rushing defense in Ash's first year with the Irish in 2025. He might be able to do even better this season. If he does, it will go a long way in keeping Notre Dame's national title hopes alive. ✦ Senior linebacker Drayk Bowen led Notre Dame's No. 6-ranked run defense in tackles with 19 through three games. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER Notre Dame's Run Defense Matters Tyler James has been covering Notre Dame athletics since 2011. He can be reached on X @ TJamesND FIRST AND LAST TYLER JAMES