Since so much attention has been heaped on Notre Dame’s offense—and rightfully so—I figured I’d get this game week started by examining how the Irish defense has developed into a top-20 unit. The Irish have been able to erase some of the problems plaguing them last season. Oh, and uh, they have yet to allow an opponent to score more than 20 points in a game. That helps.
Last season the Irish defense was unremarkable in a lot of ways, but absolutely terrible on passing plays. That group ranked 86th in passing S&P+, 116th in success rate (efficiency), and 59th in isolated points per play allowed.