Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Rapid reaction: Irish defense struggles - again - in loss to Duke

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Notre Dame took the field Saturday, hoping to bounce back in a big way against a lesser opponent in Duke. What many thought would be a game for the Irish to gain some confidence proved to be anything but the truth.

Last week, I wrote that I was frustrated by Notre Dame’s continual slow starts. For about the first seven minutes of game time, I was pleasantly surprised. It seemed like this Irish team started to play with a chip on its shoulder. The Irish moved the ball effortlessly on their first two drives on their way to a 14-0 lead. Things changed with the ensuing kickoff, which Duke took 96 yards to the house.

After that kick return for a score, the Irish were dominated, especially when Duke had the football. Again, the Irish defense looked completely lost.

Sep 24, 2016; South Bend, IN, USA; Duke Blue Devils running back Shaun Wilson (29) carries the ball in the second quarter against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

There are a lot of excuses one could make as to why this defense has struggled so badly in the early part of this season. One of them is youth. Similarly, another is inexperience. However, that is not nearly the biggest issue with the Irish defense.

Brian VanGorder, the much maligned defensive coordinator of the Irish continues to baffle me. Notre Dame has gotten torched in the secondary all season long (I’ll get to that in a second). Why, in any situation, VanGorder thinks that rushing only three defenders in a passing situation is a good idea, I can’t fathom.

To his credit, VanGorder did dial up a blitz that netted the team’s first sack of the season halfway through the third quarter. Why it took three quarters to dial up a blitz, I’m not sure. When the Irish did dial up pressure, they didn’t always get there, but they often made Daniel Jones, Duke’s quarterback, uncomfortable. In the third quarter, freshman Donte Vaughn came up with a huge interception because of pressure on Jones.

To an extent, VanGorder’s unwillingness to bring pressure is understandable. Irish defensive backs don’t seem to be able to stick with receivers in one-on-one situations that blitzing often creates.

Sep 10, 2016; South Bend, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder signals to his players in the third quarter against the Nevada Wolf Pack at Notre Dame Stadium. Notre Dame won 39-10. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

Scheme aside, the Irish have disappointed from a personnel standpoint as well. It seems that the Nick Coleman experiment is at least momentarily over. After getting torched early in the first quarter, Coleman was replaced by freshman Julian Love. Fellow freshman Donte Vaughn played the nickel back position. Similarly, guys like James Onwualu and Te’Von Coney have been disappointing. Onwualu frequently loses contain responsibilities while Coney is as guilty as anyone when it comes to missing tackles.

Worst yet, it could have been worse. Duke’s kicking game has struggled all season, putting them in multiple situations where they had to go for it on fourth down rather than kicking a field goal.

The Irish played sloppily on both sides of the ball. It’s tough to win turning the ball over three times. Still, giving up 498 total yards (it was 500 before Duke kneeled to end the game) to this team is an indictment on the Irish defense.

It’s hard to figure out what to do with this defense at this point in the season. On one hand, firing VanGorder would sure make a lot of Irish fans happy. Whether or not such a move would have any effect on the play of the defense is less clear. The bottom line is that this defense is just plain bad and it’s not getting any better under Brian VanGorder.