The defense has been the story of No. 24 Notre Dame through the first three games of the season. First-year defensive coordinator Chris Ash has struggled to pick up where Al Golden left the unit when he bolted for the Cincinnati Bengals after the national championship game.
On Saturday, the Irish defense gave up 23 points to Purdue in the first half before Notre Dame ran away in the second half to win their first game of the season 56-30 in front of 77,622 fans at Notre Dame Stadium.
Following the contest, Irish head coach Marcus Freeman told the media that Ash needed to do a better job of matching pressure with his coverage scheme.
“Marcus Freeman says Notre Dame needs to do a better job of ‘marrying up’ coverage with pressure from the defensive front,” wrote Tyler Horka of On3 Sports.
/16x9%20single%20image%20-%202026-02-13T105716.711.webp?ssl=1 "George Russell tops morning timesheets on Day 3 of first pre-season test in Bahrain")
