SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Outside Notre Dame Stadium, on the other side of O’Neill Hall and beyond the statue of legendary Irish coach Frank Leahy, a Texas A&M tailgate raged until 1:46 a.m., a mix of karaoke and greatest hits. “Party in the U.S.A.” by Miley Cyrus gave way to “She Will Be Loved” by Maroon 5 — it was hard to tell whether the color reference was intentional. Regardless, none of the Texas A&M visitors wanted this night to end, even if Notre Dame’s season felt like it just did.
That’s the hardest part for coach Marcus Freeman after Notre Dame collapsed against Texas A&M, losing 41-40 on a night that was supposed to be the program’s second chance to make a first impression. If its season-opening performance in a 27-24 loss at Miami two weeks ago could be explained as an exception — an offensive line that couldn’t block, a defense not in sync with its new coordinator, a game plan that forgot running back Jeremiyah Love — what Notre Dame showed here on Saturday night may be the rule.
That shouldn’t worry Freeman. It should terrify him.
“I can’t sit here and dwell on being 0-2 as much as I need to dwell on how do we find ways to improve,” Freeman said. “That’s what I need to dwell on, how do we get better? How do we evaluate what we’re doing, why things are and aren’t working and how do we attack them and get better?”
Freeman went on record that he wouldn’t strip new defensive coordinator Chris Ash of play-calling duties after two games. Even after Texas A&M put up 488 yards and averaged 7.1 yards per play. Even after the defense didn’t create a sack after spending all week talking about getting pressure. Even after Marcel Reed averaged more than 20 yards per completion, a number that could have been higher if the quarterback hit more of those streaking receivers running uncovered. Even after giving up 40 points in regulation for the first time in 75 games, dating back to 2019’s trip to Ann Arbor.
Freeman might not know everything that’s wrong with Notre Dame’s defense after Ash seemingly took the playbook of his predecessor Al Golden and torched it. Freeman just knows one thing it’s not.
“It’s not the call. It’s the execution, and I’ve always believed that,” Freeman said. “At the end of the day, why aren’t we able to execute in a way that we believe we need to and should? That’s the question we’ve got to get answered.”
The reason Notre Dame can’t execute zone defense is probably because this defense wasn’t built to play it. The reason Notre Dame can’t get any kind of pass rush might be because the staff tried to duct tape the defensive tackle position together with transfers and journeymen. The reason the Irish secondary collapsed without Xavier Watts might be because Notre Dame lacks a problem solver at the back. It ended the game down a captain too, after Adon Shuler was ejected for targeting.
There’s an irony that Notre Dame’s last national championship-winning head coach, Lou Holtz, presented the colors before the national anthem on Saturday. Holtz has too many quotes to cite them all, but one is, “Nothing is as good as it seems, and nothing is as bad as it seems. Somewhere in between lies realty.” And yet, Notre Dame’s defense really is as bad as it seems. Unless it’s actually worse.
“Sometimes leverage, sometimes eyes,” said defensive back Leonard Moore, about why the secondary has struggled. “I mean, sometimes knowing your assignment, knowing what you’re gonna get (in) a certain formation.”
There isn’t much left beyond that.
Where Notre Dame goes from here, aside from straight back to the practice field, is out of the national conversation for the next two-plus months. Quarterback CJ Carr makes the program interesting. Love and Jadarian Price make it watchable. But the defense, unable to get pressure, unable to cover legitimate receivers, undoes whatever good the Irish have. There is nothing about the Ash defense that should give Freeman confidence, nothing that he could find as a foundation to build on.
The Irish went from one of the best defenses in college football to one of the worst at warp speed, which is about half as fast as Aggies receiver Mario Craver cut through Notre Dame’s secondary.
“It’s not good enough,” Freeman said. “Not good enough in the run and pass, not good enough getting pressure on the quarterback. We had some unexpected injuries, but it doesn’t matter. You’re on the field, we’ve got to put you in position to make plays.”
Notre Dame has not done that, not on defense, at least.
What makes the season worth investing in for Notre Dame is Carr, whose growth potential looks like it could take the program back to the kind of place the Irish went last year. He missed multiple throws, not seeing receivers running open through the secondary. His clap just before halftime created a fourth-down fumble. His interception, a late throw into traffic, was a youthful indiscretion.
Carr also threw for 293 yards and looked like a quarterback who’s been running a college offense for years, not weeks.
“He did a heck of a job tonight,” Freeman said. “He led our offense, protected the football. Was putting the ball in great places for wideouts to make some plays, protection-wise. That’s a tough defense, and they did a good job protecting in third down.
“He’s playing well, man.”
Yes, Notre Dame has its quarterback for the long haul. But Freeman thought he’d have a defensive coordinator for right now to go with it. Instead, the Irish are winless after two games, almost out of the College Football Playoff chase (their odds to make the field dropped from 63 percent to 40 percent with the loss, per The Athletic’s Austin Mock) and wondering how to climb out of this hole of their own making.
The magic of last season has long since faded, leaving Notre Dame to pick up the pieces without any idea of how the puzzle is supposed to look when finished. The attitude of last season has vanished, replaced by that performative pregame dustup as Texas A&M headed toward its locker room. Who were the Irish trying to impress, the Aggies or themselves? They failed on both fronts.
When backup tight end Nate Boerkircher boxed out Drayk Bowen for the game-winning touchdown, set up for glory by Reed’s throw on fourth-and-11 and Tyler Buchner’s botched extra point hold a drive earlier, the Texas A&M party broke contain. The revelry in the stands spilled into the parking lot, no one quite sure what they’d just seen.
A national championship contender looks done by mid-September.
Outside the stadium, that Texas A&M tailgate belted out “Don’t Stop Believin’” at 12:36 a.m. Notre Dame had already called it a night. Whatever belief the Irish had at opening kickoff had gone home, too.
(Photo: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)
