Notre Dame’s defensive front has hardly been a question that’s dogged Marcus Freeman this season, even as injuries and absences have begun to hollow out the position. It’s just that the line hasn’t been the exclamation mark many expected.
It might be getting closer to that.
When the group lines up against Georgia Tech on Saturday (3:30 p.m., ESPN) in Atlanta, it will still have two potential All-Americans on the interior in Howard Cross III and Rylie Mills. It will get reserve Gabriel Rubio back for a second game following offseason foot surgery. Freshman Bryce Young will be a game more experienced. Defensive end Joshua Burnham will be a week healthier after an early-September ankle sprain. All of that is positive — even without Jordan Botelho and Boubacar Traore, both lost to ACL tears, and Jason Onye missing for personal reasons.
But it’s the rise of Mills and Cross that might be most significant to the season’s second half. A defensive tackle who looks like an NFL prototype, Mills is coming off his best game of the season, posting four total pressures as Stanford’s quarterbacks totaled 87 yards passing. And yet, Cross was just as good, if not better.
“Rylie means everything,” said defensive coordinator Al Golden. “Rylie is an anchor, he’s a leader. Same guy every day. Consistent. He shows ruggedness. Will do the dirty work. Those guys don’t get enough credit for the dirty work. It’s not always pretty to be in there.”
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If the Mills-Cross combination can pick up where it left off last week, Notre Dame’s defense becomes a different proposition in the season’s second half, even with all the success of the past six games. Run defense has been one of the few places where the Irish defense has been merely very good this season instead of great. Now comes Georgia Tech, Navy and Army, which have combined for 68 rushing touchdowns this season.
Notre Dame has allowed just two.
The Irish have Mills playing at a higher level and Cross finally putting his preseason hamstring strain in the rearview mirror. It all sets up Notre Dame’s defense for a potential run to the College Football Playoff.
“They’re both playing really well. They’re really engaged. They’re practicing really well,” Golden said. “I told Rylie last week, I thought that was his best week of practice. Howard was telling me in the latter part of the week that he really felt good. He was confident going into that game and both played well. Either one could have been the player of the game for defense. I think Howard had a couple more plays so he got it, but either one could have been it.”
Beyond Notre Dame’s surging defensive line, here are three other keys for Notre Dame against Georgia Tech, plus a prediction.
Can Irish sustain their offensive success?
Now Mike Denbrock gets to build on success instead of trying to create it.
Almost everything on the call sheet worked last week against Stanford, which was a compliment to the quarterback running the offense and the guy calling the plays. Whether it was diversifying the run game or taking shots down the field, Notre Dame did it.
“I think really, over the course of the last couple weeks, three weeks, like we’ve been talking about, where we’ve kind of seen it coming, seen it kind of developing. And then, boom,” Denbrock said. “And I’m so happy for (Riley Leonard), because they did exactly what we asked them to do, and they got rewarded for it.”
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Denbrock evolved the pass game on multiple fronts, none bigger than working those RPO (run-pass options) into the call sheet. The scheme lets Leonard be a double play-action threat, giving the ball to a running back, keeping it himself or throwing to an open window created by the run game’s potential. Touchdown passes to Kris Mitchell and Jayden Thomas both came via RPO calls as Leonard froze the defense with his legs before beating it with his arm.
“It opens up everything, because now you got safeties that were in run-heavy support …they have to honor the (receivers) on the outside now,” said wideout Beaux Collins. “It just really balances the offense. You can’t ask for much more.”
The end result was Leonard’s best game at Notre Dame and the most productive performance by the receivers with a combined 13 catches for 198 yards and two touchdowns. It was hardly a pyrotechnic explosion, but that wasn’t what Notre Dame was after. Balance was key and the Irish finally had it, thanks in part to the RPO scheme.
Can Georgia Tech function without a fit King?
When Haynes King took a shot to his throwing shoulder at North Carolina last week, it put the Yellow Jackets’ entire offensive operation into question. For how much Notre Dame relies on Leonard to function, Georgia Tech leans even harder on King, the former Texas A&M quarterback who’s averaged 11.4 carries in five games against Power 4 competition this season. That included 14 carries for 64 yards in that international upset of Florida State as King’s legs controlled the pace of the game.
ESPN reported that King is out, with backup Zach Pyron set to replace him. Both are 6-foot-3 quarterbacks who get aggressive on the ground. Pyron started two games as a freshman two years ago and has backed up King since his arrival from College Station.
“I know King went out during the game last week, but I know their offense didn’t change much,” Freeman said. “They’re both threats with the ball in their hands. (King) also does a good job in the passing game. Doesn’t make many mistakes, doesn’t turn the ball over. It’s going to be a great challenge for us.”
But regardless of who plays, Notre Dame won’t defend the healthy version of King who makes the Yellow Jackets such a threat.
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Will the Irish ‘man’ up without Morrison?
Notre Dame doesn’t lead the nation in playing man-to-man defense in coverage, it just leads the nation in doing it well. Only Purdue plays more man coverage — 76.7 percent of defensive calls compared to 53 percent for the Irish, per TruMedia — a nod that being aggressive in the secondary doesn’t always work.
It clicks for Notre Dame because it has a defensive coordinator in Golden who knows how to call it and personnel who know how to run it. The Irish were comparable in man-to-man calls last season at 51.9 percent.
“To play man, you have to be confident in your defenders’ ability to play man,” Freeman said. “And we’ve had a lot of confidence, and we still do in terms of what our guys can do and do it well.”
That confidence could be stretched with All-American cornerback Benjamin Morrison lost for the season following hip surgery. The Irish are down to three scholarship cornerbacks: sophomore Christian Gray, plus freshmen Leonard Moore and Karson Hobbs. Moore will start in Morrison’s place after starting for an injured Gray against Louisville.
Notre Dame might protect Moore over the top with safety help some, but it will mostly ask the former three-star prospect to hold up on his own.
“Maturity, really a mature kid. Prepares well. Athletic and the intellect to go with it, Golden said in describing Moore. “Does what you ask. Rarely makes the same mistake twice in practice. That’s where he earns the trust. He’s got really good length and he plays strong. He shows up in the run game, too, which is a great attribute to have.”
Moore logged 76 snaps against Louisville with Gray sidelined, exactly half of the freshman’s season total.
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Prediction
If Notre Dame headed to Atlanta to face a full-strength Georgia Tech, the Yellow Jackets would have a puncher’s chance considering Brent Key’s reputation for surprise knockouts. But even if King did start, he wouldn’t be the do-everything quarterback who’s helped kick start the Key era that’s 5-4 against Top 25 teams. Look for Notre Dame’s defense to travel smoothly into Mercedes-Benz Stadium, even with injuries mounting.
Leonard may come back to earth after last week, but it’s hard to see Georgia Tech’s offense having enough to stress Notre Dame into the fourth quarter.
Notre Dame 28, Georgia Tech 10
(Photo of Howard Cross and Rylie Mills: Jack Gorman / Getty Images)
