ND FOOTBALL: Defensive line looking to build on strong Cal performance

Sep. 21—SOUTH BEND — During the preseason, there was a lot of talk about the expectations of Notre Dame's talented and experienced defensive line.

However, through the first two games, the d-line's performance left much to be desired.

Both Ohio State and Marshall ran the ball at will — 391 yards and two touchdowns combined — against the Fighting Irish in the trenches.

When it came to getting home to the opposing quarterback, Notre Dame forced four total sacks through the first two games with just one quarterback hurry mixed in.

This past Saturday against California, Notre Dame's defensive line played closer to the level of its expectations, especially in the second half.

The Irish forced six sacks against the Golden Bears — five in the second half — and earned five quarterback hurries in their first victory of the season.

"That's the standard," said defensive lineman Howard Cross III of the defensive line's performance against Cal. "The standard should be no mistakes and a lot of sacks. As a defensive line, you want to eliminate as many missed assignments or missed tackles in any way possible. Nobody's perfect, but if we can be next to perfect or really, really close to it, we can play like we did Saturday or even better."

"The entire defensive line just got a lot more confidence," defensive lineman Isaiah Foskey added. "We came into the season thinking we were going to be one of the most dominant defensive lines, and we didn't really showcase that against Ohio State or Marshall. It pretty much shows that we do have that potential to be the best defensive line in the country. Going up against UNC, hopefully it'll show even more."

According to Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden, the biggest difference that allowed for the Irish to have success creating pressure was its discipline and attention to detail.

"They got home more because they maintained their rush lanes better," Golden said. "We didn't have guys behind the quarterback, and I think the defensive tackles inside like Howard (Cross III), Jayson (Ademilola) and Jacob (Lacey) all did a good job of countering, which kept the quarterback in front. Couple that with our coverage, and we were able to get home and get some of those sacks."

Cal quarterback Jack Plummer managed to escape the pocket for big gains on the run last Saturday. In order for the Irish defensive line to begin stringing together solid performances, it'll have to be far more disciplined against North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye.

The redshirt freshman has been very impressive for an offense that has averaged 51 points per game so far this season. He's shown the ability to beat opposing defenses with both his arm (930 passing yards, 11 touchdowns and one interception) and his feet (165 rushing yards and one touchdown on 26 carries).

"Rush lane discipline will be very important," Golden said. "And it's even more important when you have a guy that can run like the kid at North Carolina can. They've had a great tradition of guys that can scramble and run. (Maye) does a really great job with the ball.

"He's really talented, and he's a perfect fit for their system. He does a great job, and you really can't ask him to do much more. They've scored a lot of points, and he's been distributing the ball well. He can beat you with his arm or his legs."

"Obviously with any good scrambling quarterback, they are going to find their way out," Cross III added. "But obviously we want to eliminate that as much as possible. As a defensive line, we need to stay in our gaps. If the quarterback gets out, that's on us. It's a concern (against UNC), but just like with any other team, if you do your job, they aren't going anywhere."

There's plenty of work to do preparing for a powerful offense this Saturday in Chapel Hill, but the confidence among Notre Dame's pass rushers has grown substantially after picking up the first win of the season.

That confident play will only help the team's chances of winning as the 2022 campaign continues.

"It was a sigh of relief to get that first win," Foskey said. "Coming into (Tuesday)'s practice, everyone just wanted to have that same mentality of we're still 0-2, and we want to win that first game. Now we've found that formula to win, we just have to stick with it."

Evan Lepak can be reached at evan.lepak@goshennews.com or 574-533-2151, ext. 240326. Follow him on Twitter @EvanMPLepak.