Notre Dame's Defense Gives Up 529 Yards of Total Offense in Championship Game Loss
News:Notre Dame's defense gave up 529 yards of total offense and let Alabama be 8-of-13 on third downs in their 42-14 loss to Alabama in the BCS National Championship Game on January 7th.
Analysis: The Fighting Irish defense was unable to hold back all aspects of the Alabama offense, and before even the first quarter ended, the outcome of the game was pretty much in hand.
News:Notre Dame's defense's goal-line stand late in the fourth quarter clinched their spot in the National Title game after their 22-13 win over USC on Saturday night.
Analysis: The bend-but-not-break Notre Dame defense lived up to that name again, letting USC drive down the field but coming up with a timely goal-line stand with three minutes left in the game to prevent the Trojans from getting any closer. The win sends the Irish off to Miami to play for it all.
News:Notre Dame's defense pitched yet another shutout in their 38-0 win over Wake Forest on Saturday.
Analysis: The defense was their usual strong selves, holding Wake to just 4-of-15 on third downs and just 209 total yards.
News:Notre Dame's defense held Boston College to 300 total yards in their 21-6 victory over BC on Saturday night.
Analysis: The Irish defense was their usual stout selves, forcing two turnovers and allowing only 53 rushing yards.
Notre Dame Defense Stiffens in Fourth Quarter, Overtime
News: The Fighting Irish allowed 20 points through three quarters, but held Pittsburgh out of the end zone in the fourth quarter and three overtime periods on Saturday.
Analysis: The Irish defense had troubles with Ray Graham, who rumbled for 172 yards. The Panthers only had 308 yards of offense. The Irish stopped Pitt in overtime, allowing the team to have a nice comeback win.
News:Notre Dame's defense held Oklahoma to 4-of-14 on third downs and got a key interception late in their 30-13 win on Saturday night.
Analysis: Manti Te'o came up big again, getting his fifth interception of the year late in the game to prevent one last comeback attempt by the Sooners.
News:Notre Dame's defense allowed zero second half points in their 17-14 win over BYU on Saturday.
Analysis: There's a reason why this team is in the discussion for the national championship game. They allowed just 243 total yards and forced two turnovers.
Notre Dame's Defense Gets Goal Line Stand to Beat Stanford
News:Notre Dame successfully executed a goal line stand in the first overtime period to move past Stanford 20-13 on Saturday.
Analysis: The Notre Dame defense, which has played sensationally to start 2012, did it again, preventing Stepfan Taylor from entering the end zone and giving the Irish the overtime win.
News: ND's defense held Michigan to just 299 yards of total offense and forced six turnovers.
Analysis: The defense played sensational, with Manti Te'o having two interceptions. Solid performance against a Denard Robinson and company.
News:Notre Dame allowed three points against Michigan State on Saturday.
Analysis: The Irish didn't intercept any passes, but they did recover a fumble and totaled four sacks, giving Notre Dame 11 sacks through three weeks. They'll have a tough test against Michigan this week, but the Irish are shaping up to be one of the nation's best defenses.
News:Analysis: It was Notre Dame's best day on defense all season. They held Army under 200 yards and turned the Black Knights over twice. They have a tough test coming up this week when they travel to the Coliseum to play USC.
News:Analysis: It's been a rarity this season, but on Saturday the Irish defense was smothering. The Utes had a slew of penalties, but give credit where credit is due. The Irish held Utah under 300 yards and turned them over twice.
News:Analysis: This defense just isn't very good. A week after getting embarrassed by Navy they surrendered 399 yards to Tulsa in a loss. There just aren't any good match ups for these guys.
Irish Defense Has No Answer For Navy Triple Option
News:Analysis: It was one of the worst losses to Navy in school history and the majority of the blame can lay on the defense's shoulders. They were gashed for 367 rushing yards and often looked confused against the option. They'll have a chance to re-group next week when they host Tulsa.
Irish Defense Shines In Second Half Against Western Michigan
News:Analysis: It wasn't a great first-half performance but the Irish defense ended up with four sacks, two interceptions and two fumble recoveries. Next week they have to deal with Ricky Dobbs and the Navy triple option attack.
Irish Defense Holds Boston CollegeTo Five Rushing Yards
News:Analysis: Finally the Notre Dame defense showed up. They were facing inexperienced QBs and really clamped down on the run. They haven't gotten to the QB that much much(5 sacks) since week one.
News:Analysis: The defense continues to give up too many points and they don't get to the quarterback. They managed to force three turnovers but still allowed 31 of Stanford's 37 points.
Irish Defense Struggles Again Against Michigan State
News:Analysis: The defense had another rough week against a Michigan school. They were gashed for 34 points and 477 yards. The only bright spots were an interception and four sacks. It doesn't get any easier with Andrew Luck and Stanford next week.
Irish Defense Shredded By Robinson And The Wolverines
News:Analysis: The Irish defense was gashed for 532 total yards and almost all of them were by quarterback Denard Robinson. Notre Dame faces another tough test next week when they travel to East Lansing next week to play the Spartans.
News:Analysis: It may only be one game but this has to look promising after the Irish had such a hard time getting to the passer in 2009. They'll be up for a test next week when they host Michigan.
News: When Brian Kelly arrived at Notre Dame, no players could squat 600 pounds or bench press 400 pounds, but now both marks can be reached by nine players, the South Bend Tribune's Eric Hansen reports.
Analysis: We would have never doubted Kelly after what he did at Central Michigan and Cincinnati, but this is further proof that Kelly will be everything Charlie Weis wasn't. This is a program that will be competing on a BCS bowl level no later than two years from now.
News: Notre Dame's defense gave up 372 total yards against a lack-luster UConn offense, Saturday.
Analysis: Everybody knows the offense isn't the problem for the Irish. The defense could be the reason why Charlie Weis gets fired after this season.
News: Pittsburgh ran and threw all over the Irish defense but they did force two turnovers Saturday on the road.
Analysis: This defense should not even be in consideration for your roster.
News: The Irish defense gave up 348 yards on the ground and did not force any turnovers.
Analysis: The Navy rushing attack is hard to stop and although the score was relatively low, Navy still moved the ball pretty well against the Irish D.
Notre Dame's Defense Stellar in Win Over Washington State
News: The Irish defense held the Cougars to only 206 total yards including two turnovers.
Analysis: The Irish played a weak offense in Washington State and face a superb running game next week against Navy. Be careful here.
