Things To Learn: Notre Dame's defensive back-seven key to unleashing Sam Hartman, Irish offense vs Ohio State

A bit more than a year ago, then-No. 5 Notre Dame went to then-No. 2 Ohio State with a clear plan, use the Irish offense to protect the Irish defense. Notre Dame focused on its ground game to establish a 10-7 lead at halftime, shortening the half to only five possessions for the Buckeyes.

Remove the first play from scrimmage — a 54-yard pass to then-Irish receiver Lorenzo Styles, now an Ohio State cornerback, punctuated by a 15-yard defensive personal foul — and Notre Dame gained just 141 yards on its next 28 plays, an average of 5.0 yards per play. To put that kind of offensive output into context, it would have ranked No. 107 in the country for the season, between Bowling Green and Middle Tennessee State.

And yet, that offensive output was a success, it was what Notre Dame designed, it was the plan. Slow the game, play methodically and protect the Irish defense by keeping the Ohio State offense off the field.

“Part of the mindset going into that game was trying to control the ball as long as we could,” head coach Marcus Freeman said Monday. “Limit their offensive possessions.

“It still has to be complementary football as we go into this Saturday, but I don’t want to play not to lose. I don’t want to play that way. I want our guys to be aggressive and our guys to be attacking. We will play complementary football, but our objective isn’t just to hold the ball and huddle every single play, kind of what my mindset probably was last year.”

Credit for now-No. 9 Notre Dame (7:30 ET on NBC) worrying less about holding the ball has been largely given to the unquestionable offensive improvement led by Irish quarterback Sam Hartman. For the first time in 136 years of Notre Dame football, the Irish have scored at least 40 points in five straight games. They rank No. 10 in the country in red-zone conversions, and that number may be higher if Notre Dame was not so adept at enjoying explosive plays thus far.

But if the Irish defense was still worried about containing the now-No. 6 Buckeyes (3-0), those explosive plays could become muted this weekend, Notre Dame still protecting its defense by reining in its own offense.

Instead, the Irish defense has improved along its back-seven to such an extent Ohio State’s lessened offense may be the one reined in.

Linebacker Marist Liufau was not yet fully healthy after he dislocated his ankle in August of 2021, an injury that is far more severe than its name suggests. Now, he’s back to a remarkable semblance of the 2021 preseason version that had the Notre Dame program abuzz.

“He’s more explosive, more knee bend,” Irish defensive coordinator Al Golden said Tuesday, comparing Liufau now to Liufau a year ago. “... He’s healthy (now), and he’s just playing at a really good level, and he’s focused and practicing really hard.”

Liufau’s classmates, JD Bertrand and Jack Kiser, are both only more experienced and better versed in Golden’s simplified playbook. Senior safety Xavier Watts has continued up his accelerated learning curve after moving to the position less than two years ago.

Most notably, Benjamin Morrison did not start in Columbus, he’s now a preseason All-American and a distinct upgrade over Clarence Lewis, best suited to be a No. 3 or No. 4 cornerback, as he is at the moment. Fifth-year cornerback Cam Hart is on a singular mission to prove himself to the NFL.

“You look back to that game and the playmakers Ohio State had at wideout, a lot of them are back, and so that was a way for our guys in the first game of the year to measure themselves versus some of the best in the country,” Freeman said. “To where [Notre Dame’s defensive backs] are now, they’ve continued to grow and get better and better because of experience, because of the opportunity to continue to practice, continue to build skill.”

Those defensive backs and linebackers should be the key to an Irish upset this weekend, as much as if not more so than Hartman’s impact.

A year ago, Notre Dame did not trust its defense to keep the Buckeyes hemmed in for long, holding them to 28 plays in the first half. In a way, the Irish would like to see that number climb this weekend, simply because it would mean Ohio State is not breaking off any chunk play via receivers Marvin Harrison Jr., Emeka Egbuka or Julian Fleming, or running backs TreVeyon Henderson, Chip Trayanum or Miyan Williams.

“What we want to do is make sure that we limit the big plays,” Freeman said. “We want them to have to truly drive down the field, and we limit those big plays.”

With a defense starting 10 seniors or fifth-year veterans and rotating in another four as part of a defense with 20 regular contributors — those remaining half dozen are a 294-pound defensive tackle (Jason Onye), an interior workman (Donovan Hinish), three underclassmen solely focused on getting to the quarterback (sophomore linebacker Jaylen Sneed, sophomore defensive ends Junior Tuihalamaka and Joshua Burnham) and the aforementioned Morrison — Notre Dame should be disciplined enough to limit the Buckeyes’ big plays, last week’s rash of immaturity against Central Michigan aside.

“Should be” may be a bit unfair there. The Irish have already proven that discipline, even if against lesser competition. Notre Dame’s opponents have gained 52.2 percent of their first downs before third down. That sounds high, but it puts the Irish defense at No. 6 in the country in that specific respect. Nearly as often as not, Notre Dame forces opponents into a third-down stressor.

An inexperienced quarterback playing with two first-year starting offensive tackles will struggle on some of those pivotal downs, for once a sentence rife with offensive doubt applying to the Irish opponent and not to Notre Dame.

Thus, the Irish offense will not need to protect its defense. It can take some shots. It can risk being explosive, taking advantage of having the superior quarterback in this matchup, a rare disadvantage for Ohio State.

Advanced stats consider Notre Dame’s defense to be elite in every way, No. 9 in defensive success rate, per cfb-graphs.com, most excelling when opponents rarely find scoring opportunities, holding them to 3.7 points per quality possession, best in the country. The Buckeyes will fare better than that, but junior quarterback Kyle McCord could be in over his head against this veteran defense.

If that proves to be true, then Hartman will have more liberty to cut loose, to stretch his downfield arm, all in ways Notre Dame neither had available nor wanted to deploy last season against Ohio State.

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