A year ago, Notre Dame football made its College Football Playoff push on the back of one of the nation’s stingiest defenses.
The 2024 unit allowed just 15.5 points per game, racked up 40 sacks, and forced 33 turnovers, ranking among the best in the country. Fast forward to 2025, and the defense that once carried the Irish has collapsed into a liability.
On The Joel Klatt Show, Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt pointed directly to the problem.
“More of the concern lies in what I thought would be a strength … and that’s the secondary,” he said. “It was really clear … the secondary was overmatched by the speed of Texas A&M on the outside.”
The Aggies gashed Notre Dame’s corners repeatedly in their 41–40 win. Wideouts Mario Craver and Jahari Concepcion found consistent separation, exposing a secondary that once prided itself on man-to-man coverage. Klatt explained the mismatch: “Notre Dame likes to run that man coverage and they were getting beat in that man coverage.”
Making matters worse, the pass rush has all but disappeared. Through two games, Notre Dame has just one sack. “You couple that with the fact that they’re not getting to the quarterback almost at all,” Klatt said. “No sacks against A&M, only one against Miami.”
That lack of disruption has allowed opposing quarterbacks to pick the defense apart. Miami’s young offense moved the ball at will in Week 1, and Texas A&M’s Marcel Reed had “all day to throw,” as Klatt put it.
Opponents are averaging 257 passing yards per game at 8.3 yards per attempt — a staggering jump from last year’s mark of just 169.4 yards allowed through the air.
Linebacker Drayk Bowen leads the team with 14 tackles, but the splash plays that defined last year’s defense are gone.
The Irish have forced just one interception and no fumbles through two games. Without turnovers or pressure, a defense that was once suffocating has become leaky.
It’s a stunning turnaround. In 2024, Notre Dame held four opponents under 10 points. In 2025, they’ve allowed 74 points in just two weeks. And with Marcus Freeman’s team now forced to play in shootouts, their margin for error has evaporated.
Klatt summed it up with urgency: “Notre Dame’s defense has got to get better. Got to get better.” If it doesn’t, even a productive offense won’t be enough to stop the Irish from spiraling further down the rankings.