Notre Dame Football: Book nearly perfect in 2018 starting debut

1. The defensive front will be key to Notre Dame’s success

Sacks are often a statistic used to measure the success of a defensive front, but Notre Dame’s front seven has been dominant despite heading into this week tied for 74th in team sacks. They added a few more this afternoon, but the Irish defensive front has been most involved in defending the run game.

In fact, Notre Dame’s defense has been quite dominant in defending opponents on the ground. Despite opposing offenses averaging over 35 rushing attempts per game, the Irish defense has limited opponents to 107 rushing yards per outing, good for only three yards per carry. The Irish let up some yards in this game, but many came against a dynamic duo headed by captain Cade Carney.

Wake Forest head coach Dave Clawson opted for the dual-threat Jamie Newman with starter Sam Hartman taking a beating, leading to some extra yardage in garbage time. However, the effect of this front seven could be seen even in the passing game, pressuring Hartman into a 50% completion percentage.

Under defensive coordinator Clark Lea, a rotation along the defensive line has been key in preserving energy, something the Irish struggled with in 2017. Jerry Tillery and Jonathan Bonner have been consistent, and the pairing of Drue Tranquill and Te’von Coney is paying dividends. The Irish front will now draw their toughest test of the season against Bryce Love and the Stanford Cardinal.