Notre Dame Football: 3 reasons the Irish will upset Georgia in Week 4

2. Clark Lea’s defense will be ready

The Irish have been uncharacteristically out-rushed in both of their games this season, but it hasn’t been for a lack of trying on the offensive end. In fact, senior Tony Jones Jr. has joined Book in averaging over 5.5 yards on over 20 carries. Instead, it has been the Irish defense that has struggled to swing the pendulum in the Irish’s direction, allowing over five YPC themselves.

However, the defense’s recent struggles on the ground could be the result of a relatively inexperienced interior front. Junior Kurt Hinish has earned some valuable snaps behind Jerry Tillery and Jonathan Bonner, but injuries have slowed the development of both defensive tackle Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa and middle linebacker Drew White.

With losses all over the defense this offseason, defensive coordinator Clark Lea has been forced to throw his young talent to the flames early. They have responded well for the most part, but opposing offenses have found success in just about anything up the middle.

Of course, it doesn’t help that the Irish have faced the sixth most rushing attempts out of every team in the country. That’s a lot to handle for an inexperienced group like the one mentioned above. What we do know though, is that this defense has excelled in various other aspects. Lea has handled his unit well since taking over, so don’t be surprised if his young talent comes to play this weekend.