Which has been better: The Notre Dame rushing offense or rushing defense?
Notre Dame wants to win in the trenches. On which side of the ball has it been better at doing that? Two BlueandGold.com writers debate below.
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Tyler Horka: The Irish go as the running game goes
When you think about the identity of Notre Dame football in 2022, you think about the running game. Both executing it on offense and stopping it on defense.
But if you had to pick a particular player who best embodies the mantra, who would that be? You’re lying if you said graduate student defensive tackle Jayson Ademilola or his interior running mate, senior Howard Cross. It’s sophomore running back Audric Estime. Or maybe it’s sophomore running back Logan Diggs. Or maybe you’re a junior Chris Tyree kind of person. And I know there are folks out there lobbying for sophomore tackles Joe Alt and Blake Fisher or any of the three veteran presences who play between them.
The bottom line is this: Notre Dame goes as the Irish rushing offense goes. When it was stymied for 76 yards against Ohio State, the Irish scored 10 points and lost by 11. When there was an inexplicable drop off for a 150-yard output against Stanford, the Irish lost at home to the Cardinal by two.
Notre Dame went on a 6-1 spurt after losing to Marshall, a game in which the Irish only ran for 130 yards. In those seven games, the Irish topped 200 rushing yards five times. They won all five of those matchups.
Stopping the run is essential. It’s the mark of a good football team. But games are still won when points are put on the board, and the most consistent avenue for doing so this season has been when the Irish devote themselves to ground and pound.
Todd D. Burlage: The defense gets the nod
Given how Irish head coach Marcus Freeman was preaching all the way back in the preseason about how running the ball and stopping the run would be his team’s identity, it’s nice that we’re having this debate.
Both the Notre Dame rushing game and its rush defense have improved steadily, and dramatically, this season. But with the dominating work the Irish defense has recently enjoyed against some terrific run games gives it the edge.
In the 41-24 win over Syracuse on Oct. 29, Notre Dame held the Orange to a season-low 61 rushing yards, 138.3 yards below its season average of 179.3 ypg.
A week later in a 35-14 win over Clemson, the Irish enjoyed an encore by holding the Tigers to a season-low 90 rushing yards, 95.4 yards below their season average of 185.4 ypg.
Clemson tailback Will Shipley and Syracuse tailback Sean Tucker entered their games against Notre Dame each averaging more than 90 rushing yards and ranked at or near the top of the ACC in rushing. Neither even reached 65 rushing yards against the Irish.
These two performances highlight Notre Dame’s ascent in rushing defense better than any.
Look, I get it. The Notre Dame offense headed into the Navy game with three consecutive 200-plus yard rushing outings, so poking holes in my colleague Tyler Horka’s argument is tough to do.
But I’ll still give an Irish defense that moved from 111th nationally in run-stoppage after two games to 35th through nine games the slight advantage.
