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Seriously, What Happened to the Defense?

As the Irish trotted into half-time with a 17-7 lead over Michigan in Ann Arbor, I was furious with the offense for not having really put on the hurt. But as the Irish hid in the locker room after throwing the game away, furious was not a strong enough word for my feelings toward the Notre Dame defense.

You see, I recall the dominance they showed in knocking off Utah, Army, USC, and Miami at the end of last season. I remember thinking, you know, maybe this Bob Diaco guy really does know what he is doing. Then, I watched in awe as the coaching staff went out and snagged stud defensive recruits Stephen Tuitt and Aaron Lynch. I was reminded again and again in the off-season that this is the year we would see a dominant defensive unit for the Irish.

And for the first seven quarters of the season, they were pretty close to that. They had given up two touchdowns and pretty much minimized the damage from Denard Robinson, a guy many continue to throw in the Heisman conversation.

Suddenly, in the fourth quarter Saturday against Michigan, the Notre Dame defense decided to take a quarter off. They gave up 28 points, including the final score with two seconds left, as Michigan's Roy Roundtree once again out-jumped Notre Dame's Gary Gray. The Notre Dame defensive line--which has been quite good against the run--hardly put any pressure on Denard Robinson. Truthfully, the Notre Dame secondary--seemingly much improved last season--seemed suspect all game. (Thankfully the Heisman candidate kept over- and side-shooting wide open receivers). The play that will give me nightmares for years to come was the missed assignment that allowed for a wide-open Jeremy Gallon, good for 64 yards and setting up the inevitable winning score.

Brian Kelly, aptly summed it all up: "We're not good enough."


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