Notre Dame fans have had very little to cheer about this fall, a fact that finally began to change Saturday afternoon against Syracuse in New Jersey. Notre Dame’s defense surrendered piles of yardage and 33 points, but the defense won big on a very important statistic: third down. Newly appointed defensive coordinator Greg Hudson held Syracuse’s up-tempo offensive attack to a 20-percent conversion rate on third downs, providing Notre Dame’s offense enough opportunities to put the game away. While the defense is far from fixed, it was stabilized enough to draw attention to other areas of concern that have plagued Notre Dame since head coach Brian Kelly’s arrival.
Notre Dame Special Teams Failures Require Kelly’s Focus
