Notre Dame’s defense keeps collecting honors, and the AP’s latest midseason All-America teams put two of the Irish’s biggest difference-makers right in the national spotlight.
Cornerback Leonard Moore landed on the Associated Press’ 1st-team midseason All-America list, while edge rusher Boubacar Traore was named to the 2nd team. The recognition fits what Notre Dame has put on film through the first half of the season: a defense that has been suffocating just about everybody it has seen.
Moore, a 6-2, 197-pound Texas native, has been targeted 13 times through five games. He missed the Stanford game with a concussion, but he was projected to return this weekend for Notre Dame’s Top 10 road matchup with undefeated, No.
8 BYU. The veteran ballhawk was a Unanimous All-American last season and is on pace for another major postseason run.
This fall, he has four pass breakups and eight solo tackles. He has also been named to the Wuerffel Trophy Semifinalist list and the Allsatte AFCA Good Works Team, with more midseason recognition likely to follow, including semifinalist consideration for the Bronko Nagurski Award and the Jim Thorpe Award.
Traore has been just as important, only in a different way. The 6-5, 253-pound Boston native is Notre Dame’s leader in sacks with 3.5, and he also tops the team in tackles for loss with 5.5, forced fumbles with two and quarterback hurries with eight.
His season has been full of impact plays, including an interception and a return in Notre Dame’s previous game against Stanford. In last Saturday’s win over the Cardinal, Traore became the first Notre Dame player since 1998 to record both a strip sack and an interception in the same game.
Together, Moore and Traore have helped drive one of the country’s nastiest defenses. Through six games, Notre Dame ranks 7th nationally in points allowed at 11.8 per game, 1st in yards allowed at 216.4, 4th in yards per play allowed at 4.0, 4th in rushing touchdowns allowed at 58.4 and 4th in turnovers gained with 11.
The AP’s midseason selections also included two Notre Dame opponents. North Carolina defensive tackle Xavier Lewis was named to the 1st team, while Miami wide receiver Malachi Toney also made the list. Toney has been one of the nation’s most dangerous pass catchers, and his matchup with Moore on Saturday, November 7 in South Bend stands out as one to circle.
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