Notre Dame fans have plenty of reason to bristle at one national analyst’s take on BYU’s defense.
Pro Football Network’s Cam Mellor offered a striking comparison earlier this week ahead of the October 17 matchup, and he didn’t stop at praising one unit or one player. He singled out Leonard Moore in glowing terms first, saying Moore is the Jeremiah Smith of defensive backs. Smith, of course, is viewed as the best receiver in the game at Ohio State, which made the comparison a strong endorsement of Moore’s place among defensive backs.
But Mellor’s bigger claim is the one that has Irish fans fired up.
“I do think overall there's actually more talent on the BYU defense than there is Notre Dame's defense. Through all 11 starters, I think that's how they'd have to win the game,” Mellor added.
That’s a tough sell when the numbers are stacked up side by side.
Through the early part of the season, Notre Dame has been one of the country’s stingiest defenses. The Irish rank No. 3 nationally in yards allowed per game at 193.0, No. 14 in passing yards allowed per game at 134.7, No. 6 in rushing yards allowed per game at 58.3, and No. 4 in points allowed per game at 7.7.
BYU’s résumé so far doesn’t exactly make the case stronger. The Cougars have faced Utah Tech, Arizona and Colorado State, while Notre Dame’s slate does not include an FCS opponent and features two Big Ten teams. That gives Marcus Freeman’s group a strong argument for having dealt with the more demanding schedule.
And the gap in production matters, too. BYU isn’t just behind Notre Dame in every major defensive category - it’s not particularly close.
That doesn’t mean Mellor is automatically wrong. The two teams still have to settle it on the field next month, and defenses can look a lot different once the matchups get real. But right now, Notre Dame fans have every reason to look at that verdict and ask what exactly convinced him the Cougars belong ahead of the Irish overall.
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