Notre Dame’s bye week arrived with a little too much clarity attached to it.
The Irish had won 16 straight games, every one of them by double digits, before finally running into a Top 10 road test that got away from them in a 28-24 loss to BYU. The defense could have done more, sure. But the offense also left points sitting on the table, and that’s the part Mike Denbrock has to fix if Notre Dame wants to get back on track.
The problem isn’t new. It just became harder to ignore once the competition tightened up.
Against BYU, the Irish showed the same red zone issues that have been hanging around all season, only this time they were costly. Settling for field goals in a game like that can be the difference between surviving and getting burned.
Inside the 20, Notre Dame’s playbook has been narrow. Most of what they do falls into three buckets: straight-ahead runs between the tackles, a perimeter speed-out setup for Jordan Faison, or a slide route from the running back into the flat.
The run game leans on GT-counter or inside zone. On the outside, the Irish have used two receivers to one side with Faison in the slot, letting the outside man work as a pick.
The other common look sends the back out of the backfield, usually toward the field side, to find Nolan James Jr. or Jonas Walton in space.
That’s about it. There’s been the occasional wrinkle, but not enough variety to really stress a defense when the field gets compressed.
And that’s where Notre Dame has to get smarter.
Too often, the Irish are working to the boundary, which only makes life harder in an area where space is already at a premium. They also haven’t done much with the back of the end zone, even though that should be a natural place to attack.
Right now, most of their red zone work seems to stop at about five yards deep. That’s leaving room untapped.
The biggest missed opportunity, though, is the tight end group. Notre Dame has the body types to win there.
Cooper Flanagan is 6-6, 253 pounds. James Flanigan is 6-6, 250 pounds.
Ian Premer is 6-6, 240 pounds. That’s a lot of size sitting in a part of the field where size should matter most.
Instead, the most regular tight end target has been 6-3, 250-pound Jack Larsen. He’s a capable athlete, but when he’s matched up with BYU’s Isaiah Glasker, a 6-5 linebacker, the matchup question is obvious.
Larsen was open on the play in question, and CJ Carr needed to put the ball on him better. But even beyond that moment, Notre Dame needs far more production from its tight ends in scoring territory.
None of this changes what happened against BYU. That result is in the books.
But these are fixable problems, and they’re fixable now. Notre Dame still has everything in front of it.
Beat Miami, take care of the rest of the regular season, and the Irish are in the 2026 College Football Playoffs. If they want to meet the standard and stay in the title hunt, though, the red zone has to stop being a limitation.
Scoring there, and doing it with more creativity, is no longer optional.
In Other News...
Former Irish Star Cole Kmet Now Faces A Frightening Bears Concern
Cole Kmets afternoon against the Patriots turned into a sobering scene for Bears fans and anyone who followed his career at Notre Dame. After an 8-yard reception, the tight end went down with a non-contact knee injury and had to be carted off the field, an especially alarming development for a player whose durability has long been part of his value in Chicago.
The Bears ruled Kmet out for the rest of the game, and head coach Ben Johnsons early read on the situation was not encouraging. Quarterback Caleb Williams also showed immediate concern for his teammate, underscoring how quickly the tone around the injury shifted from routine to potentially serious. For Notre Dame supporters keeping tabs on one of the programs most prominent alumni, it was the kind of update nobody wanted to see. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dame Faces A Playoff Problem Fans Can't Ignore
The playoff picture is already starting to sort itself out, and Notre Dame is right in the middle of the discussion whether the Irish like it or not. With conference champions, at-large contenders and a string of pivotal games still to come, every result around the sport carries extra weight this time of year, especially for a team whose margin for error can disappear quickly when the selection committee starts comparing rsums.
Notre Dames path is tied to more than just its own record, because the broader race includes teams such as Miami and Georgia, plus injuries and head-to-head outcomes that can reshape the board in a hurry. The Irish can control only so much of the equation, and the real pressure now is making sure the games ahead do not leave them relying on help from somewhere else. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dame Has A Pass Rush Problem It Can't Ignore
Notre Dames defense has hit a stretch where the pass rush has become impossible to overlook. After letting North Carolina and BYU put up more points than the Irish would like, the conversation around the unit has turned to whether the front is affecting enough plays or simply chasing them. Defensive coordinator Chris Ash has taken heat for leaning on more passive looks, especially at a time when the Irish could use a little more chaos from the second level.
Boubacar Traore and Bryce Young have flashed the kind of pressure production that should matter, but it has not translated consistently into recent games. That leaves Notre Dame with a familiar tension on defense: the talent is there in spots, but the scheme has not fully weaponized it. Until the Irish find a way to generate more disruption without waiting for it to happen naturally, every opponent is going to keep testing that edge. [Read more 🡒]