Miami vs. Notre Dame: Defense, Injuries and Pressure

Mike, we just played your interview prior to you coming on, or a clip of your interview with Marcus Freeman, and he, I don't think at the time, was fully aware that Tony is going to be out. How do you think they compensate for that, too? Because Miami, again, at the end of the day here, they do have other players. Obviously, their running game is going to be an essential part of this football game. If Miami wants to win this game, in my opinion, I think they've got to run the ball for over 200 yards. Notre Dame's front seven is not really going to allow that. It has allowed that. How do you see them compensating and going after Miami with no Malachi Tony? More pressure maybe? Yeah, they'd love to get Mensah off the spot. That's easier said than done. Notre Dame's linebackers, historically, as a group in their careers, this group has nearly 20 career sacks. This year they have zero. They've been a little passive on defense. The defensive coordinator, Chris Ashe, has been playing more zone than we're used to seeing here. He's in his second year. Former Rutgers coach, he helped Urban Meyer win a championship in 2014 at Ohio State when he was co-DC. I believe Marcus Freeman's sitting in more and more on those defensive meetings, and yes, what you bring up, they've got to pressure Mensah. He gets the ball out so fast, you'll see safety blitzes. Luke Talich is a better athlete than people realize, a kid from Wyoming, and he's had to step in because a guy who'll probably go on day one or two of the NFL draft as soon as next year has been out since the first half against Wisconsin, and that's Brayante Johnson. So they had and Drake Bowen, two-time captain, middle linebacker. He's now out for the foreseeable future. His ankle was torn up against Navy, so you won't see him this week. But the one biggest thing that happens is Leonard Moore won't have to. I believe Leonard Moore, the All-American, was going to follow Tony everywhere he went, as Notre Dame did with Makai Lemon in USC a year ago. And it worked pretty well against USC, but now Moore can just stay on the boundary and shut down basically one side of the field. He's most comfortable doing that, but even there, the injuries, DJ McKinney's going to play in the NFL, and he's out for the foreseeable future with an ankle. So it's been a war of attrition. It comes down sometimes to schemes, and then, you know, can they get to Mensa? But both run defenses are so stout, Dan. I know you said that whoever runs the ball best is probably going to be the one who comes away winning, and that's likely true because there are concerns, I think, in pass coverage for both teams Yeah, absolutely. I think this is going to be really one of those games that, you know, I don't know if we're going to see 31-30 from back in the day here, but I think we may see a lower-scoring football game because I think the run game is going to be essential in this ball game here. So he's probably not going to travel. If Malachi Toney was going to be in the game, he was probably going to travel with him. But, you know, what do you look at this Hurricane team? What do you see with this team without Malachi Toney? Still formidable guys. I mean, they got guys all over the football field. And that offensive line is starting to get better and better for Miami. Is the matchup Miami's offense versus Notre Dame's defense in this game on Saturday? I think it's all three phases. I think it's all three phases. I think special teams are going to factor in there at some point, too. Notre Dame's, again, by the rating system, Pro Football Focus, and they're not afraid to try fake punts and do crazy stuff, block punts. I think they could affect the game that way. I think it's going to be a heck of a game. Yeah, no, I'm with you. I think this game's going to come down to last possession, and whoever has the football last will end up winning this football game.