Brian Kelly points out two things that separate Howard Cross from the pack

With fifth-year nose tackle and team captain Kurt Hinish out of the Notre Dame lineup for the second straight week, the Irish will once again need a big performance from his backup, Howard Cross III. 

Cross, a junior from New Jersey and son of former Alabama and NFL tight end Howard Cross Jr., made his first start for the Irish against Wisconsin last weekend and showed he is entirely capable of anchoring a front seven that has improved dramatically in recent weeks. 

In his Thursday media availability, Irish head coach Brian Kelly elaborated on what makes Cross such a threat.

“He is, off the ball, very very difficult to get your hands on him,” Kelly said. “So it starts there. He’s about 280 pounds, but he’s very very strong. Strongest hands that we have for any interior lineman. You saw how quick [third-string nose tackle Jacob] Lacey is off the ball as well. Those two guys are as quick as we have hovering in that 275-280 [pound] range, but Howard’s hands are so heavy, and his first-step quickness is as good as we’ve had here at Notre Dame.”

Cross now has five tackles on the season, a tackle for loss, and four quarterback hurries. The last statistic leads the Notre Dame defense. Cincinnati’s most glaring weakness is its offensive line, although it has aided in Bearcats running back Jerome Ford averaging six yards per carry.

Freeman’s much-improved defense has its tallest task to date on Saturday

If defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman, who is in his first year in South Bend after coming over from Cincinnati, commits to stopping Ford, it will open up options for the passing game headlined by quarterback Desmond Ridder and receiver Alex Pierce. Pierce had his coming out party two weeks ago against Indiana after two pedestrian games against Miami (OH) and Murray State. The wideout notched five receptions for 80 yards and a touchdown in Bloomington.

Overall, the Irish defense has been dominant in the last two weeks, holding both Purdue and Wisconsin to 13 points and forcing a total of seven turnovers. They will need to get pressure on Ridder and force him into mistakes, as they did with Graham Mertz, to keep the Bearcats out of the endzone. 

Ridder went 20-for-25 against Miami with 295 yards, five total touchdowns and an interception and added another 243 yards and two scores the following week against Murray State. However, Ridder’s clear worst performance of the year came against Indiana when the senior’s completion percentage fell to 55.6% and he threw one passing touchdown plus an interception.