What Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden said before Louisville game

At the halfway point of the season, No. 10 Notre Dame (5-1) ranks tied for No. 9 in the nation in defensive yards per play allowed at 4.31. Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden has his guys doing something right.

This is what Golden said about the Irish defense ahead of a road matchup against No. 25 Louisville (5-0) on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET.

On Notre Dame’s tackling effort vs. Duke

“I thought we had some uncharacteristic missed tackles the other day, which were disappointing. I’m going to be honest with you. And I’m not talking about at the end, when the running back was running really hard and we were kind of hanging on. I’m not talking about that. That’s a different deal. I’m talking about when we had opportunities in the open field, and we just did not trust our technique and bring our training to the game and we didn’t really press it. We got crossed over a couple of times, and I think that would be the only thing that would be disappointing about that.  

“Big quarterback, rotated a bunch of backs in there. I thought they were a really good team going in, thought they ran the ball hard going in. And I would say, I don’t know how many runs they had in the game, but I would say all but five or six I like where we were at. It wasn’t like there were 12 of them. But there was a couple that got out, and that skewed the run game for us. Can’t happen.”

On Louisville quarterback Jack Plummer

“I think he’s playing fast. I think he trusts the cast that he has around him. I think they have speed on the perimeter. They’re explosive. The running game, running backs run strong. They press it. So, I think he’s doing what they want him to do. He’s being efficient. He’s making good decisions. He’s distributing the football. I think he’s playing really well. And I think with experience comes maturity. That’s what we’re seeing from him right now.”   

On what Notre Dame will do at Vyper without Jordan Botelho for the first half

“Boubacar [Traore] could be in that mix, too. We’ll see how it evolves here in the next 48 hours, but you’ve got to get guys ready because Junior [Tuihalamaka] and Josh [Burnham] are playing a lot of special teams. So, if you’re bumping them up, who’s taking those other reps? There’s a big puzzle that we have to put together in the next 48 hours.

“More importantly, we just have to keep our head up. We cannot complain about leaving it up to an official or arguing whether it is or isn’t [targeting]. At the end of the day, if we’re hitting with the crown of our head, it’s not good for anybody here at Notre Dame, and we don’t teach it. We don’t condone it. And we all have to make sure we play with our heads up.”  

On Notre Dame linebacker Jaylen Sneed

“I’d like to get him more reps. I’d like to continue to get them out there. I think consistency, the process of being the same guy every day — all those things are important to all of our players. And Jaylen is no outlier there. But we have to find ways to utilize his skills and ways to make him the best that he can be. And that’s our challenge right now.”  

On Notre Dame linebacker Marist Liufau

“I thought he played well Saturday, and he prepared well. He prepared well all week. So, that’s what we’re seeing right now. And he played really fast, and that’s what he’s got to do — just play fast. Trust. Don’t think too much. And Jaylen is the younger version of him. We’ve just got to keep bringing Jaylen along so that Jaylen can play fast and not think so much and find a way to get his talent in the game. That’s what we’re tasked to do right now.”  

On the way NC State attacked Louisville with the 3-3-5 defense

“It’s obviously a lot different, so yeah, I have a lot of respect for all the coordinators and what they go through each week. So, they chose a path to conduct the game, and they did a really good job with it. And each game is different. We’re not the same team now that we were when we played NC State, and Louisville won’t be the same team this week that they were last week. Strategies change, personnel changes, guys get better. So, there’s always something to learn, no doubt. But I think for us right now, it’s about us and being able to control the factors that we can control and execute.”  

On Notre Dame defensive tackle Howard Cross III

“Howard has settled in. His mental errors are way down, way down. He’s playing faster. He’s playing within the systems. He’s using his hands really well. And he’s finishing. He’s finishing laterally. He’s finishing downfield. I think he’s become a better pass rusher. I think that’s safe to say. I can’t say enough good things about his preparation and the way he’s competing and how hard he works.”