Season-ending injuries to graduate defensive end Jordan Botelho, sophomore defensive end Boubacar Traore and junior cornerback Benjamin Morrison left many Irish fans concerned with the future of the defense. Especially in the defensive line, without Botelho and Traore, the two best pass-rushing defensive ends, Notre Dame needed to find players to emerge in their place to generate pressure. Off of a bye week, the Irish found a season high of eight sacks to obliterate a struggling Florida State team. Graduate captain and defensive tackle Rylie Mills led the way for the Irish with three sacks and helped force both Florida State quarterbacks under 100 yards combined passing.
Gasps emerged from the stands as graduate defensive end Howard Cross III grabbed his right ankle on the field in the second quarter. The sack leader for the Irish was in the middle of having his best year generating pressure and was the defensive motor up front for the Irish. While Cross’s departure from the game might have been demoralizing for some, Mills made it his mission to fight hard for Cross and dominate up front. Immediately after Cross left the field with 11:52 left in the second quarter, Mills sacked quarterback Luke Kromenhoek for seven yards on second down, then for five yards on third down. This was the first set of many tackles for loss that ended critical drives for the Seminoles.
Another sack by junior defensive tackle Donovan Hinish with 2:24 left in the second quarter forced the Seminoles to punt and give the Irish great field position. The Irish would score to close out the first half after the defense created consistent losing plays for the Florida State offense.
To open the second half, Florida state began driving towards midfield. On a second and 7, Mills got another sack for a loss of 10 yards. Quarterback Brock Glenn then threw an interception to graduate safety Jordan Clark.
When asked about the pass rush, Clark said, “It’s everything. Pressure all game long made our job in the secondary easier.”
Mills would finish the day with three sacks, Hinish would add two sacks and junior defensive end Junior Tuihalamaka and junior linebacker Jaylen Sneed would each get one. The Irish forced 14 quarterback pressures throughout the game, which was the most of the season.
“The whole defense was dominant,” Mills said after the game. “When the front end and back end are on the same page, it’s hard to get completions on us … You can throw the record out. They have really good players.”
“We’ve got to be strong up the middle,” head coach Marcus Freeman added after the game. “Rylie [Mills] got the individual glory, but a lot of people contributed to that. People in coverage and the schemes allowed some of that production today.”
The Irish will need to continue to find success rushing the passer to build momentum toward the end of the season and gear up for a potential playoff run battling bigger teams at the line of scrimmage.
Dominating Florida State at the point of attack, the Irish held Seminole quarterbacks to a combined 88 yards and two interceptions on 10-for-26 passing.
“Saturday is a reflection of preparation,” Freeman said.
The Irish certainly prepared against a one-win and lowly-ranked offense, showing why defense has been the most consistent and dominate part of this Irish team, even battling injuries.
The Irish will certainly be more challenged by a Virginia team coming off a big upset win against one-loss Pittburgh. If the Irish can continue to generate pressure at the line of scrimmage, it will make the path to win out much easier for the rest of the season. Forcing an interception in each of the last three games, the Irish have come together as a defense and found a rhythm. Facing Virginia at home on Nov. 16, the Irish will have a chance to build even more momentum before games against undefeated Army and rival USC
