I think it's both. Ash is not putting his players in the best positions, and they are dorking up

Author: Turkish (1297 Posts - Joined: Oct 22, 2007)
Posted at 12:21 pm on Sep 17, 2025

Both are coaching issues. I am also worried this defense got drunk on it's own success. I am especially disappointed in the secondary. Xavier Watts may be the most underrated ND defender of the past 25 years. Losing him has hurt more than expected. I doubt Miami makes that catch for the penultimate TD with Watts back there.

he lack of a pass rush hasn't helped, but the long TD pass was an embarrassing whiffed tackle. Missed tackles on defense are like dropped passes on offense - the #1 indicator of poor fundamentals. All three levels have done poorly with tackling.

All that being said, ND has played 2 quality teams - Miami might finish the season undefeated with Clemson down. TAMU has a very expensive roster and Elko is a very good coach. This could be a great year for them. I gave Ash a mulligan for Game 1 on the road at night vs. an elite team and experienced QB. ND didn't play lights out, but was able to stiffen on defense in the 2nd half until the last drive. Game 2 was an unmitigated disaster. At this point I am leaning towards the "Dump Ash Now" camp. I will be banging the table if the Purdue game isn't a massive improvement.


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