Notre Dame Eclipses 30 Sacks In Back-To-Back Seasons
With Mike Elston manning the defensive line and Clark Lea leading the linebackers and coordinating the defense, Notre Dame has gotten after the quarterback at an unprecedented rate in the Brian Kelly era.
In back-to-back seasons, Notre Dame accumulated 34 sacks, both of which are tied for the most under Kelly, eclipsing the previous high of 33 on the vaunted 2012 defense.
What's even more impressive is how they've been able to accomplish this feat.
In 2018, Notre Dame had two top-tier pass rushers in defensive end Julian Okwara and defensive tackle Jerry Tillery, both of which finished the season with eight sacks — combining for nearly half the team's total. The next highest was defensive end Khalid Kareem with 4.5.
This past season, after losing Tillery to the first round of the NFL Draft and with Okwara missing the final four games of the season, no individual pass rusher jumped off the page. Five different players had between 4.5 and 5.5 sacks (Kareem and linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah were tied for the lead).
Heading into 2020, Notre Dame is charged with replacing three of its top five pass rushers in Kareem, Okwara and defensive end Jamir Jones, but the good news is Notre Dame has a lot coming back.
A strong candidate to lead the team in sacks in 2020 is defensive end Ade Ogundeji.
With Okwara in the lineup, Ogudeji was often taken off the field on third and long situations — when the defense has the best opportunity to generate a pass rush.
But after Okwara fractured his left fibula against Duke in week 11, Ogudeji took advantage of his increased role, and the soon-to-be graduate student flourished at the end of the season. In the final three games, Ogundeji had 14 tackles and 4.5 sacks.
Having Owusu-Koramoah back will also help with the pass rush. Three of his sacks came in Camping World Bowl against Iowa State and, while that level of production is unsustainable, it will be interesting to see if he's able to continue having success at getting after the quarterback.
After tearing his labrum in game four against Virginia, defensive end Daelin Hayes was able to preserve a year of eligibility and return next season. While Hayes is viewed as a better run defender, he was on pace for three sacks in 2019, and a starting role in 2020 could allow him to break out as a pass rusher.
But will this be enough for Notre Dame to hit or eclipse 34 team sacks next season? What about 40? For as impressive as 34 sacks is, Notre Dame was still only tied for 32nd in the country and well behind Ohio State, which led the nation with 54.
For the Fighting Irish to break into the upper echelon, they will need multiple young and unproven players to break out.
Rising freshman defensive end Isaiah Foskey was very raw as a pass rusher in 2019, but he showed immense potential in the four games he played. He will likely be pushing for a second-string role behind either Ogudeji or Hayes in 2020, and maybe he could exceed expectations.
Another breakout candidate is rising junior Ovie Oghoufo, who converted from linebacker to defensive end in 2019 and showed flashes of brilliance as a pass rush, despite limited playing time and weighing just 229 pounds.
At the end of the day, season sack totals aren't everything, and Notre Dame was able to have one of the top defenses in college football this season even with the 32nd most sacks. But against talented offenses like Clemson and Wisconsin, the Irish must be able to put pressure on the quarterback if they want to have a chance and, given what they have coming back in 2020, they should be able to continue to do that.
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