Notre Dame's Dominant Defensive Performance, What It Means

SOUTH BEND, Ind.—Notre Dame and Michigan first squared off in football in 1887. For the first 126 years of the rivalry, the Irish had never shut out the Wolverines. That changed Saturday night, as Notre Dame blanked Michigan, 31-0.

“It is very hard to comprehend,” Irish senior linebacker Joe Schmidt said of Notre Dame’s first shutout in the series history. “It hasn’t set in. But it is for sure fun.”

In many ways, Schmidt’s thoughts on Notre Dame’s historic performance can parallel the overall thoughts on this Irish defense. It’s somewhat difficult to comprehend how well they played—this early in the season, with this many young players and with a new defensive coordinator and a new scheme. The shutout has yet to fully sink in. And, yes, that’s a fun defense to watch.

The Irish limited the Wolverines to 289 yards of total offense and never allowed Michigan to reach the red zone.

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Michigan HC Brady Hoke says Michigan didn't do itself any favors in the red zone. Know why? The Wolverines never reached the red zone.

— Douglas Farmer (@D_Farmer) September 7, 2014"

“Obviously, shutting out any opponent in college football is an enormous task with offenses today,” Irish head coach Brian Kelly said afterward. “A great performance by our defense.”

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Kelly said stopping the run—Michigan averaged just 2.9 yards per carry on 35 attempts—was key to Notre Dame’s defensive success and set up the rest of the game plan. In slowing the ground attack, the Irish were able to force Michigan quarterback Devin Gardner into difficult third-down situations.

Given its top-notch performance, it’s somewhat easy to forget just how inexperienced and new this defense is. The Irish have already played eight true freshmen on defense through the first two games of the season. Of Notre Dame’s defensive starters Saturday, only sophomore linebacker Jaylon Smith and junior defensive lineman Sheldon Day were regular starters last season.

“[This team’s] success is really in its youth,” Kelly said.

So is Notre Dame’s defense ahead of schedule?

“I would say it really just ceases all the doubts about we're young, can we execute,” Smith said.

Smith, however, was quick to point out there’s plenty of room for improvement in communication and execution, in particular.

“There were a lot of mental errors out there that the crowd may not see, but we're going to get better,” Smith said.

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There was already major improvement from Week 1 to Week 2 for safeties Max Redfield and Elijah Shumate, who played nearly every snap with graduate student captain Austin Collinsworth sidelined with an MCL injury. After the duo struggled at times with its communication last weekend against Rice, both players looked much improved against the Wolverines. Redfield notched six tackles and picked off Gardner, while Shumate tallied 10 tackles and added an exclamation point with his interception in the game’s final seconds.

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Max Redfield and Elijah Shumate struggled last week. Complete 180 vs. Michigan. Huge for Irish defense.

— JJ Stankevitz (@JJStankevitz) September 7, 2014"

“They knew that it was their time to step up and lead back there,” Kelly said. “They were put in that position by virtue of an injury, and the circumstances, and they were not going to let their teammates down.”

Redfield and Shumate played fast and free, closing in on ball-carriers and wrapping up.

“When they’re playing fast and they know what’s going on, they’re pretty, pretty good,” said graduate student cornerback Cody Riggs, who praised the safeties for their inherent raw ability.

There certainly appears to be untapped potential remaining in this Irish defense. If the Irish can continue to grow throughout the season, the defense could be a strong suit, as it was against Michigan.

Notre Dame’s defense is still settling in. But Saturday’s performance was an encouraging step.

All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

Mike Monaco is a lead Notre Dame writer for Bleacher Report. Follow @MikeMonaco_ on Twitter.