Defensive line puts squeeze on opponents
By JOE HETTLER
Asociate Sports Editor
Darrell Campbell knew Notre Dame's defense was missing something last season.
Now he knows what it was.
"[Pressuring the quarterback] is the difference between the defense of last year and the defense of this year," Campbell said. "Last year it wasn't necessarily four down linemen trying to get pressure on the quarterback, we had multiple linemen, outside backers, corners coming up and blitzing from opposite sides. This year we went back to that 4-3 mentality, old-style, hit them in the face, get up the field and take care of our gaps and just playing Notre Dame defense. That's been the No. 1 thing, getting back there and doing some damage to the quarterback."
Getting to the quarterback with only a four-man rush allows the Irish defense to have an extra man in the secondary or in the middle of the field, which puts less pressure on the defensive backs and linebackers.
Defensive lineman coach Greg Mattison believes the front four of Campbell, Cedric Hilliard, Kyle Budinscak and Ryan Roberts have successfully pressured opposing quarterbacks for several reasons.
"We've got some speed finally on the edges to be able to rush the edges, but that's only good if you have a push up the middle," Mattison said. "That's what [Campbell] and [Hilliard] both have understood and now are starting to get a great push up there, and that's why we're getting pressure from the outside more."
In order to stop the pass, Notre Dame's lineman must first stop the other team's running game.
"The first thing you always have to do is stop the run," Mattison said. "If we don't stop the run, then it'll be a long day because they'll be able to throw or run on us. So we've got to be able to stop the run, then get them in a true passing situation. Then it's time for us to put it in our advantage, because now we know what they're doing, and we have to be able to beat somebody one-on-one."
All four starting linemen have made key plays in Notre Dame's first four victories this season. As a unit against Maryland, they combined for four tackles for a loss, including a sack. Hilliard recorded two sacks, blocked a field goal and forced a fumble against Michigan, while Roberts had two sacks and six tackles versus Michigan State. The line has helped make Notre Dame's defense rank sixth among Division I teams in rushing yards allowed, holding opponents to 76.75 yards per game. The Irish are also ranked 14th in the country in total defense, yielding only 276.50 yards per game.
Mattison still sees room for improvement despite the line's success
"[The defensive linemen] have a lot of pride and they know that they haven't played close to their best game yet," Mattison said. "We have to get four guys at one time playing well together. We've had a lot of situations where one or two guys played real well and one or two guys didn't play as good as they could and we still were successful. So if we can put four guys on the field at one time, all doing the right thing, playing as hard as they can, then we've got a chance."
The defensive line needs another solid performance if they hope to stop this week's opponent Stanford. The Cardinal leads the Pac-10 conference in rushing, averaging over 187 yards per game.
Campbell believes Notre Dame can stop Stanford's running game if they play to their own expectations.
"The most important thing is to win," Campbell said. "That's the No. 1 objective, that's our goal every week. If we do what we say we're going to do and we go out there and play hardnosed Notre Dame defense and hardnosed Notre Dame offense, then that'll happen."
All Sports Stories for Friday, October 4, 2002
