Notre Dame’s Defensive Plan vs. Wisconsin Starts With Containing Colton Joseph

Notre Dame opens its season Sunday night against Wisconsin at Lambeau Field, and defensive coordinator Chris Ash has already identified the problem his unit has to solve. Old Dominion transfer quarterback Colton Joseph is the piece Wisconsin brought in to run its offense, and Ash said the plan for the opener starts with him.

“He’s a focal point for this game plan, and he’s a dynamic athlete that can make a lot of plays,” Ash said.

Joseph ran for 1,007 yards and 13 touchdowns last season while throwing for 2,624 yards and 21 more. He finished eighth nationally in total offense and was the Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year. Ash laid out the three ways that shows up.

“He presents a lot of challenges in the run game with quarterback-designed runs, in the pass game, his ability to take off when he gets out on the edge,” Ash said. “You know, he’s got the ability to extend plays with his feet and take off and run.”

Designed keepers, dropbacks, and scrambles off broken protection each stress a different part of a defense, and only one of them putting the ball in the air. Ash’s answer to all three is the one he has been giving since Notre Dame hired him a year ago.

“It really starts with everything that we do defensively,” Ash said. “We pride ourselves on trying to stop the run, and this is going to be a big challenge for us.” Offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock talked about Notre Dame’s offensive identity starting with running the ball as well.

“And it’s all about stopping the run and trying to control the line of scrimmage,” Ash said. “And if we can do that, then we’ll have a good night. If not, it’ll be a long one.”

Keeping Joseph Inside the Tackles

Senior linebacker and captain Drayk Bowen led Notre Dame with 67 tackles last season, adding 4.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks while playing through a hip injury that required offseason surgery. The linebackers are the ones fitting the designed quarterback runs, and his version of the assignment is narrower than Ash’s.

“So, that’s something, keeping him in the pocket, making sure that you shut down the run game,” Bowen said. “Try to make him throw from the well and don’t let him use his legs.”

Bowen has already seen on film what happens when that fails.

“I think the biggest thing is his speed,” Bowen said. “You know, last year played IU, took two 60-plus yarders. You know, outran some of their best players.”

Joseph ran for 179 yards and two touchdowns in Old Dominion’s season-opening loss at Indiana, including a 75-yard touchdown on the game’s first play. That is the outcome Notre Dame wants to prevent, and Bowen knows that could be easier said than done.

“It’s hard. It’s a lot easier said than done, especially with those kinds of guys,” Bowen said. “But I think that’s going to be the biggest challenge, him using his legs, extending plays, and then just trying to break pocket, get into open field, and use his speed.”

Scouting an Offense Without Film

Wisconsin’s roster turnover has left Joseph as close to the only piece of that offense Notre Dame can study with any confidence.

“There’s a lot of unknowns with him being a new quarterback, a new O-line coach, some different moving parts there with their personnel,” Ash said. “So, we’re not really sure exactly what they’re going to do, but no matter what, we’re preparing for a lot of things. We got a lot of rules that we’re trying to make sure our guys understand.”

Marcus Freeman explained where those rules come from on Friday.

“You look at the previous places the coordinator has been. You look at the previous places the new O-line coach has been. You look at what Joseph did well at ODU, and you have to incorporate a little bit into practice. So you have rules, you’ve repped it. But at the same time, you have to be able to adjust based on what you see early in the game.”

What Notre Dame Expects to See

Freeman was not hedging about what Notre Dame expects to see.

“We’re foolish if we don’t think they’re going to utilize his athleticism and skill set and do some QB runs and some zone reads and stuff like that.”

Bowen described the same problem from the film room, where the turnover means projecting players out of their old systems.

“Yeah, you know, it’s tough. You kind of go off last year’s film and then for us just watching the new guys, seeing how they move, seeing what they do,” Bowen said. “You know, they got obviously the new quarterback, going to be a big part of their offense. Really good player at Old Dominion. So, we got him on film, watching how he moves, watching what works for him.”

The Margin Sunday Night

Sunday night, all of that gets settled in the run fits. Keep Joseph inside the tackles, and Wisconsin is left asking a quarterback in his first Power Four season to throw it into a Notre Dame secondary on a national stage, in an offense whose new pieces have not played a snap together. Miss one edge, and the Irish are chasing a quarterback who has already done that to a Big Ten defense on the first play of a game.