So much for the robust Notre Dame defense, whose intimidating defensive walls terrorized the offenses. Well, that was Al Golden’s explosive playbook. But presently, the Irish does not have him. Already, the Irish’s 2-0 start in the season, and already Chris Ash’s lack of penalty calls led to a meltdown at South Bend last week. But Freeman was still confident in his new defensive coordinator gamble in Ash. “It’s not the calls. It’s the execution,” the head coach had said in his defense.

However, on Saturday’s matchup against the Purdue Boilermakers, Freeman’s frustration with the Ash Chris capped off. After last week’s loss to the Aggies, the defense was supposed to come back prepared. And they did, but failed to fight their age-old foe: disciplinary issues. Purdue moved down the field in a flash and evened the score almost immediately. It finished with a trick: RB Devin Mockobee took the handoff before passing it back to Ryan Browne. Honestly, props to Browne, that was a smart call. But Notre Dame’s defense had no answer, and the miscue falls squarely on Chris Ash.

An X user, who goes by the username @Caleb Conrad, summed up Freeman’s frustration on the field at the Notre Dame Stadium. He wrote on X, “Marcus Freeman was clearly frustrated during the rain delay interview. Freeman definitely made it seem like he was tired and frustrated with Chris Ash. Chris Ash needs to figure out the defense immediately.” In the second quarter, CJ Carr earned a fumble and one interception.

The hiccups began with the first kick itself. Freshman Erik Schmidt’s kickoff went out of bounds and handed the Boilermakers the ball at their own 35. CJ Carr scored a 66-yard TD at 13:40. However, it did not take long for the Boilermakers to reach the end zone. Browne’s rushing TD filled the deficit. The QB hit Mockobee for a 23-yard gain, and later Nitro Tuggle for 31 yards. But it was the bubble pass that stole the limelight. It was 11:22 on the clock in the first quarter. The ball snapped, Browne handed over the ball to Mockobee, who threw a 6-yard catch back to Browne, who then rushed for a 14-yard TD.

But the Irish defense was tricked again. It was a fake punt trick play by the Boilermakers that frustrated Freeman. The ball snapped, and it looked like Purdue was going for a field goal. However, the trick was successful in leading the Irish’s defense to think so. After sketching out his trick, punter Jack McAllister broke into a run on the left side of the offensive line, gaining 10 yards deep into the Irish’s territory.

Calls against Chris Ash’s play-calling

Irish’s defensive miscues against the Aggies led to a CFB meltdown. Former Irish QB Malik Zaire even went on his way to vouch for former defensive coaching staff member Mike Mickens to call the shots. “Mickens should have been DC,” he vented his frustration on X. Mickens worked alongside Al Golden to lead Notre Dame’s defense on the national charts. After Golden’s departure to the NFL, Mickens had been right there to fill his shoes. However, Freeman chose to go with Ash, and that’s why Irish fans are more frustrated than ever.

The Purdue-Notre Dame matchup is an old tale, dating back 130 years of hot simmering rivalry, culminating in the Shillelagh Trophy. Although the powerhouse Notre Dame dominated the winning streak, a 58-26-2 series advantage. And a 39-19 dominating record. But South Bend is witnessing a buckling defense in Chris Ash’s play-calling.

Last campaign, the Irish absolutely crushed the Boilermakers and handed them a 66-7 defeat. But back to the present. It’s not the once-fabled Irish defense under Al Golden.

Already, Marcus Freeman is 0-2 on the season. A historic rivalry brings along with it intense emotions that bleed down into the trenches, and Purdue will not back off easily.