D is for Dominant
By: Joe

Notre Dame's offense managed a meager 140 yards of offense Saturday against UCLA. They tallied just 12 first downs. They averaged 1.4 yards per rush and just 2.1 yards per play.

And the Irish won 20-6. One-and-five never felt so good.

While Notre Dame's offense struggled against a very solid UCLA defense, the Irish defense turned in an absolutely suffocating performance en route to forcing seven turnovers and setting up every Irish score.

Sure, the Bruins were handcuffed offensively after starting quarterback Ben Olson left the game with a knee injury, forcing freshman wak-on McLeod Bethel-Thompson into action. And yes, Bethel-Thompson threw four interceptions and looked shaky much of the game. But the fact is Notre Dame's defense dominated the line of scrimmage, pressured the quarterback and disrupted nearly every UCLA drive.

It didn't matter the quarterback, it mattered that Notre Dame's defensive coordinator Corwin Brown was blitzing on every other play, the Irish defensive ends were routinely beating their guy and the linebackers and safeties were playing tight coverage all night.

Offensively, the Irish took a step or two back Saturday night. Defensively, they took a flying leap forward.

After starting the season with three embarrassing losses, Notre Dame has showed progress in each of the last three games. The Irish ran the ball better against Michigan State, threw the ball better versus Purdue and stepped up defensively against the UCLA. There are still plenty of areas to improve upon -- rushing offense, passing offense, special teams, checking wide receivers at the line of scrimmage, and play-calling to name a few.

But suddenly, things don't seem so terrible in South Bend. The Irish have a week to continue improving before facing a top-5 Boston College squad that hasn't beaten anyone of substance. Then it's USC coming to town, two weeks removed from a total collaspse against Stanford at home. I'm not saying we should expect Notre Dame to be 3-5 in two weeks, but nothing's impossible. Finally, the Irish can feel good about themselves.

This week the players don't have to field questions about tying a Notre Dame record with eight consecutive losses and they won't be asked about securing the worst start in Irish football history. Instead, they can focus on pulling off an upset against Boston College in front of a sure-to-be-excited crowd.

Slowly, but surely things are starting to turn around for Notre Dame.