Diaco: Creating turnovers is a distant fourth in my philosophy

Notre Dame has rode their strong defense to a 4-0 record, including wins over Michigan State and Michigan in back to back weeks.

Yesterday, after being asked if an emphasis on turnovers is his main priority, defensive coordinator Bob Diaco discussed the areas of emphasis that he has had since he arrived at Notre Dame, noting that creating turnovers are a distant fourth on his list. Notre Dame currently ranks 5th in the country in turnover margin at 2.25 per game.

"We can never move too far from our core defensive beliefs." Diaco explained.

"We're interested in keeping the points down, so in keeping the points down, the next piece that produces points is big plays. So defensively we've got to be sure that we're constantly focused on eliminating big plays."

"After that we try to analyze what the opponent does to produce points, so we can limit and keep the points down. After that, if I had to put an emphasis...if you forced me to, we're interested in attacking the football and creating ball disruptions."

That's an interesting choice of words.

The Irish have this weekend off, and will take on Miami (FL) next weekend in South Bend in game two of a four game home stretch.