Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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32 OCT. 29, 2018 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY COREY BODDEN F ollowing the program's endur- ance of a 43-game losing streak to Notre Dame, Navy became a thorn in the side of the Fighting Irish from 2007-10. The Midshipmen won three of the four matchups dur- ing that stretch. Although it hasn't been easy, head coach Brian Kelly and company have claimed six of the past seven meet- ings. The lone exception came in 2016 during Notre Dame's 4-8 campaign, when Navy notched a 28-27 victory in Jacksonville, Fla. Through the first half of 2018, both programs were moving in a different direction with their Oct. 27 matchup in San Diego nearing. While the Irish sat unbeaten at 6-0 entering their contest with Pittsburgh Oct. 13, head coach Ken Niumatalolo and the Midshipmen were just 2-3. Among the three defeats were road blowout losses to Hawai'i (59-41) and Air Force (35-7). The Midshipmen still remain among the nation's best running the ball with their triple-option attack. Through six weeks, Navy ranked sec- ond nationally with an average of 310.4 rushing yards per game while producing just 71.2 passing yards per contest to rank 129th. Toward the end of 2017, former slot back Malcolm Perry took over at quarterback for senior Zach Abey, who has switched to wide receiver in 2018. Both players rushed for more than 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns a year ago. Perry, a junior, was by far the Overboard The Midshipmen will try to get their season back on track and sink Notre Dame's push for a College Football Playoff berth Junior quarterback Malcolm Perry has been the catalyst for Navy's triple-option attack this year, rushing for 584 yards and six touchdowns on 105 carries (5.6 yards ) in the first five games. PHOTO COURTESY NAVY