Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com OCT. 29, 2018 35 BY BRYAN DRISKELL NAVY RUNNING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME RUN DEFENSE Navy ranked second nationally in rushing yards per game (310.4) through the season's first six weeks, trailing only Georgia Tech and its triple-op- tion offense. The Midshipmen's per-game average was dragged down by a performance against Air Force in which they accumulated only 129 yards. Navy averaged 355.8 yards per game in the four games prior to the 35-7 loss Oct. 6. The bigger concern for the Navy offense is the fact that it is only averaging 5.12 yards per carry. The Midshipmen have not averaged fewer rush- ing yards per attempt since 2009 (4.79), and they haven't averaged less than 5.46 since 2013. Navy has played three different quarterbacks this season, and that lack of continuity has hindered the ground attack. The bigger issue, however, has been the lack of production from the fullback spot, which is vital to success in the triple option. Navy's top three fullbacks are averaging just 72.6 rushing yards per game and 4.65 yards per rush. Last season, the top three fullbacks averaged 88.5 yards per outing and 4.89 yards per carry. The season prior (2016) the Navy fullbacks averaged 79.8 yards per contest but went for 6.0 yards per attempt. Navy's fullbacks accounted for 22 touchdowns in the two prior seasons, but they had yet to reach the end zone through the first five contests of the 2018 season. Finding a way to get Anthony Gar- giulo going would boost the offense. After racking up 423 yards and 5.6 yards per attempt in 2017, Gargiulo had merely 124 yards and 3.4 yards per attempt in the first five 2018 games. Navy's struggles running the ball have resulted in an inability to convert third downs. Through five games the Midshipmen are moving the chains on just 37.5 percent of their third downs. Not since 2012 has Navy been below 41 percent on third down, and it has never finished lower than that during head coach Ken Niumatalolo's tenure. Notre Dame has been much improved against opposing ground games through its first six con- tests, ranking 40th nationally in yards given up per game (127.8) and 30th in yards allowed per rush (3.4). Fueling the production on defense has been the ability to create negative plays. Through six games, the Irish defense had accu- mulated 43 tackles for loss, which ranked it 22nd in the land. Notre Dame is currently on pace for 93 stops behind the line of scrimmage, which would be a high during head coach Brian Kelly's tenure. Advantage: Notre Dame NAVY PASSING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME PASS DEFENSE Navy is never going to be an offense that puts up many passing yards, but there are ways to measure its ability to be effective in that area. Yards per attempt and rating are the two top categories, and those numbers through five games show the Midshipmen's passing attack has not been up to par this season. Not only is Navy on pace for its lowest per-game passing average of head coach Ken Niumatalolo's 10-year tenure, it's also on pace for lows in yards per attempt (7.3) and pass efficiency (111.24 rat- ing). During the 2015 and 2016 seasons — when On PaPer Senior Anthony Gargiulo is part of a fullback group that was averaging just 72.6 rushing yards per game and 4.65 yards per carry with no touchdowns through five contests, which is below previous standards for that crucial component to Navy's triple-option attack. PHOTO COURTESY NAVY GAME PREVIEW: NAVY