Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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30 NOV. 16, 2019 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY ANDREW MENTOCK T he Navy-Notre Dame rivalry dates back to 1927, when the Irish posted a 19-6 victory. In total, the two programs have played 92 times and the Irish have won 78 of them, with a 43-game win streak that was snapped in 2007. Despite the long history between the two programs, the matchup be- tween Notre Dame and Navy Nov. 16 will likely be the first time since 1978 that the two teams are both ranked in the Associated Press poll. That means this game could also have major college football bowl im- plications. "Assuming Notre Dame beats Duke, they'll still have a lot to play for," said Mike James, publisher of the MidReport.com. "The flip side of this, what's kind of crazy is that Navy is also playing for a New Year's Six game." Considering that Navy posted a 3-10 record last year and failed to make a bowl game for the first time since 2011, it is quite impressive that a New Year's Six bowl is a possibil- ity. After overpowering Connecticut 56-10 Nov. 1, the Midshipmen stood at 7-1 overall and 5-1 in the American Athletic Conference. Navy averaged just 25.0 points per game last season, but is scor- ing at clip of 40.1 points per contest this season. In addition, its vaunted ground attack posted "just" 276.5 yards per game last fall, but has put up a nation-leading 357.9 rushing yards per game in 2019. A top-25 showdown between the Fighting Irish and Midshipmen — who were No. 15 and No. 24, respec- tively, in the initial College Football Playoff rankings released Nov. 5 — could create an electric environment in Notre Dame Stadium that's typi- cally reserved for more prominent rivalries such as USC or Stanford. If the Irish are able to prevail, this will most likely be one of the pro- gram's best wins this season and will allow them to work their way back toward the top 10. OFFENSE The Navy offense begins and ends with senior quarterback Malcolm Perry. "He's one of the most exciting run- ners in the country," James said. "I sound like a homer, but I'm telling you, when you watch how he runs there's just really no other player that's quite like that. It's really kind of crazy. "It gets them in trouble sometimes, but the good far outweighs the bad and it's been incredible to watch." Through eight games, Perry has run for 1,042 yards on 6.6 yards per carry. He also had scored 16 rush- ing touchdowns, which was the third most in the Football Bowl Subdivi- sion (FBS) after 10 weeks. Meanwhile, Perry has done enough damage as a passer to keep defenses somewhat honest, completing 54.7 percent of his 53 passes for 722 yards with five touchdowns. He is averag- ing 13.6 yards per attempt and 24.0 yards per completion, and has nearly thrown for as many yards at the entire team did in 13 games last year (947). Many of the explosive plays have also come from the Navy fullbacks. Junior Nelson Smith is the starter and more of the power back. On 104 attempts, the 5-9, 218-pounder has run for 505 yards and seven scores. The other fullback, 203-pound sophomore Jamale Carothers, is the more explosive of the two. On just 36 carries, he's run for 355 yards and eight touchdowns. This comes out to just shy of 10 yards per carry for a player who's actually a converted slot back. "When I talk about more of a re- turn to a triple-option based game, I think the biggest beneficiary of that has been the two fullbacks," James said. "Maybe over the last few weeks, it's really become a kind of a two-headed monster at fullback with Nelson Smith and Jamale Carothers. "Carothers is a really interesting story. At the beginning of the year, he wasn't even listed in the team's media guide because he was buried so far in the depth chart." Th e leadin g receiv er is 6-5, 215-pound sophomore Mychal Coo- per, who has made nine catches for 241 yards (26.8 yards per reception) and one touchdown. The Navy offensive line is also much improved this year and much more athletic. "Another part of the change this year is the coaches actually tasked the offensive line with the losing of a little bit of weight," James said. "So they're actually smaller this year than they have been the past couple of years. If you look at what they had been doing [in the past], they've been running a lot of like outside zone trying to double-team guys and get a big push that way. "But this year you'll see them get- ting up field more, really get into the second and third level to try to make these blocks, and they cut a lot of weight to try to get that quickness back." DEFENSE While a more efficient offense has been a vital factor in Navy's bounce- back season, the Midshipmen also have a dramatically improved defense. "You've seen a return to the kind of traditional offensive efficiency that you've seen for past Navy teams," James said. "And when you combine great defense with the usual Navy offense that we're used to seeing, all of a sudden, they're in the top 25." James noted that the defense has gone from one that does enough to keep them in games to one that can dominate. According to ESPN's team efficiency defense, the Midshipmen rank No. 43. Last season, they were 113th. Even in 2015 when Navy went 11-2, the defense only ranked 55th. GAME PREVIEW: NAVY RIGHTING THE SHIP The Midshipmen have bounced back impressively from last year's 3-10 season