Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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32 NOV. 16, 2019 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED an impressive feat for a 206-pound player. The junior is also third on the team in total tackles with 42 and has three forced fumbles. Senior nose guard Jackson Pittman (6-3, 300) is part of a bigger Navy front seven than in years past, and the result on the field has been no- ticeable. Through games played Nov. 2, Navy ranked 16th in the country in rushing defense with just 109.4 yards allowed per game. Navy's leading tackler is line- backer Diego Fagot with 59. Unlike a large portion of the Navy roster, Fagot had a number of FBS offers, including from Illinois, Central Flor- ida and Western Michigan. At 6-3 and 240 pounds, he has the athleti- cism to do everything Navy asks of him. "He's a big dude," James said. "You'll see him shooting gaps and trying to get into the backfield and timing snap counts. But then he still has the agility to drop back and in coverage he's just all over the field. He leads the team in tackles for a reason." The top pass defender for the Mid- shipman is sophomore cornerback Michael McMorris, who has eight pass deflections and an interception. MATCHUP WITH THE IRISH This may be one of the most un- predictable matchups between Notre Dame and Navy. The Irish have struggled on offense this year at times, while the Midshipmen de- fense has excelled more than usual. James could see this game going either way, as this is one of the more complete Navy teams he has seen in a while. But that doesn't mean he thinks they match up well with Notre Dame. "Notre Dame and Navy kind of live in different worlds, right?" James said. "So Notre Dame has problems, but problems at the Notre Dame level would not be considered problems at the Navy. "If you're a Navy and you're look- ing at the Notre Dame defensive line, are they're thinking, 'Oh God, how are we going to block these guys?' Regardless of what sacks they're get- ting against other teams." Instead, the Irish will have to focus on playing mistake-free football on defense and handling a variety of blitzes on offense. It will also come down to how the Notre Dame coach- ing staff prepares the players. "I don't usually like making pre- dictions just because, when it comes to playing Navy, so much of how the game turns out is completely based on what opposing defensive coordi- nators do to stop the option," James said. "You will see bad teams come up with good game plans and do really well against Navy, and then you will see really good teams have terrible game plans get run out of the building." ✦ GAME PREVIEW: NAVY Senior nose guard Jackson Pittman (6-3, 300) has helped the Midshipmen feature one of the nation's top run defenses. Navy ranked 16th nationally with an average of 109.4 rushing yards allowed per game. PHOTO COURTESY NAVAL ACADEMY ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION 2019 NAVY SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Aug. 31 Holy Cross W, 45-7 Sept. 14 East Carolina W, 42-10 Sept. 26 at Memphis L, 35-23 Oct. 5 Air Force W, 34-25 Oct. 12 at Tulsa W, 45-17 Oct. 19 South Florida W, 35-3 Oct. 26 Tulane W, 41-38 Nov. 1 at Connecticut W, 56-10 Nov. 16 at Notre Dame (NBC) 2:30 p.m. Nov. 23 SMU (CBSSN) 3:30 p.m. Nov. 30 at Houston TBA Dec. 7 AAC Championship Game (ABC) 3:30 p.m. Dec. 14 vs. Army* (CBS) 3 p.m. * at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia 2019 NOTRE DAME SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Sept. 2 at Louisville W, 35-17 Sept. 14 New Mexico W, 66-14 Sept. 21 at Georgia L, 23-17 Sept. 28 Virginia W, 35-20 Oct. 5 Bowling Green W, 52-0 Oct. 12 USC W, 30-27 Oct. 26 at Michigan L, 45-14 Nov. 2 Virginia Tech W, 21-20 Nov. 9 at Duke W, 38-7 Nov. 16 Navy (NBC) 2:30 p.m. Nov. 23 Boston College (NBC) 2:30 p.m. Nov. 30 at Stanford TBA