Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com NOV. 16, 2019 33 BY TODD D. BURLAGE NAVY RUNNING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME RUN DEFENSE With a staggering 357.9 rushing yards per game, Navy ranked first — a perch that is not unfamiliar for the program — in the country heading into its bye the second weekend of November. And as is usually the case, the success of the Midship- men's ground attack starts with the play of its quarterback. Senior signal-caller Malcolm Perry already has 1,042 rushing yards through eight contests. Perry's 130.3 yards per outing ranked fourth in the coun- try through games played Nov. 2, while his 12.0 points a game (16 touchdowns) checked in third and his 6.6 yards per carry ranked 10th. Perry is complemented in the running game by a pair of fullbacks: junior Nelson Smith and sopho- more Jamale Carothers. Smith is second on the team with 505 yards (63.1 per game) and third with seven touchdowns, while Carothers leads the way with an average of 9.9 yards per carry, is second with eight scores and ranks third with 355 yards in just five games (71.0 per contest). The Irish rush defense stabilized after allowing 303 yards on the ground in the blowout loss at Michigan Oct. 26, limiting Virginia Tech to just 106 yards on 38 attempts (2.8 yards per carry) the following week. Senior safety Alohi Gilman — a transfer from Navy — will be a good measuring stick this weekend in the level of success Notre Dame has at stopping the Midshipmen's formi- dable ground game. Advantage: Navy NAVY PASSING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME PASS DEFENSE Run-reliant as usual, Navy's passing game is used more as a surprise tactic than a traditional method of moving the football, which was evident in its last game, a 56-10 rout of Connecticut Nov. 1. Perry threw only six passes, and completed just three, but those three connections went for 165 yards, highlighted by a 77-yard touchdown. Perry is averaging 90.3 passing yards per game with five touchdowns and three interceptions. His favorite target has been lanky sophomore wide receiver Mychal Cooper. The 6-5, 215-pound speedster has averaged 26.8 yards on his nine receptions and has one touchdown. Notre Dame has remained in the top 30 of pass efficiency defense all season, and was 22nd with a 115.22 rating through Nov. 2. If the Irish defense can force Navy to throw the football — a very dif- ficult task — the better the odds that Notre Dame is in control of the game. Other than the occasional surprise pass, the Midshipmen throw the ball only when they have to. Perry averages just 6.6 pass attempts per game. Advantage: Notre Dame Junior fullback Nelson Smith is the Midshipmen's second-leading rusher with 505 yards and ranks third on the team with seven rushing scores. PHOTO COURTESY NAVAL ACADEMY ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION GAME PREVIEW: NAVY On PaPer