Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1185700
www.BLUEANDGOLD.com NOV. 23, 2019 21 NAVY RUNNING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME RUN DEFENSE In nine of the 10 seasons Navy has faced Brian Kelly's Notre Dame teams, it finished with at least 280 rushing yards, including 281 this year. What was far more pertinent is while the Irish built a 38-0 lead with 1:30 left in the first half, the Midshipmen had 29 carries for 79 yards (2.7 yards per attempt) and lost three fumbles that helped set up 21 Notre Dame points. After that it was all window dressing, but Navy still was 77 yards short of its No. 1-ranked national average of 357.9 rushing yards per contest. Notre Dame's front line aggressively controlled the point of attack by defeating blocks, but par- ticularly outstanding in their pursuit and reads were junior Mike linebacker Drew White (team-high 10 tackles to go with a fumble recovery) and fifth-year senior Buck linebacker Asmar Bilal (five solo stops, second to White's six, with one for a loss plus his own fumble recovery). Navy attempted to establish the speed option with quarterback Malcolm Perry along the perimeter, as he had 10 of Navy's first 14 carries. But on two of them where the lanes were closed, he lost fumbles forced by senior defensive end Khalid Kareem. ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame NAVY PASSING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME PASS DEFENSE To shut down the triple option, Notre Dame confidently played zero coverage (no deep defender) while highly confident in its ability to shut down one-on- one coverage on the flanks. It proved correct, with Perry (3 of 7 for 36 yards) getting pulled in the third quarter and not fooling anyone on play-action, high- lighted by 1.5 sacks by junior rover Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. After building a 45-3 lead, Notre Dame had two blown coverages, the first a 43-yard touchdown to a wide open Mychal Cooper from reserve Perry Olsen (1 of 6), and then a potential 67-yard score dropped downfield by Ryan Mitchell. ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame NOTRE DAME RUNNING GAME VS. NAVY RUN DEFENSE The Midshipmen were bound and determined to shut down the run, but it came at the expense of man coverage — a trade-off Notre Dame gladly accepted. Senior quarterback Ian Book led the Irish in rushing a third straight game with a modest 31 yards on five carries. To Navy's credit, it limited Notre Dame's running backs to 55 yards on 20 carries. However, we can't give the advantage to the Midshipmen because the strategy came at far too great a price. ADVANTAGE: Even NOTRE DAME PASSING GAME VS. NAVY PASS DEFENSE Pass protection was superb, highlighted by senior running back Tony Jones Jr. consistently picking up blitzes, which allowed Book to pretty much toy with the coverage schemes, completing six different passes that ranged from 20 to 70 yards to four different targets. His passes repeatedly hit his receivers in stride, and a 27-yard strike while scrambling to his left and with sophomore wide receiver Lawrence Keys III straddling the sideline was a remarkable display of accuracy while under duress. Chase Claypool's (seven catches for 117 yards and four touchdowns) height and leaping ability were a gross mismatch the Irish fully exploited. Book's 14 completions averaged 20.3 yards, while his 20 attempts averaged 14.2 yards. ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame SPECIAL TEAMS A 62-yard punt return for a touchdown by fifth-year senior Chris Finke was wiped out by an illegal block in the back. Otherwise, it was a fairly non-eventful day, with a top highlight including Irish junior center Colin Grunhard confidently fair-catching a Navy kickoff. Navy's Bijon Nichols converted both of his field goal attempts (27 and 36 yards), while Notre Dame junior Jonathan Doerer made his lone try (32 yards). ADVANTAGE: Even THIRD-DOWN CONVERSIONS Notre Dame did an exceptional job of limiting a Navy squad that had been converting 48.5 percent on third down to 5 of 16 (31.3 percent). On Navy's second series it was forced into a third-and-13 that led to a lost fumble. The ensuing series if faced third-and-18. Especially back-breaking was at 28-0, Perry tried to cut outside on fourth-and-one from his 44-yard line, but freshman safety Kyle Hamilton swooped in to throw him for a one-yard loss. Notre Dame finished 4 of 9 (44.4 percent), 2 of 4 in the first half. On the game's first series, Book's 15-yard run on third-and-16 set up a fourth-and-one that was easily converted by Jones, leading to the game's first touchdown. ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame TURNOVERS Navy's three lost fumbles in the first half helped result in 21 Notre Dame points, and a fourth lost fumble in the fourth quarter was returned for a 27- yard score by sophomore rover Paul Moala. A 4-0 advantage in turnovers that result in a 28-0 outcome is hard to beat. ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame ANALYSIS The 38-3 halftime deficit was Navy's largest since 2001. However, this was the second year in a row Notre Dame imposed its dominance in the opening minutes, specifically shutting down the vaunted triple option. Last year likewise it took a 27-0 halftime lead versus the Midshipmen. While past Notre Dame teams might have been spooked by the triple-option elements or even the cut blocks that come with it, two straight years the Irish defense took the fight to the Midshipmen while displaying supremacy at the point of attack. Defensively, the valiant brigade of Midshipmen don't possess the overall skill level to hang with what Notre Dame presented, especially in coverage, or the lack thereof. Especially crucial is Notre Dame is playing with a focused loose- ness since the dramatic rally versus Virginia Tech Nov. 2. ON PAPER REVISITED BY LOU SOMOGYI Navy was forced to take to the air more often after digging a deep hole against Notre Dame, and junior rover Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah took advantage by recording 1.5 sacks. PHOTO BY ANDRIS VISOCKIS