Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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46 NOV. 6, 2021 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED GAME PREVIEW: NAVY yards for his first 100-yard game of the season, which was 47 more yards than his previous season high of 91 against Purdue. Through seven games last season, Williams already had four 100-yard rushing games. Led by hard-hitting senior linebacker Diego Fagot, Navy's rush defense is the team's best unit. Fagot, a two-time all-league selection in the American Athletic Conference, easily led the Midshipmen with 63 tackles and 9.0 tackles for loss through seven games, while adding a fumble recovery and an interception. Fagot (6-foot-3, 240 pounds) is considered a legitimate NFL prospect. With 39 total tackles, Navy junior linebacker Johnny Hodges is also having a solid season. Senior cornerback Jamal Glenn, who was third on the team with 35 stops, has also played well. Advantage: Notre Dame NOTRE DAME PASSING GAME VS. NAVY PASS DEFENSE After a beneficial bye week, the Irish tag-team quarterback tandem of graduate student Jack Coan and freshman Tyler Buchner went from disjointed to coordinated in the 31-16 win over USC, a posi- tive sign for this position group and the team mov- ing forward. Coan only rates around 60th nationally in passing efficiency, but that ranking doesn't recognize his clutch work in tough situations. Through some player shuffling along the offen- sive line — and with a fresh high-tempo quick- release passing strategy — the Irish look to have found some better production, protection and continuity up front. After giving up 4.0 sacks a game through its first six outings, Notre Dame allowed only one to USC, a season low for an Irish opponent. The undersized Navy defense traditionally strug- gles at pressuring opposing quarterbacks, and this season fits the pattern. In their first seven games, the Midshipmen recorded only six sacks, which remarkably is a slight statistical improvement from 2020 when the Midshipmen managed only six sacks total in 10 games. Navy also ranks nationally among the bottom 30 teams in the country in pass efficiency defense. Senior Michael McMorris is in his third season starting as Navy's top cover corner and senior safety Kevin Brennan is another experienced and gifted player for the Navy pass defense. Advantage: Notre Dame SPECIAL TEAMS Beyond a blocked punt for a touchdown by senior slot back Daniel Taylor, Navy doesn't have much of a special teams profile. Its kickoff and punt return teams have not scored and rank in the middle of the NCAA, while its coverage units are situated in the bottom third. Junior placekicker Bijan Nichols converted 9 of 12 field goal attempts before last weekend with a long of 50 yards, though he's had two tries blocked. Following a nondescript start to this season, the Irish special teams are making valuable contribu- tions. Sophomore return man Chris Tyree logged a 96-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against Wisconsin and graduate student placekicker Jona- than Doerer has two game-winning field goals. Advantage: Notre Dame COACHING After becoming one of the best do-more-with- less coaches in the country, 14th-year Navy head man Ken Niumatalolo finds himself trying to right the ship after his program has fallen on hard times with only four wins in the last 17 games since the start of the 2020 season. In his first 10 seasons on the job, Niumatalolo had just one losing record, a 5-7 mark in 2011, and twice his Midshipmen reached double-digit victories during that span, which included three straight seasons (2015-17) when they were nation- ally ranked. Niumatalolo has beaten Notre Dame four times in 13 tries, two of those against Irish head coach Brian Kelly (2010 and 2016). For Notre Dame, Kelly has done a masterful job working through heavy player turnover and devel- oping a group of young and inexperienced players to keep his team on pace for another solid season and to build for a bright future. Kelly, now in his 12th season at Notre Dame, turned 60 on Oct. 25. Advantage: Notre Dame INTANGIBLES Through its first seven games — of which Navy won only one — the Midshipmen scored more than 20 points only twice, dropping it to last in the 11-team AAC and in the bottom 15 of the NCAA in scoring offense. With only four returning starters on offense from 2020, Navy has been unable to follow its usual ball-control, shorten-the-game, limit-possessions blueprint to success. That said, the Midshipmen showed some improvement when it led No. 2 Cincinnati at halftime Oct. 23, only to eventually fall 27-20 in a third straight loss. For Notre Dame, the primary goals remain — notch a fifth straight season with at least 10 victo- ries and win its first prestigious postseason game since the 1993 Cotton Bowl. Advantage: Notre Dame Senior cornerback Jamal Glenn and the Midshipmen secondary have struggled in 2021. Navy ranks among the bottom 30 teams in the country in pass efficiency defense. PHOTO COURTESY NAVY