Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/195693
Game Preview: Air Force two 215-pounders as the starters on the outside. The top tackler is 6-1, 230-pound junior Joey Nichol on the inside, with 6-2, 220-pound junior Spencer Proctor as his running mate. In the 15 seasons from 1998-2012, Notre Dame eclipsed 50 points four times, and three of them have been the last three meetings with the service academies: 59-33 versus Air Force in 2011, 56-14 two weeks later against Navy and then 50-10 in the 2012 opener versus Navy (a 57-7 victory at Stanford in 2003 was the other such contest). With sophomore quarterback Tommy Rees at the helm in 2011, the Irish scored touchdowns on all six of their first-half possessions against Air Force to build a 42-16 cushion at halftime. They finished with 560 yards of total offense — 266 rushing and 294 rushing — while averaging 9.2 yards per rushing play and 8.2 yards per pass attempt. During its 1-6 start this year, the Air Force defense regressed from last season, when it surrendered an average of 29.0 points per game. In more than a half-dozen defensive categories it ranks near the cellar nationally, including dead last at 123rd in third-down conversion defense (63.7 percent) and 121st in pass efficiency defense. The Falcons have allowed the opposition to complete 73.2 percent of its passes at 8.1 yards per clip — while at the same time allowing 221.3 yards per game rushing at 4.9 yards per carry. Air Force will get its share of yardage and maybe even points on occa- sion on offense. The real issue is how to limit points by its opponent. Quarterback Soap Opera Notre Dame has experienced its share of drama this past half-year with the transfer of freshman five-star recruit Gunner Kiel to Cincinnati, the ineligibility of incumbent Everett Golson for academic reasons, and then freshman Malik Zaire battling mononucleosis during the first month of the season. Air Force has matched the soap opera. Starter Kale Pearson suffered a knee injury early in this year's opener against Colgate, and then his replacement, sophomore Jaleel Awini, was suspended indefinitely by the Air Force Academy for an unspecified violation. During the Oct. 10 loss at San Diego State, Falcons sophomore quarterback Karson Roberts incurred a head injury, but then freshman Nate Romine directed Air Force to a 20-6 lead in the fourth quarter before the Aztecs rallied to win, 27-20. Whether it's Roberts or Romine at the throttle against Notre Dame, neither team needs any more setbacks at quarterback. Family Reunion Two years ago, Air Force junior linebacker Austin Niklas and then Notre Dame freshman outside linebacker Troy Niklas were on the opposite ends of the sideline at Notre Dame Stadium, but the two brothers didn't face off against each other.