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▼ Duke. The offense also gave up a 68-yard fumble return for a touchdown in the close loss to Toledo. "They've just been uncharacteristically sloppy," Wagner said. "Too many turnovers and penalties, which is not typically Navy." The silver lining during those losses was the return of the fullback. Junior Noah Copeland and sophomore Chris Swain have delivered matching body blows with the dive play. Copeland lost his starting job early in the season while both players struggled to break through against defenses that were stacking up the middle of the field and forcing Navy to beat them on the outside. He ran for a career-high 153 yards on 28 carries against Toledo Oct. 19, and currently ranks third on the team in total rushing yards with 226. That doesn't mean Swain will be relegated to the sideline. Wagner said Navy would like to get both of the fullbacks into the regular rotation to keep them fresh and provide a change-up at times. Copeland is smaller and shiftier than the players Navy usually lines up at fullback. Swain is a more typical bruiser in the mold of former Navy fullbacks Kyle Eckel and Adam Ballard. Click here to listen to BGI's Navy preview podcast Copeland and Swain (284 yards and three scores on the ground) reached the halfway point of the season trailing only sophomore quarterback Keenan Reynolds in rushing yards. Reynolds ran for 546 yards and 11 touchdowns in his first seven games despite fighting through some physical ailments. He suffered a mild concussion in the second quarter of a 19-7 loss to Western Kentucky Sept. 28 that caused him to miss the rest of the game. Starting offensive linemen Thomas Stone and Brandon Greene were also injured against the Hilltoppers, and Greene will miss the rest of the season. Reynolds, the centerpiece for Navy's of- ATTENTION IRISH FANS Packages are available for all Notre Dame home games during the 2013 season 2013 HOME GAMES Aug. 31 Sept. 21 Sept. 28 Oct. 19 Nov. 2 Nov. 23 Junior fullback Noah Copeland had a breakout game against Toledo Oct. 19, rushing 28 times for 153 yards and catching a 20-yard touchdown pass. photo courtesy navy fense since he took over midway through his rookie season, returned the following week but hasn't been his normal dynamic self. He battled the flu while playing against Toledo and practiced sparingly during those weeks. "Practice is always important, for anybody. Hopefully, he'll get a full week of practice and get a lot of conditioning in, and it will show on Saturday," offensive coordinator Ivan Jasper told Wagner. "It's been tough. Keenan told me, 'Coach, as long as I've been playing football, I've never missed this much practice time. I'm not used to it.' Hopefully, we can get him over the sick bug and the injury bug and get him out there for a full week of practice." Reynolds ran for 93 yards and a touchdown last week in a 24-21 buzzer-beating win over Pittsburgh. The last-second field goal from sophomore Nick Sloan provided some redemption for the overtime extra point he botched a week earlier in the loss to Toledo. With a confident kicker and a healthy quarterback, the Midshipmen could be back on track for a strong month of November. ✦ Temple Michigan State Oklahoma USC Navy B.Y.U ALL HOME GAME PACKAGES INCLUDE *Game Tickets end zone to the 40 yard line. *Two Nights Hotel *Great Customer Service Please visit www.diamondtravel.com for complete details 1.602.870.9197 DIAMOND TRAVEL 25 YEARS IN BUSINESS ✦ Page 2