Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/202503
✦ News & notes Different Options All triple-option attacks are not created equal. What you saw against Air Force last week might not be quite the same versus Navy. Brian Kelly has said it's a fortunate coincidence that Air Force and Navy are back-to-back this season so that there is continuity in defensive preparations. However, although the attacks might be similar in name, there are subtle differences. Air Force's plan was to attack mainly from the outside in — pushing the perimeter and utilizing the pitch wide — while Navy's is to go from the inside out. Navy is more fullback-dive centric (Air Force didn't even use the fullback until the second quarter), trying to set up the offense by establishing the middle. Notre Dame followers might remember Alexander Teich becoming the first Navy fullback ever to rush for more than 200 yards in a game when he totaled 210 yards on 26 carries in the 35-17 victory by the Midshipmen in 2010. Chris Swain (5-11, 232) and Noah Copeland (5-10, 214) have combined for 129 carries and 510 yards during Navy's 4-3 start this season. "They're not afraid to run the dive, if you give it to them," Kelly said. Notre Dame senior Kona Schwenke and even junior Stephon Tuitt lined up at the nose against Air Force in place of Louis Nix III, who is resting his knee tendinitis. The two might have to anchor the middle against Navy as well because Kelly lists Nix as "questionable" for the game. That can be disconcerting against a team averaging 292.1 yards rushing per game (10th-best in the country) and 5.0 yards per carry. "Navy runs the triple option better than anybody in the country," Kelly said. "They have so many variations off of it, just little After allowing 101 rushing yards on 12 carries against Air Force in the first quarter, freshman linebacker Jaylon Smith and the Irish defense limited the Falcons to 189 yards on 53 rushes over the final three periods. photo by bill panzica ✦ Page 11 variations that make a huge difference: the line splits, the preciseness of how they run it may not to the untrained eye look like much, but it's a real big difference. Where they really hurt us a few years ago, they ran triple option, but they went to an unbalanced look. We couldn't get our middle linebacker over the top, and it made a huge difference." After allowing an early touchdown last Saturday and 101 rushing yards on 12 carries in the first quarter, the Irish defense shut down Air Force's triple option (189 yards on the next 53 carries) by taking away the perimeter runs. That doesn't necessarily mean the same adjustments will work against Navy's option attack this week. "In one respect having gone against Air Force and having the principles of option already 'repped' out is an advantage," Kelly said. "But certainly they've seen us and how we defend the option as well. So that gives them a week to do some things as well." The Midshipmen also will have a more proven, savvy quarterback in Keenan Reynolds, who appears to have a Ricky Dobbs-like quality (the Navy QB who led victories against the Irish in 2009-10), whereas Air Force was on its fourth different starter this season, a true freshman. Reynolds leads the team in rushing with 546 yards and 11 touchdowns, and has also passed for 667 yards and four scores. The good news for the Irish is that after a disappointing September, the defense has begun to resemble the stellar 2012 unit, allowing only 20 points total against USC and Air Force, and none after halftime. The four areas that have jelled over the past month, according to Kelly, are much better fundamentals — especially tackling — shutting down the run, limiting big