Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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GAME PREVIEW: NAVY On PaPer BY DOUGLAS FARMER NAVY RUNNING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME RUN DEFENSE Led by junior quarterback Keenan Reynolds, Na- vy's triple-option attack is as potent as ever. Last year, Reynolds broke former Midshipmen quarter- back Ricky Dobbs' record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback with 31. Even more impressively, only two players in NCAA history have rushed for more scores in a season — Oklahoma State's Heisman Trophy winner Barry Sanders (37) and Wisconsin's Montee Ball (33). A balky knee has prevented Reynolds from main- taining that pace this season; he has scored only eight touchdowns on the ground through seven games. He first injured his knee against Temple Sept. 6 and missed the next game. It has not fully healed, forcing him to miss Navy's Oct. 11 contest against VMI as well. With Reynolds limited, senior fullback Noah Co- peland and junior fullback Chris Swain have led the Midshipmen option, combining for 946 yards and four touchdowns through seven games. Four other Navy ball carriers have gained more than 100 yards this season, with a whopping six rushers av- eraging more than 7.0 yards per carry each (mini- mum 10 carries), partly thanks to an offensive line that returned three starters and 85 career starts to open the season. The line is arguably the best of head coach Ken Niumatalolo's seven-year career. As talented as the Navy rushers are, the offen- sive line traditionally bothers Notre Dame even more. The cut blocks employed by the Midship- men are something the Irish do not see any other time this season, and a technique that often leads to injury. No matter how promising junior defen- sive lineman Sheldon Day, sophomore linebacker Jaylon Smith and senior linebacker Joe Schmidt have been this season, the Navy blocking methods will slow them. Advantage: Navy Junior fullback Chris Swain compiled 59 carries for 414 yards (7.0 yards per rush) and two touchdowns during Navy's 3-4 start. PHOTO COURTESY NAVY