Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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GAME PREVIEW: NAVY ery game. … Four of those turnovers have gone back for immediate touch- downs. Two fumbles were recovered in the end zone, there was a pick-six and there was a fumble recovery returned for a touchdown." When Navy toppled Notre Dame three times in four years from 2007-10 and took the Irish to the brink in a 38-34 loss a year ago, it did so with clean contests that featured few turnovers and penalties. "Not only are they turning it over, but it's almost immediately turning into points for the opposition. That's been the No. 1 issue. They've had pen- alties and usually rank No. 1 nationally in fewest penalties," Wagner said. "If you look at the stats, they haven't re- ally committed a lot of penalties, but they've come at the absolute worst times. Against Air Force they had a third-down stop deep in Air Force terri- tory that would've totally flipped field position and the nose guard got a late hit, which kept the drive alive and Air Force ends up scoring a touchdown. "It's basically all of the things Navy talks about doing and playing a flaw- less brand of football, they've been the exact opposite. They're not the type of team that can overcome that kind of stuff." Junior quarterback Keenan Reynolds accounted for four touchdowns (three rushing) in the near miss in South Bend last season and will have Notre Dame's full attention again despite already missing a pair of games and struggling in others. "That's been another part of why they're struggling," Wagner said. "Keenan Reynolds has not played anywhere near expectations. He came into the season as a Heisman Trophy dark horse, and he hasn't played well at all. It's largely because he's been in- jured since the second game of the year against Temple. Toward the end of the game, he got hit in the knee with a hel- met from behind — a blind-side hit. "He sat out the Rutgers game and Facts & Figures NOTRE DAME VS. NAVY Game Info Date: Nov. 1, 2014. Site: FedEx Field (79,000). Kickoff: 8 p.m. Television: CBS. Radio: This broadcast can be heard live on SIRIUS Satellite Radio (channel 129). Series Facts: This is the 88th meeting between Notre Dame and Navy. The Irish lead the all-time series 74-12-1. Coaches: Notre Dame — Brian Kelly (43-16, fifth season); Navy— Ken Niumatalolo (52-34, seventh season). Noting Navy: The Midshipmen won three of four games versus the Irish after Notre Dame's winning streak in the series grew to 43; the Irish have since won three in a row … In the 30-21 loss to Air Force Oct. 4, Navy quarterback Keenan Reynolds tied Ricky Dobbs as the school's all-time leader in touchdowns with 49 … The Midshipmen have scored only 14 points off the six turnovers their defense has forced in 2014 … Navy had lost or tied the turnover battle in seven consecutive games prior to finishing plus-one in the 51-14 win over VMI Oct. 11; the last time the Midshipmen had won the turnover battle was against Army a year ago.