Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/400621
GAME PREVIEW: NAVY game on another team's on-campus site until last week at Florida State, and it had a bye on both Sept. 20 and Oct. 25 — giving it an extra week to prepare for Navy's triple option. Meanwhile, the first semester fall break — Oct. 18-26 — also happened to be during the second bye. That means the players will also get a break from football. "We're going to look at Navy on Monday [Oct. 20] and Tuesday [Oct. 21], and then we're getting [the players] out of here," Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly said. "We stayed the first bye week here. We did not let them leave with the expressed purpose to get them out of here on the second bye." They were due back on campus Oct. 25 to begin an arduous November push that includes trips to Washington, D.C.; Tempe, Ariz.; and Los Angeles for night games, with home games against Northwestern (Nov. 15) and Louisville (Nov. 22) interspersed. Kelly was 10-1 in November his first three seasons at Notre Dame before losing two last year, at Pitt and at Stan- ford. Having enough fuel left in the tank for the final regular-season push will be imperative to keep huge dreams alive. ✦ Predictions Douglas Farmer: Notre Dame 31, Navy 10 An explosive Notre Dame offense should have no problem racking up more points in a half than the ground-based Naval attack does through the entire game. Even with star quarterback Keenan Reynolds at the helm, Navy won't be able to keep up with Irish quarterback Everett Golson and friends. Tom Loy: Notre Dame 38, Navy 20 The Midshipmen get their success from a strong rushing attack, but the Irish have been solid against the run this season. Notre Dame quarterback Everett Golson should have plenty of success against an average Navy secondary and look for another big day from wide receiver Will Fuller. The Irish should win this one comfortably. Andrew Owens: Notre Dame 49, Navy 21 You're going to hear a lot this week about Navy quarterback Keenan Reynolds and what a fine player he is. While he is a dangerous threat under center for the Midshipmen, there is no excuse for this being as close of a game as it was in 2013. Navy's defense won't be able to slow down Notre Dame's offense in a blowout victory for the Irish. Lou Somogyi: Notre Dame 42, Navy 24 Last year's game saw nine lead changes — the most ever in a Notre Dame game — before the Irish prevailed 38-34. A little time off and a bye weekend prior to the five-game November slate should have the Irish well prepared physically and mentally. Navy will have its moments, but it shouldn't be so back- and-forth this time.