Blue and Gold Illustrated

GAME PREVIEW: NAVY "This guy is fast, he has a great mo- tor, and he has a knack for getting to the quarterback," Wang said. "They have seven quarterback sacks already this year, and they only had eight all last season. The pass rush is much bet- ter this year, and Anthony is a big part of it. "He's constantly in the backfield. They've struggled recently putting pressure on the quarterback, but have been much better so far this year." The linebacker unit returns last sea- son's second-leading tackler (86) in junior Daniel Gonzales, but the Mid- shipmen retain little experience be- yond him. Among the new starters is sophomore Kevin McCoy, who led the team in tackles for loss (2.5) and forced fumbles (two) through the first three games. "They had three new starters this year, Gonzales being the only guy who's back," Wang said. "They've held up their end very well. "The biggest surprise has been Mc- Coy — he wasn't even on the two- deep depth chart to begin the season and now he's playing regularly. The coaches are very high on him — he's probably the best athlete out of all the linebackers." All in all, it's impossible to rule Navy out behind its Herculean quar- terback Reynolds. But Notre Dame wins the talent battle on both sides of the ball, so emerging from South Bend with a victory won't be easy for Navy. "It's going to be high scoring for sure," Wang said. "It's the question of which defense will get more stops. "I think Notre Dame — as they do every year — has better athletes, and obviously their roster is built to go deeper into a game. But if Navy can hang with them into the fourth quar- ter, anything can happen. If you give Keenan Reynolds a chance, that guy can make something special happen. But all things being equal, I just think Notre Dame has the advantage." ✦ 2015 NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Sept. 5 Texas W, 38‑3 Sept. 12 at Virginia W, 34‑27 Sept. 19 Georgia Tech W, 30‑22 Sept. 26 Massachusetts W, 62‑27 Oct. 3 at Clemson L, 24‑22 Oct. 10 Navy (NBC) 3:30 p.m. Oct. 17 Southern California (NBC) 7:30 p.m. Oct. 31 at Temple TBA Nov. 7 at Pittsburgh TBA Nov. 14 Wake Forest (NBC) 3:30 p.m. Nov. 21 vs. Boston College (NBC)# 7:30 p.m. Nov. 28 at Stanford TBA # Shamrock Series at Fenway Park in Boston 2015 NAVY SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Sept. 5 Colgate W, 48‑10 Sept. 19 East Carolina W, 54‑21 Sept. 26 at Connecticut W, 28‑18 Oct. 3 Air Force W, 33‑11 Oct. 10 at Notre Dame (NBC) 3:30 p.m. Oct. 24 Tulane (CBSSN) 1 p.m. Oct. 31 USF (CBSSN) 12 p.m. Nov. 7 at Memphis TBA Nov. 14 SMU (CBSSN) 3:30 p.m. Nov. 21 at Tulsa TBA Nov. 27 at Houston TBA Dec. 12 vs. Army* (CBS) 3 p.m. * at Philadelphia; CBSSN — CBS Sports Network

• Cover