Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/75050
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE N A closer look at Notre Dame's 2012 opponents BY DAN MURPHY otre Dame did itself no favors when lining up opponents for the 2012 season. We rank the degree of difficulty for all 12 teams based on who's gone, who's back and how they fared in the spring. 12. NAVY SEPT. 1 2011 record: 5-7 Last Meeting: Notre Dame 56, Navy 14 (2011) Impact Player: SB Gee Gee Greene — The slot back played in every game of his first three seasons at Navy and started every one of them during the last two years. He now takes over as the offensive leader for a team that will rely on its third option in the triple option much more while breaking in a new fullback and quarterback. Outlook: Quarterback Kriss Proctor and fullback Alexander Teich finished first and second in rushing yards last season for the fourth-best rushing offense in the country. Both are gone. Junior Trey Miller, who started against the Irish last year, will take over at quarterback. While slower than Proctor, he has a better arm. That combined with a pair of serviceable wide receivers could mean that Navy uses its passing game slightly more than in the past. Defensively, the Midshipmen are expecting a lot from inside linebackers Matt Warrick and Brye French. Junior Travis Bridges, who converted to nose tackle from offensive guard in the spring, adds some size to the defensive front with his 6-0, 318-pound frame. After slipping below .500 last fall, Navy needs to find a way to get back on its feet while trying to fill some crucial holes on the depth chart. Spring Storyline: Navy missed the postseason for the first time in Ken Niumatalolo's five years as head coach. Five of the team's seven losses came by a field goal or less, so Niumatalolo made this spring about building the toughness to win close games. He said they took more reps in the month-long session than in all 12 games combined last year. He did lighten up at the end, rewarding hard work by letting his players run a talent show and dance contest during the last day of practice. JUNE/JULY 2012 68