Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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Top Players Of The Game By Jason Sapp Offense: Offensive Line Notre Dame’s offensive line received preseason praise for being one of the top units in the nation and did nothing to dispel that notion against Navy. While the Midshipmen defense may be undersized compared to the Notre Dame’s other opponents this season, it’s also a faster, more disciplined group that shows a variety of looks in the front seven in an effort to cause confusion. The Irish blockers remained strong in those circumstances, picking up the blitz and line stunts while paving the way for 293 yards and five touchdowns on the ground. Defense: Manti Te’o Inside linebacker Manti Te’o ended the 2011 football season as the top player on defense against Florida State in the Champs Sports Bowl and kicked off the 2012 campaign the same way — except this time around he did it in a victory. Te’o had quite the support group along the defensive line — particularly sophomore Stephon Tuitt, who returned a fumble 77 yards for a touchdown and recorded a sack — but the senior managed to make things happen on his own with his experienced level of play. He registered six tackles in the contest, and added the first interception and first fumble recovery of his career. Special Teams: Kyle Brindza The leg endurance of sophomore kicker Kyle Brindza was required, considering the fact the Irish dropped 50 points on its opponent, and he definitely delivered. The returning starter kicked the ball off nine times for a total of 568 yards, averaging 63.1 yards per kickoff while notching two touchbacks. Besides the squib kick that traveled 49 yards to the Navy 16-yard line on the first kickoff of the contest, only one other kick didn’t make it to the end zone, and it went to the 1-yard line. Three Observations By Lou Somogyi Turning Point Although Navy was already trailing 20-0, it had an opportunity to score a touchdown right before halftime and then receive the second-half kickoff. On second-and-one from the Irish 16, quarterback Trey Miller rolled right off play action, was pressured by sophomore Cat linebacker Ishaq Williams and, while attempting to position himself to release the football, fumbled. Sophomore defensive end Stephon Tuitt scooped up the ball and raced 77 yards for a touchdown with 2:12 remaining until halftime for an insurmountable advantage. The return by Tuitt did not impact who was going to win the game, but it turned what could have been a potentially more competitive situation into a rout. It also might help set a positive tempo in 2012 the way a negative pall overtook the team in last year’s opener when South Florida returned a 96-yard fumble for a score in its win at Notre Dame. Top Stat(s) Of The Game Notre Dame outgained run-oriented Navy on the ground 293‑149 yards while dominating the line of scrimmage, as was expected. The rushing output was the highest since a 320-yard performance on Nov. 29, 2003, when Julius Jones led the effort during a 57-7 romp at Stanford. With sophomore quarterback Everett Golson making his first start, Notre Dame used its significant size advantage up front to take the burden off him. The Irish established the run in the first quarter when their 11 carries netted 107 yards (9.7 per attempt). On the other side, Navy’s 149 yards rushing was its lowest output since the 2010 Army game. Two years ago it romped for 367 yards in a 35-17 victory over Notre Dame, but the last two years it totaled 335 (186 last year and 149 this season). Stop The Run And Run The Ball Throughout the preseason, head coach Brian Kelly noted how his greatest comfort level with the 2012 team is the front lines on both sides of the ball. “We’re going to be able to physically handle ourselves in the trenches against anybody in the country,” he said. “That’s a good feeling right away.” Navy will be the most physically undersized team on this year’s schedule, but it was reassuring that Notre Dame took care of business. The last two seasons against Navy — 56-14 and 50-10 victories — make you wonder how the Irish could have lost three out of four against the Midshipmen from 2007-10. Each of the past two seasons Notre Dame asserted its monumental advantage in size to exploit the much smaller Midshipmen. This looks like an optimal year for the Irish to 1) average 200 yards rushing per game for the first time since 2000 (213.5) and 2) have one of top rushing defenses in the country. That’s an excellent foundation to have.