Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com NOV. 20, 2017 35 NAVY RUNNING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME RUN DEFENSE The Midshipmen continue to churn out rush- ing yards at a high rate, but this is not quite the dynamic ground attack of recent seasons. Navy averaged 346.1 yards in its first eight games, which ranked second nationally. Navy's 5.58 yards per rush ranked 11th in the land, but it is down from a season ago when it av- eraged 5.85 yards per carry. The 5.58 figure would mark the Midshipmen's lowest per carry average since 2013. Despite getting banged up in two games, junior quarterback Zach Abey had rushed for 1,202 yards and 13 touchdowns through eight outings. That put him on pace for 1,953 yards for the season, which would be the most by a Navy player since quarterback Jim Kubiak's 2,388 yards in 1994. Senior fullback Chris High missed the 31-21 loss to Central Florida Oct. 21, but had 440 rushing yards in seven games. His yards-per-carry average was 4.4, however, down from 6.4 last season. During their three-game losing streak from Oct. 14 to Nov. 2, the Midshipmen averaged just 232.7 yards rushing per game and 3.9 yards per carry. Notre Dame's run defense was trending up in the four games leading up to its Nov. 4 matchup against Wake Forest, giving up only 81.8 yards per contest. The Demons Deacons rushed for 239 yards, though, the most Notre Dame had allowed up to that point this season. That effort dropped Notre Dame's season average to 130.2 yards al- lowed per game, which ranked 30th in the land. A huge factor in Notre Dame's improved run de- fense has been the play of junior linebacker Te'von Coney, who racked up 38 tackles and 6.5 tackles for loss in his first four starts of the season, which began Oct. 7 against North Carolina. Advantage: Navy NAVY PASSING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME PASS DEFENSE Part of the reason Navy's offense wasn't as efficient in the team's first eight games was its struggles in the pass game. Navy is never a team that throws the ball much, but it has thrived on efficiency in recent seasons. Former quarterbacks Will Worth (2016) and Keenan Reynolds (2012-15) combined to throw 31 touchdown passes and eight interceptions in their five seasons in charge of the offense. They com- pleted better than 50 percent of their passes in all but one season, and Worth actually completed 61.5 percent of his throws a season ago. Abey threw six touchdown passes in the first eight games, but his six interceptions and 41.7-per- cent completion rate has been problematic. Navy cannot afford to turn the ball over and throw a high number of incomplete passes. That inefficiency is part of the reason that Navy's GAME PREVIEW: NAVY On PaPer Senior fullback Chris High carried the ball 101 times for 440 yards and one touchdown while playing in seven of Navy's first eight contests. PHOTO COURTESY NAVY