Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview
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BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2018 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ✦ 129 BY BRYAN DRISKELL After being an independent for 134 years, Navy decided to join the American Athletic Conference in 2015. For the first two years the Midshipmen were as good as any team in the league, tying Temple with the best conference record at 14-2. Last season was a bit of a struggle, with Navy dropping to 7-6 overall and 4-4 in AAC play. The regular-season-ending loss to Army marked the first time the Midshipmen lost back-to-back games against their rival since 1995-96. That came after Navy had won 14 straight meetings in the series. The Midshipmen return just nine starters this sea- son, but there is plenty of optimism in Annapolis. "Expectations are fairly high, which may seem odd considering last year's somewhat disappointing 7-6 campaign," TheMidReport.com publisher Michael James explained. "After dismantling Virginia to end the season, though, there is hope that perfor- mance was more representative of the 'real' Navy and will be a springboard into 2018." Navy outgained Virginia 452-175 in total yards during a 49-7 beatdown. As impressive as that win was, it is the quarterback position that truly has Navy fans excited. The triple option is at its best when there is a dynamic player under center. The Midshipmen have a young quarterback stepping into the leading role that has the po- tential to be a nightmare for opposing defenses. "A lot of optimism stems from the prospect of Malcolm Perry leading the offense," James noted. "It's tempting to look at his three starts at quar- terback last season and imagine that extrapolated over a 12-game season." Perry rushed for 646 yards and seven touch- downs in those three starts, which included a 43-40 win over SMU and the aforementioned vic- tory over Virginia. The junior split time between quarterback and slot back last season, but leading the offense will be his focus in 2018. "He is as electric a runner as the Navy pro- gram has seen in a generation, to the point where coaches felt they simply had to put him in the offense's most influential position," James said. "Perry's skill set as a runner is also better suited to counter defenses that Navy saw last season. "With teams packing the line of scrimmage, it makes more sense to move laterally and cut upfield rather than power your way through. That's Perry's wheelhouse." Keeping Perry healthy will be crucial. He failed to finish both the SMU and Virginia games because of injuries. ✦ 2018 SCHEDULE Date Opponent 2017 Result Sept. 1 at Hawai'i — Sept. 8 Memphis L, 30-27 Sept. 15 Lehigh — Sept. 22 at SMU W, 43-40 Oct. 6 at Air Force W, 48-45 Oct. 13 Temple L, 34-26 Oct. 20 Houston L, 24-14 Oct. 27 vs. Notre Dame* L, 24-17 Nov. 3 at Cincinnati W, 42-32 Nov. 10 at Central Florida L, 31-21 Nov. 17 Tulsa W, 31-21 Nov. 24 at Tulane W, 23-21 Dec. 8 vs. Army^ L, 14-13 * at SDCCU Stadium in San Diego; ^ at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia QUICK FACTS All-Time Series: Notre Dame leads 77-13-1 Last Meeting: Notre Dame 24, Navy 17 (Nov. 18, 2017; South Bend) Head Coach: Ken Niumatalolo, 84-48 at Navy and overall (11th year) 2017 Results: 7-6 overall, 4-4 AAC West (T- 3rd); beat Virginia 49-7 in the Military Bowl Returning Starters: 9 (4 offense, 5 defense) 2018 Preseason Rankings: No. 35 by Phil Steele's, No. 47 by Athlon, No. 78 by ESPN Foot- ball Power Index and No. 84 by Lindy's Did You Know?: Navy and Georgia Tech are the only two teams to return a pair of 1,000- yard rushers from the 2017 season … Safety Sean Williams was a named a preseason first- team All-AAC player by Lindy's … Quarterback Malcolm Perry was named to the league's pre- season second team by Athlon and Phil Steele's … Offensive tackle Andrew Wood was named a second-team pick by Athlon, Lindy's and Phil Steele's … Street & Smith's named Ken Niumat- alolo the best coach in the AAC … According to TheMidReport.com's Michael James, Navy will travel 26,496 miles to play games this season. Prediction: Notre Dame 31, Navy 21 STRENGTH: Quarterback Not many teams return two players with 1,000- yard rushing seasons under their belt. What makes Navy unique is that both of its returning 1,000-yard rushers are quarterbacks. Senior Zach Abey started the first eight games of the season and led the Midshipmen with 1,413 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns. However, he ran for just 211 yards in the final four games. When Abey went down with an injury in the SMU game, then-sophomore Malcolm Perry stepped in and rushed for 282 yards and four touchdowns. He started two more games there, racking up 250 yards in a loss to Army and 114 yards and a pair of scores in a win over Virginia. While splitting time between quarterback and slot back, Perry posted 1,182 rushing yards and 13 total touchdowns (he also ranked second with 303 receiving yards). He is a dynamic athlete in the mold of former star quarterback Keenan Reynolds, the NCAA's all-time rushing touchdown leader. Perry will take over for Abey as the starting quar- terback, and if he can continue his late-season performance under center the Navy offense will be very difficult to defend. Should he falter or go down with an injury, Navy can turn back to Abey. CONCERN: Linebacker Navy bounced back from a disappointing 2016 season on defense, improving its ranking in scoring defense, total defense and rushing defense. Losing all four of its starting linebackers will make that unlikely to repeat. Replacing two-time All-AAC choice Micah Thomas and 2017 second-team All-AAC linebacker D.J. Pal- more will be especially difficult. That pair combined for 319 tackles and 31 tackles for loss the last two seasons. Senior Hudson Sullivan was a rotation player last season, finishing with 40 tackles. He'll be joined inside by senior Taylor Heflin, credited with 18 stops last season. Heflin started the final two games of the 2016 season, registering a career-high 12 tack- les in a win over Army. Junior outside linebacker Nizaire Cromartie was impressive last season in limited snaps at defensive end, making five stops behind the line. He'll be tasked with moving to linebacker and replacing Palmore, who racked up 24 tackles for loss over the last two seasons while leading the Midshipmen in that category each year. Junior Elan Nash, who will line up at the Star position, made 11 tackles as a special teams and reserve player last season. NAVY MIDSHIPMEN OCT. 27 • SDCCU STADIUM • SAN DIEGO RETURNING LEADERS Rushing: QB Zach Abey (1,413 yards, 19 TD) Passing: Abey (805 yards, 7 TD) Receiving: SB Malcolm Perry (303 yards, 2 TD) Tackles: S Sean Williams (76) Sacks: DE Josh Webb (4) Interceptions: Three tied with one X-FACTOR: Navy is expected to get dynamic play at quarterback, but a supporting cast must emerge to take some of the pressure off the signal-caller. Navy needs senior full- back Anthony Gargiulo, who rushed for 423 yards and averaged 5.6 yards per carry last season, to continue developing. PHOTO COURTESY NAVY