:: Notre Dame Football: Irish Game Day ::
Notre Dame takes on Navy, continues march towards major bowl and major awards
Notre Dame Stadium
~ Nov. 7, 2009,
2:30 PM ET
(NBC)
Notre Dame's passing unit, the best in college football, led by Heisman candidates Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate, takes the field against Navy with two more of Notre Dame's stars back from injuries. And an evolving Irish defense that has been tough against the run takes on the #3 rushing attack in college football, one enhanced by the return of a quarterback who had a passer rating over 200 in a close loss at Ohio State.
However, Navy's defense and Navy's passing might be more relevant than realized, as compared with their vaunted rushing attack.
Like Jimmy Clausen, Navy dual-threat quarterback Ricky Dobbs is on the short-list for the O'Brien Award to be national quarterback of the year. While Navy is regarded as a high-powered rushing team, they quietly have the ability to sneak in potent passing, and have a quietly stingy, hard-nosed defense that hung tough against Ohio State and Pitt.
In a series dating to 1927, Notre Dame and Navy meet for the 83rd consecutive year, the longest continuous national rivalry in college football. (The Irish first played Southern Cal in 1926, a national rivalry nevertheless interrupted by World War II.)
Navy
In addition to having talented players, Navy is always very well-conditioned, highly disciplined, and athletic, and plays very, very hard on every down. Doing so is associated with the Midshipmen's military training and character-building against adversity. Notre Dame Head Coach Charlie Weis has pointed out that, because Navy plays hard on every down, if their opponent does not itself play as hard on every down, the opponent loses whatever advantage it might have presumed to have held in other areas.
As has largely been the case for service academies in the modern era, Navy runs the option, which conventional wisdom regards as a way to maximize the advantages of well-trained, disciplined execution and team athleticism while minimizing the perceived disparity in size and talent level. Truthfully, however, while the service academies reputedly have height restrictions, and in recent decades supposedly had more difficulty persuading top recruits to enter into the stricter regimen of military life and commitment to post-graduate military service, Navy athletes are still quite talented and big enough for the positions that need it. And today's military is succeeding in sustaining burgeoning numbers of highly talented individuals all around.
Second-year Navy Head Coach Ken Niumatalolo apparently is largely continuing a system developed and fine-tuned, with his help, by former Navy Coach Paul Johnson. Johnson himself is currently in his second season at Georgia Tech, where he has the Yellow Jackets using a similar system to lead the ACC and head towards a likely BCS berth. Niumatalolo spent a combined ten years at Navy, both in the 1990's and during this decade as a Johnson assistant. Niumatalolo became head coach in December 2007 in time to lead Navy to a win in the Poinsettia Bowl. Niumatalolo, at one time, played quarterback for the University of Hawai'i.
Navy beat Notre Dame for the first time in 43 years in 2007, in a triple-overtime thriller during Notre Dame's down year when the previously depleted Notre Dame program was making the final big balloon payment for the Davie-Willingham downturn. In 2008, Navy fought from behind with multiple onside kicks and big passes to make a game of it in the closing moments at the NFL stadium in Baltimore. So this Navy squad not only plays hard, but believes it can beat Notre Dame, and indeed has.
Navy's previous week's close loss to Temple without Navy's starting quarterback is of little moment, as Navy still has a strong 6-3 record, took Ohio State to the wire, and played close with Pitt. And curiously while, not too many years ago, Temple was bowing out of a reconfiguring Big East, giving the impression it was deemphasizing if not eliminating football, today's Temple is somehow vying to win the MAC, with a strong 7-2 record. So Navy's upset loss to Temple without Navy's O'Brien award-candidate quarterback probably should not be made too much of.
Notre Dame on offense
Notre Dame's top-5 offense is averaging 458 yards per game, 310 yards through the air and 148 yards on the ground.
The Irish as a team are also top-4 in turnover margin, with Jimmy Clausen's two interceptions ranking him #2 in the FBS/Div. I-A for fewest interceptions.
College football's best passing unit will once again be intact, as All-America-caliber Michael Floyd and NFL-caliber Robby Parris rejoin Heisman candidate Golden Tate, NFL-caliber Duval Kamara, and underclassmen John Goodman, Shaquelle Evans, and Theo Riddick. They will be catching passes from Heisman candidate Clausen, #2 in the FBS/Div. I-A for passing efficiency. All-America-caliber tight-end/wide-out Kyle Rudolph has been back in the mix as well, after two games of de-emphasis as a receiver.
Clausen presently is #2 in the country in passing efficiency, on 172 of 257 passing (67%) for 2,318 yards, 290 yards per game, including 18 touchdowns and 2 interceptions (one of which was delivered into the receiver's hands). Clausen also has run for a touchdown.
No other quarterback really surpasses Clausen in any kind of overall manner. For example, the one quarterback with (barely) a higher efficiency rating, from Boise State, is only ranked #30 in yards-per-game, averaging 60 yards per game fewer than Clausen.
Meanwhile, the Houston quarterback who is #1 in passing yardage, with 412 yards per game while Clausen is #8, is actually not as productive as Clausen. Clausen throws for more yards per attempt, and more yards per completion. And while Clausen is averaging 9 touchdowns for every interception, the Houston quarterback is averaging 5 touchdowns for every interception. While Clausen is putting up big numbers in a pro-set offense playing a tough schedule, the Houston quarterback is, while good, putting up numbers that are a result of a system in which 61% of the offensive plays are passes, inflating total numbers, and against a weaker schedule.
Tate, for his part, is #4 in the country for receiving yards per game heading into the Navy game, with 56 catches for 927 yards, averaging 116 yards per game. However, Tate is tied for #2 in the country for receiving touchdowns, scoring 9 thus far. Tate also is averaging 149 yards per game all-purpose running, putting him at #18, just ahead of the Alabama running-back being billed by some elements of the news media as a serious Heisman candidate, who is ranked #19 in that category.
Notre Dame's conventional running game, strong overall, has been enhanced by a periodic Wildcat formation that has been electrifying with Tate, fullback/heavy-halfback Robert Hughes, and sometimes-injured halfback Armando Allen at Wildcat quarterback.
Notre Dame's offensive line is big, experienced, and effective. The cliche in the past has been to suggest that service academies are outsized by opponents like Notre Dame, but truthfully even within the same team an offensive line tends to be bigger than a defensive line, and Navy's defensive line is not necessarily much smaller than Notre Dame's. At the same time, Notre Dame's offensive line is taking on prehistoric proportions, and we might not know until the NFL combine whether Sam Young is really 6-8, 320 as listed or more like 6-8, 370.
Navy's defense, ranked #27 nationally, is a bit stronger against the pass than the run, and has acquitted itself reasonably well against their currently-nationally-ranked opponents. Against Ohio State, Navy only gave up 210 yards passing, with 1 interception to match the 1 passing touchdown, and 153 yards rushing, the latter at roughly 4 yards per carry. Against Pitt, Navy gave up 243 yards passing, and 126 yards rushing, the latter at less than 4 yards per carry.
What will be interesting to see will be whether Navy follows the strategy of Boston College and Washington State, and drops a lot of defenders into pass coverage to force Clausen into patiently racking up a lot of shorter passes. However, with both Floyd and Tate in the line-up, and Rudolph, Parris, Kumara all playing well enough to warrant eventual attention from the NFL, it might be hard for Navy to match up well for great lengths of time.
Notre Dame gives the appearance that it likes to have balanced play-calling in its pro-set offense, and undoubtedly will want to run the ball to soften up hard-playing Navy a bit with Notre Dame's bruising size. But look for Notre Dame to also open it up and test out the high-flying Floyd and Tate down-field. What might be interesting, also, is if the Irish have Theo Riddick or Evans on the field at the same time as Tate and Floyd, either of them presenting the possibility of a young burner cut loose at the same time as two high-flying deep threats.
The Irish offense has been developing a dizzying degree of versatility, with passing, conventional running, and what is turning into some of the most exciting Wildcat in college football.
At the same time, the versatility of individual players could present difficult change-ups for opposing defenses. For example, in addition to running backs like Allen and Hughes being solid receivers, Tate is a Belitnikoff candidate at wide receiver who also is turning into a strong flanker-running back. And Rudolph is a good blocking tight end and receiving tight end who is a good enough receiver to play wide-out.
Meanwhile, an intriguing work in progress only partially waiting in the wings is freshman speedster Riddick, who looks to possibly be a Tate understudy, with great speed and fluidity, and bona fide receiver skills, who also might be a surprisingly strong runner.
One point that has been addressed is that, if Navy succeeds in its usual custom of a steady, grinding, ball-control offense, that will eat up clock and limit the length of the game in such a way that the Notre Dame offense might not get as many possessions. Weis has observed that this possibility provides added motivation to make every possession count all the more.
With back-up quarterback Dayne Crist out for the season with a torn ACL in his knee, fifth-year senior and professional baseball prospect Evan Sharpley is once again the back-up quarterback. Sophomore wide-receiver John Goodman is the third-string quarterback.
Notre Dame on defense
Notre Dame's defense will have its hands full adapting to a Navy offense famed for its triple-option, the #3 rushing offense in college football.
(Previous Notre Dame opponent Nevada, with its Pistol offense, is now the #1 rushing offense.)
As has largely been the case for service academies in the modern era, Navy runs the option, which generally involves a mix of runs up the middle and runs around end by the quarterback with a pitch man, where the quarterback can keep the ball and run or pitch at the last moment to the pitch man. The Navy offense also can include passes, theoretically including passes out of the option.
But the Middies truthfully present a somewhat more complex challenge than that, with the return of starting quarterback Ricky Dobbs after a two-game absence.
While Navy is averaging 280 yards per game on the ground, and ran nothing but running plays against Wake Forest, when going up against currently-ranked opponents Ohio State and Pitt the situation was more complicated.
In a close loss to Ohio State at the Horseshoe to start the year, Dobbs had a quarterback rating of 205.4. Against the Buckeyes, the Middies ran for 186 yards on 44 carries, and threw for 156 yards, on 9 of 14 passing with 2 touchdowns and no interceptions. Dobbs had 4 touchdowns total, 2 running and the 2 passing.
In a 27-13 loss to Pitt, Navy ran for 129 yards and threw for 89 yards, on only 6 of 21 passing, albeit with no interceptions.
Notre Dame has been getting tougher and tougher against the run, limiting or shutting down good rushing attacks in recent games, with opponents averaging 3.3 yards per carry and scoring only 3 rushing touchdowns in the past 3 games. Meanwhile the Irish passing defense, while good, comparatively has been a work in progress, although notably very opportunistic, targeted and hard-playing in the clutch.
Navy may well go with its strength but undoubtedly will be tempted to mix in passes it hopes are potent against an Irish secondary that will have to be multi-tasking against a good Navy offense.
On a Notre Dame defense that started out with safeties dominating the tackling statistics, the Irish defensive line has stepped up production considerably, as have the linebackers. And the linebacker reconfiguration has settled in with freshman Manti Te'o now starting at outside linebacker and Brian Smith settling into his preferred middle linebacker spot. Meanwhile, a Notre Dame linebacker corps that had been dominated by big linebackers now has a safety, Harrison Smith, adding speed and agility to a linebacker spot, with H. Smith having played linebacker last year as well. And linebacker Darius Fleming, a top-8 defender nationally in tackles-for-loss, is one of three linebackers rotating in at defensive end. Nearly two-thirds of Fleming's tackles are for a loss.
So a juiced-up Notre Dame defensive line and linebacker corps, with faster more agile players complementing the quickness and ferocity of B. Smith and Te'o, should have a healthy showing against the high-charged, wide-playing Navy option. What will be interesting will be how much Notre Dame blitzes, how Navy configures its attack to try to cut past the blitz, whether the Irish secondary jumps up to cut down the option, and whether that exposes a still-gelling Irish pass defense to getting burned by potent passes.
In the flow of the season, this is in an important game, not only to pull out a win against a good Navy team that has flirted with being national ranked, but also important for the development of the Irish defense. A good team effort will be required, and above all mental agility against a Navy offense that is more versatile than it is given credit for.
Special Teams
Notre Dame freshman kicker Nick Tausch, after missing his first field goal, has set a school record hitting 14 straight, dating back to the Michigan game. Tausch is 14 of 15 on the year, with a long of 46. He is tied for being #10 in the FBS/Div. I-A for fields goal made per game, slightly less than 2 per game, but of the top-105 kickers in that category, he is tied for #3 in the country for percentage of attempted field goals made, at 93.3%.
Notre Dame's process of musical punters, including ebbing and flowing in the punting competition even within the week leading up to Navy, seems to have returned to the more seasoned Eric Maust. Weis announced on Thursday that Maust will be punting against Navy.
Tate continues to be the return man on punts, and is solid and steady, but has yet to become the monstrous punt or kick returner that predecessors Rocket Ismail or Tim Brown were when they made Heisman campaigns as flankers. Perhaps, as with his running, this will be another component of Tate's game Irish fans will begin to see take off.
Riddick has shown flash periodically as a kick-off returner, and time will tell whether he starts breaking loose more now that he is later in his rookie season.
Notre Dame vs. Navy Lore
As mentioned above, in a series dating to 1927, Notre Dame and Navy meet for the 83rd consecutive year, the longest continuous national rivalry in college football. Notre Dame leads the overall series 70-10-1, and beat Navy 27-21 in 2008, holding off a furious Navy rally at the end featuring multiple onside-kicks. Notre Dame beat Navy 43 years in a row, from 1964 through 2006, an NCAA record, before Navy upset Notre Dame in triple overtime in 2006.
At one time, Navy and Notre Dame combined for three Heisman trophies in five years. Navy quarterback Roger Staubach led Navy to win over Notre Dame in 1963 on his way to winning the Heisman. No one realized at the time that it would be Navy's last win until 2006. The following year, 1964, the first year of the Ara Parseghian era at Notre Dame, the Notre Dame-Navy game featured a duel between two Heisman-winning quarterbacks, Staubach and Notre Dame's John Huarte. Huarte led Notre Dame in a win over Navy on his own way to winning the Heisman and nearly leading Notre Dame to a consensus national championship. (One source named Notre Dame national champion, while most did not, after a previously undefeated Notre Dame lost a close one at Southern Cal to close out the season).
VIDEO: Huarte vs. Staubach, 1964
Notre Dame in BCS Bowls
Notre Dame is 6-2 and ranked #22 in the BCS tabulations heading into the Navy game, and needs to have 9 wins and move up to #14 to be eligible under normal guidelines.
Ironically, after beating Washington State, Notre Dame moved up more in the opinion polls while only moving up one spot in the BCS standings. The Irish actually fell slightly in the computer rankings, presumably due to the computers having to digest Washington State's losing record into their analysis of Notre Dame's strength of schedule. Aside from the fact that this is misleading, given that Washington State is in a tough conference and could probably beat a number of teams with better records, in any event Notre Dame has played one of the toughest schedules among ranked teams. And from here on out, only two other ranked teams play a remaining schedule slated as tougher than Notre Dame's remaining schedule.
Notre Dame needs to keep winning, naturally, and, as Weis put in a recent press conference, just move up a little each week. Right now, the Navy game looms large, as Navy is the first of a whole string of good opponents with great records. Meanwhile, many of the other teams in the standings still have to play one another, including several key show-downs this weekend.
Notre Dame vs. Navy resource links
:: Notre Dame vs. Navy game notes (PDF)
:: #19/21 Irish Begin Regular Season Stretch Drive Against Navy: Notre Dame will play host to Midshipmen Saturday at Notre Dame Stadium in 83rd edition of intersectional rivalry (2:43 p.m. ET, NBC), Notre Dame Football news release with resource links
:: Notre Dame depth chart
:: Notre Dame statistical rankings, NCAA database
:: Notre Dame Football official site
:: Navy depth chart
:: Navy statistical rankings, NCAA database
:: Navy Football official site
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