Notre Dame-Washington Preview: Rested Irish Face Winless Huskies

Washington’s Offense vs. Notre Dame’s Defense

These two teams share one thing in common: Both have rushing attacks that are ranked in the bottom 10 percent in Division I football. The Huskies have a large offensive line, but it is not particularly strong or agile.

Running back has also been a revolving door for Willingham, although freshman tailback Terrance Dailey rushed for 102 yards in his college debut last week against Oregon State. Another freshman, David Freeman, has also played extensively and is the only other Husky besides Dailey and Locker to record more than 100 rushing yards this season.

Fouch has had some success in his two starts since Locker went down, but he has only completed 50 percent of his passes.

Washington likes to throw the ball deep, and they have some speed to make it work as long as Fouch has time in the pocket. Receivers D’Andre Goodwin and Devin Aguilar have been productive and are a threat to score on any team, as is Alvin Logan if he is healthy enough to play this week.

The absence of Locker’s dual-threat capability and a poor running game have made things difficult for Washington. Fouch is a pocket passer who has learned to throw on the run out of necessity. It will be interesting to see if Notre Dame’s rush defense, which has been soft on several occasions this season, can force the Huskies into another one-dimensional performance.

It would be a mistake to think that Fouch cannot put points on the board even if the defense knows what is coming. He reminds me of North Carolina’s Cameron Sexton, who proved to be a more accurate passer than the Irish had anticipated. The key for Notre Dame, as always, is to pressure Fouch into poor throws.

Special Teams

Washington’s return and cover teams have been consistently outperformed by opponents this year, and the Irish hope to add to their misery. Aguilar and Goodwin return punts, while Jordan Polk has been the primary kick return man. Polk averages less than 20 yards with a best of 38.

Kicking has been an issue for both teams. Brandon Walker hit his only attempt against Carolina, but Coach Charlie Weis did not have sufficient confidence to call on him late in that same game.

The Huskies employ both Ryan Perkins and Jared Ballman to perform the kicking chores, with Perkins handling PATs and Ballman getting the nod for long field goal attempts. Both are a combined three out of eight in three-pointers this season.

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