Notre Dame vs. Navy Complete Game Preview
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Self-inflicted wounds spelled doom for Notre Dame football in Saturday’s 24-22 loss to Clemson, but the Irish must quickly regroup, as Navy is coming to South Bend on Saturday for the latest edition of a longstanding series oozing with mutual respect.
Notre Dame, now 4-1 this season, dropped nine spots to No. 15 in both the Associated Press and Amway Coaches polls.
“You can’t lose another game,” Irish head coach Brian Kelly said of his message to Notre Dame’s captains in a postgame meeting. “You’re on the clock now. Every single weekend you’re playing elimination football.”
Navy is Notre Dame’s first obstacle. The Midshipmen are 4-0 with wins over Colgate, East Carolina, UConn and, most recently, Air Force.
“We’ve gotta get ready for the best team we’ll play all year,” Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo said.
Date: Saturday, October 10
Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
Place: Notre Dame Stadium in Notre Dame, Indiana
TV: NBC
Radio: IMG College Sports, SiriusXM Channel 129
Spread: Notre Dame by 16, according to Odds Shark
Notre Dame Keys to Victory
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Re-Establish the Offensive Line
“When push comes to shove, everybody knows that we’re going to lean on that offensive line.”
In the days leading up to the matchup against Clemson, Brian Kelly’s words weren’t particularly noteworthy. Many regarded the Irish offensive line as a major strength of the team, with stalwarts Ronnie Stanley and Nick Martin anchoring the unit.
Well, four quarters later, Notre Dame will be looking for answers heading into the clash with Navy. The Irish averaged just 3.5 yards per carry against the Tigers. Senior running back C.J. Prosise, who totaled a program-high 600 rushing yards in the first four games, was limited to 50 yards on 15 carries.
Kelly said Clemson’s defense was aggressive early and “carried the play in the first half” against the Irish offensive line.
“We got behind there and really couldn’t come back,” Kelly said of the rushing attack. “I thought in the second half if the game was closer, we were gonna probably get the things we needed in the running game.”
In the early going, at least, Notre Dame was unable to establish a viable ground attack, which contributed to the early deficit.
Avoid a Letdown
It sounds simple, but Notre Dame must avoid letdowns in both mentality and execution against Navy.
The two-point loss to Clemson is certainly disappointing for the Irish, as Kelly repeatedly said in the days after the game. And while Kelly acknowledged the program’s 24-hour rule for reflecting on the previous result, he did say he wants his team to remember the Clemson loss.
“You don’t want to forget about losing an opportunity that we lost here, and that should be with them, because you can’t give away the opportunity,” Kelly said Sunday.
So how do the Irish carry that with them moving forward? Will they bounce back positively against Navy?
To handle Navy’s triple-option attack, Notre Dame will look to deploy a similar defense—heavy on toughness, aggression and execution—to the one that stifled Georgia Tech last month in South Bend. The Irish held the Yellow Jackets, who entered that game averaging nearly 47 points over their last 10 contests, to just 22 points, 216 rushing yards and 4.6 yards per attempt—well below their season averages.
Navy Keys to Victory
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Navigate Notre Dame’s Fronts
With one minute left against Georgia Tech, Notre Dame had held the Yellow Jackets to just seven points. In the immediate aftermath of the 30-22 win, Kelly highlighted his defense’s aggression against quarterback Justin Thomas.
“I think we were probably as aggressive as any defense that we had watched on film,” Kelly said. “We wanted to show different looks...moving the fronts around, giving him different edge looks. We needed to mix it up. We didn’t believe we could line up in one or two fronts and give him vanilla looks.”
Looking back over the film of that game, Ken Niumatalolo agreed that the Irish “tried a lot of different fronts.”
But the Midshipmen have senior quarterback Keenan Reynolds, who’ll be playing his 42nd career game Saturday.
“Hopefully for us, we have a veteran quarterback who’s seen it all,” Niumatalolo said.
Find Defensive Balance
When asked about defending Notre Dame, Niumatalolo was candid.
“We’ve struggled against them,” the eighth-year head coach said. “We’re playing as good as we’ve played on defense in a long time right now. But we also know we’re gonna play a team that, quite frankly, we’ve had a hard time making them punt the last couple years. They’ve been a hard team to stop.”
Why, in particular?
“They mash us with the football, so you’ve gotta get your safeties involved,” Niumatalolo said. “Then they throw it over our heads. It’s a tough combination for us. We’ve gotta get people involved in the run, because they’re big and massive.”
Niumatalolo said if Navy doesn’t stack the box, Notre Dame can “run it down our throats.” If the Midshipmen load up against the run, the Irish can go deep.
“It’s kind of pick-your-poison,” Niumatalolo said.
Can Navy find a way to balance both and limit the Irish in both facets of the game?
Notre Dame Players to Watch
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Will Fuller
Headlining a slew of intriguing individual matchups Saturday was that of Irish wide receiver Will Fuller going up against Clemson standout cornerback Mackensie Alexander.
It was Alexander, with some help over the top from the back end of the Tigers defense, who got the better of the matchup, holding Fuller to a pair of receptions for 37 yards. Of course, Fuller didn’t help his cause with a key drop on 3rd-and-17 in the first half.
Asked on Sunday if there was anything Notre Dame could have done differently for Fuller, Kelly was blunt.
“Yeah, [I] caught the ball more consistently,” Kelly said.
Clemson did arrange multiple defensive backs in Fuller’s direction at times, and the Irish were able to involve other options like Torii Hunter Jr. and Chris Brown. Still, Notre Dame is at its best offensively when Fuller is fully activated.
“If they’re going to try to double somebody, you’ve got to be able to take advantage of what the defense gives you,” Kelly said. “We still got Will involved late in the game with a big screen catch for us. He had a chance for a big third-down conversion that went through his hands.”
If and when Fuller does get single coverage moving forward, Notre Dame needs his big-play potential.
Greer Martini
Sophomore linebacker Greer Martini has started three games in his young Irish career, with two starts coming against option offenses.
In his first career start last season against Navy, Martini racked up nine totals (four more than he’d tallied to that point in his rookie year). Last month against Georgia Tech, Martini made eight stops.
“[He] had a really good game and really helped us quite a bit, because he just really understands the game very well,” Kelly said after the win over the Yellow Jackets.
Martini and sophomore safety Drue Tranquill both climbed into starting roles in the Notre Dame defense against Georgia Tech. Tranquill turned in a terrific first half—linebacker Joe Schmidt called it one of the best halves he’s seen a safety play—before injuring his knee before halftime.
Can Martini and others, such as fifth-year safety Matthias Farley, elevate their play and ensure the Irish defense turns in a similarly strong performance against the option?
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Navy Players to Watch
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Keenan Reynolds
Midshipmen senior quarterback Keenan Reynolds is one of the most decorated players in all of college football.
Reynolds’ 73 career rushing touchdowns are tied for second-most in NCAA history, behind only former Wisconsin running back Montee Ball’s 77 scores. Reynolds added 183 rushing yards on 24 attempts against Air Force on Saturday. Niumatalolo praised his signal-caller’s decision-making.
“He always gets us in the right play, so that’s definitely a comfort as a coach, knowing that your quarterback’s always going to get you in the right play,” Niumatalolo said.
In Navy’s 49-39 loss to the Irish last season, Reynolds carried 18 times for just 47 yards, though he did toss a pair of touchdowns. As a team, Navy still managed 336 rushing yards.
Daniel Gonzales
Navy junior linebacker Daniel Gonzales has built on a strong sophomore season in which he finished second on the squad with 86 tackles. Now a junior and the team’s most experienced linebacker, Gonzales has posted 29 stops (second behind fellow linebacker Micah Thomas) through four games.
Gonzales helped limit Air Force to 11 points on Saturday with his team-best 11 tackles.
What They're Saying
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“He’s in a walking boot until we get that stabilized, and then [we'll] have a better sense of whether he’s going to be able to make it for this weekend.” — Brian Kelly, on Sunday, on left guard Quenton Nelson, who sprained his ankle against Clemson
“We study all of that stuff very diligently, and there is really nothing that we can discern from what we do.” — Kelly on Clemson defensive end Shaq Lawson’s postgame comments that Notre Dame’s offensive line tipped run plays with its hand down and foot placement
“I thought he showed great poise in the pocket, and I think it just added on to the fact that we’ve got a quarterback that can help us win a championship.” — Kelly on DeShone Kizer
“I’m not disappointed in our guys. I’m disappointed that they didn’t take advantage of the opportunity that they had this weekend, and that was to beat a team on the road in a tough place to play and overcome the elements. You don’t want to repeat that, and I hope that they never forget that.” — Kelly
“This past weekend, [he] probably played his best game since he’s been here at Notre Dame.” — Kelly on Irish junior safety Max Redfield, who tallied 14 tackles against Clemson
“We really had a favorable look. It was the look that we were hoping to get.” — Kelly on what Notre Dame faced on its two-point attempt at the end of regulation
“Corey’s got to play better for us. He knows that. He’s got to make some plays for us. But he’s going to be involved in the offense as well.” — Kelly on Irish junior wide receiver Corey Robinson
“It was the smart decision to make. It was the right one to make. Obviously, if we catch the two-point conversion, which was wide-open, then we just kick the extra point [later], and we’ve got a different outcome.” — Kelly on Notre Dame’s first two-point attempt, which ended with an incomplete pass intended for Robinson
“We’re gonna have our hands full, like we do every year. This is a tough game for us. But it’s gonna be a great challenge for our football program.” — Ken Niumatalolo
“I don’t worry about that. We’re the Naval Academy. We try to do the best we can, work as hard as we can.” — Niumatalolo on being unranked at 4-0
“I don’t know, because like I said, this is a different animal. We realize it’s Notre Dame. It’s by far the best team we’re going to play this whole year.” — Niumatalolo when asked if his defense is better equipped to face Notre Dame this year
Prediction
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In their last two meetings, Notre Dame’s wins over Navy have come by a combined 14 points—a 10-point edge last season and a slight, four-point margin in 2013.
Even with Notre Dame back at home and presumably fuming from the loss to Clemson, it seems reasonable to expect a tighter affair than early betting lines may indicate.
Until Notre Dame can repeatedly find answers for the option, fans shouldn't expect the Georgia Tech performance each time. Keenan Reynolds has the ability to exploit the Irish defense and should maneuver Navy’s offense.
But drawing on the success against the Yellow Jackets and the motivation from last week’s loss, Notre Dame should be able to ride its talent and experience to a win and improve to 5-1 before USC travels to South Bend.
Prediction: Notre Dame 38, Navy 28
All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
Mike Monaco is the lead Notre Dame writer for Bleacher Report. Follow @MikeMonaco_ on Twitter.
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