Irish Focus on Navy while Pitt Game Approaches

It's almost like watching the perfect storm start to form.  The ingredients for the Notre Dame-Pitt game, only nine days away, are starting to come together and turn it into one of the biggest games both teams have played in years.

Saturday night, national TV, and a packed Heinz field.  BCS bowl bids on the line.  Notre Dame (6-2) could be ranked in the top 20 and if a couple of teams in front of them lose this week, Pitt (7-1) could enter the game ranked in or close to the top 10.

When asked if this game would qualify as a signature game for Notre Dame, Bleacher Report's Mike Muratore wrote, "Beating 8-1 Pitt in Pittsburgh would qualify.  It would honestly make the year and ensure that Weis will be here for the next three years."

Although Pitt's signature game looks to be a Dec. 5 meeting with Cincinnati, they know how important it is for them to beat Notre Dame next Saturday.

Two FBS teams are hoping that Notre Dame and Pitt are already thinking about their Nov. 13 meeting.  Syracuse, Pitt's opponent this week and Navy, Notre Dame's, are hoping their thoughts are somewhere else when they meet two days from now.

If the Irish are thinking too much about the Pitt game, they are going to have all they can handle, because Navy could pose a problem for them regardless.

The 7-3 Middies are No. 2 in the nation in rushing, No. 1 in fewest penalties, and earlier this year, gave Ohio St all they wanted when coming real close to taking the game into overtime. 

With less than a minute to play, Navy decided to go for a two-point conversion to tie the game but failed.  Two weeks ago, they beat a stubborn Wake Forest team, 13-10.

Last week, Navy let one get away.  They let Temple, a much improved team with a six-game winning streak, score the last 10 points of the game and got beat 27-24.

Notre Dame knows all about Navy and their triple-option attack. The 2007 46-44 loss to Navy and last year's 27-21 win are reminders that if they don't play their best, their dreams of finishing 10-2 will be over.

The Irish come into the game with a couple of questions—the big one being the health concerns of their quarterbacks.  Last week they lost backup Dayne Crist when he tore his ACL against Washington St and Jimmy Clausen re-aggravated his turf toe injury.

Crist is done for the year and if needed, Evan Sharpley gets the call.  Sharpley last saw playing time two years ago during Clausen's freshman season.

After Clausen got tripped up and re-injured the toe he said, "My toe was feeling real good going into the Washington State game and after that play it kind of set me back a few weeks."

Clausen has played through pain all year and no one's  too worried about him it's just that couple with the Crist injury, there's reason for Irish fans to be somewhat concerned.

This is also the week when Notre Dame wide out Michael Floyd returns to the line up.  The amount of playing time he gets is up in the air.

This could turn into another nail biter.  As always, Navy gives away about 40 pounds per man on both lines but they run the option with such precision that they don't seem to be bothered by the weight difference.

The key for them will be ball control.  The longer they have the ball, the longer Jimmy Clausen stays off the field.  Third-down conversions will decide this game.  If Navy can convert over 50 percent—they've got a shot to pull off the upset.

EXTRA POINTS

The opening line was Notre Dame by 12 and currently it's an 11 point spread.  I'm expecting Navy to cover.  This is the second biggest game on their schedule, and a win on Saturday could make their season a huge success.

The biggest game on their schedule is Army and always will be.

PREDICTION: ND 31 Navy 28