Notre Dame vs. Navy: Can the Irish Regroup?

Notre Dame (4-3) vs. Navy (2-5)

South Bend, IN

3:30 p.m.

NBC

The Irish are coming off an extremely disappointing loss to USC while Navy has lost five in a row and is in jeopardy of ending an eight-year bowl streak.  Navy has won three of the last four games and embarrassed the Irish at the Meadowlands last season. 

Will the Irish get revenge or does Navy continue their recent dominance over Notre Dame?

Navy Offense vs. Notre Dame Defense

Navy is fourth in the nation in rushing offense.  So seemingly not much has changed.  However, they have been especially hard hit by the graduation of quarterback Ricky Dobbs.  They are averaging 284 yards on the ground per game. 

However, they haven't gotten the explosive plays from the quarterback position that were so typical during the Ricky Dobbs era. Quarterback Kriss Proctor is averaging 163 yards per game of total offense.  Even fullback Alexander Teich is averaging less than 100 yards per game. 

The Irish, on the other hand, were absolutely abysmal against USC on Saturday as a struggling Trojan rushing attack pierced them for 219 yards.  Given the recent Irish struggles with Navy and their performance last week it is hard to be confident about Notre Dame handling the Navy rushing attack.

EDGE: NAVY

Notre Dame Offense vs. Navy Defense

Saturdays are starting to feel like Ground Hog Day for Notre Dame fans. 

The Dayne Crist fumble was a flashback to Week 1 and a stark reminder that this team is far away from being a BCS contender.  In between that we saw an Irish offense that appeared unwilling and suddenly incapable of running the football.  The combination of Cierre Wood and Jonas Gray, which was starting to take on a lethal appearance, combined for just 43 yards and only nine carries. For all the so-called modernization of football, last Saturday once again reinforced the adage that those that run and stop the run usually come out on top. 

I would have to think that this week will feature a heavy dose of the Notre Dame running game.  Going forward it would seem to me that instead of forcing the ball to an often double-covered Michael Floyd, the Irish might rather consider running the ball against teams that insist on devoting an extra defensive back to covering Floyd.  That would leave defenses a tough choice to make. But alas, I digress. 

Notre Dame has much more talent on offense than Navy does on defense.  I'm tired of mentioning turnovers and bad luck because they are in essence excuses for losing.  Notre Dame will move the ball at will against an undermanned Navy football team.

EDGE: NOTRE DAME

Special Teams

Notre Dame special teams are one area that appears to be improving.  Ben Turk continues to improve as a punter and averaged 42 yards per kick last week.  In addition, Kyle Brindza was solid and David Ruffer made his only field goal attempt.  George Atkinson III also got the Irish back into the game with his second kickoff return for a touchdown this season.  This is an area where I believe the Irish have an advantage. 

The Navy punt game is similar to Notre Dame.  However, kicker Jon Teague is just 6-for-10 on field goals and only 25-for-29 on extra points. 

EDGE: NOTRE DAME

Intangibles

Given Navy's recent success, regardless of their record they will come into South Bend a confident bunch.  They will be confident in their offense and attempt to turn this into a game where they control the ball, limit Irish possessions and force the Irish to score almost every time they have the ball. 

In my opinion, last week versus USC was the worst loss of the Brian Kelly era to date.  Navy was embarrassing last year but it was year one of a rebuild and expectations were low.  After a dismal start to this season, a four-game winning streak had the Irish dreaming of a BCS run.  Saturday was a tough dose of reality for the Notre Dame Nation.  Saturday looked like a combination of the Davie-Willingham-Weis era.  So often during that time, the Irish seemed to turn the corner only to take steps backward with a disappointing loss or season. 

This is starting to line up like a very disappointing season.  More alarming is the way it is happening.  It is bad enough that the Irish continue to make the same mistakes with undisciplined play, costly turnovers and stupid penalties.  However, Saturday featured a team that showed little enthusiasm and at times played with a complete lack of desire.  Finally, both the coaches and players appeared to quit.  I could not believe the coaching staff didn't use one time out after the Rees interception in the final six minutes. 

Given the disciplined play and outright desire of the Navy football program they have the edge in this area.

EDGE: NAVY

Final Analysis

I'm learning as the season goes that I'm pretty bad at predicting outcomes so don't call me for betting advice.  It would not surprise me if Navy won this game because of the way the season is going.  It almost seems as if the Irish become shell-shocked as soon as things start to go badly.  Navy is going to play hard and present some problems for the Irish.  That being said, I think Notre Dame has way too much talent to lose this game.  Navy having a down season will also contribute to that.  This game will look a great deal like the Air Force game.

NOTRE DAME 41, NAVY 21