Notre Dame-Navy: The Endless Rivalry

Overtime Heroics Editorial

2121 days ago

93 Years ago, on October 15th, 1927, the 3rd longest uninterrupted rivalry was born. On that date, Notre Dame and Navy faced off for the first time. Since then, they have on to play every single year after that. It is one of the more storied rivalries in football. It has sustained for so long thanks to a gracious act by Navy following World War II. Even as the Midshipmen and Fighting Irish have gone in different directions in the College Football hierarchy, the Irish will not take the Midshipmen off of their schedule. They invite them to play a game every year as a show of thanks for that act over 70 years ago.

Most college football fans know that Notre Dame has dominated this rivalry, winning 78 of the 92 games. Notre Dame held a 43 game winning streak against Navy until the Midshipmen finally got one in 3OT in 2007. Since then, Notre Dame has won 8 of 11, but it will always be a game that fans of both teams circle on the calendar every single year.

Notre Dame Stadium Sellout Streak

Currently, the biggest storyline from this game is that Notre Dame’s home sellout streak will end at 273 games. A streak that was longer than ND’s win streak against Navy will come to an end after almost 46 years. It is hard to pinpoint the reasoning behind this because Notre Dame has had some bad seasons in that timeframe. Whatever the reason, though, the streak comes to an end nonetheless.

Notre Dame Run Defense

In their first game without Julian Okwara, the Fighting Irish will have one goal on defense: STOP THE RUN! Navy averages almost 350 YPG on the ground, which is over 35 yards more than any other team in the nation. Over their last three, they are averaging a ridiculous 410 YPG! The Midshipmen are averaging over 6 YPC on the season, and with that triple option, they are averaging 57 rush attempts per game.

What this means is the front seven for the Irish need to buckle down and stay in their lanes! Do not try to be a hero by getting to the backfield on every play. Navy thrives on defensive mistakes that open enormous holes for them. Notre Dame could theoretically put eight or nine guys in the box, but that’s when Navy opens it up.

The Midshipmen lead the country in yards per pass attempt, averaging over 13 yards per pass. This is obviously a loaded stat because they only pass the ball seven times per game. It is something that Notre Dame will need to watch out for because that stat shows me that when Navy does take its shots, it rarely misses.

Navy’s triple option — Navy’s triple-option is helping them lead the nation in rushing.

Only two teams have rushed for less than 100 yards this year against the Irish: Virginia and Duke. Three times this year, they have been hit for over 200 yards on the ground, including 303 against Michigan. If Notre Dame can’t tighten it up, Navy might go for 450 yards and more than likely that will end in a win for the Midshipmen.

Long, Efficient Drives

The best defense against Navy’s rushing attack is prolonged, clock draining drives on offense. The Irish will need to establish the run early and then let Ian Book make some easy throws. Keeping your defense off the field as long as possible is the best recipe for success in this game.

Tony Jones needs to get going early. Outside, inside, wherever you want, but Jones needs to see plenty of carries, especially on the first two or three drives. Establishing the run game sets the tone for the entire game. Keeping your defense on the sideline by controlling the clock allows them to stay rested, and it also takes Navy out of their element.

Obviously, getting down the field quickly and scoring will get the job done, but the point is to not focus too much on the big play. The Irish don’t have that type of offense this year, and they need to set up some nice, easy throws for Book to make. Once he gets into a rhythm and he starts hitting throws, then you can try and take some chances down the field.

Ian Book needs to be efficient. — Ian Book will need to be efficient to help Notre Dame this week.

A big part of Ian Book’s rhythm will be Chase Claypool. He is 6’4”, 229 pounds, and Navy is going to throw some smaller CBs at him. Getting him in the open field and letting him work will be another part of the game plan to keep the Irish offense on the field.

Notre Dame will need to be efficient offensively. If Ian Book ends this game with a 58% completion percentage (his season total), it will probably be an Irish loss. Brian Kelly can make sure this doesn’t happen by designing some slant and out patterns for early in the game.

Prediction

Notre Dame will come out slow, just like they did in the Louisville game earlier in the year. It will take a couple of drives before ND figures out a way to slow down Navy’s offense, but they will eventually get it figured out.

After trailing by seven at halftime, Notre Dame will come back and squeak out a pretty close game with the defense, making a game-winning stop.

Notre Dame 24 Navy 20

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