Creative alignment not enough
Take Jaylon Smith and move him from inside to outside.
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Put freshman Drue Tranquill on the edge like an outside linebacker.
Start Greer Martini at inside linebacker with Joe Schmidt.
Move Isaac Rochell from an end position to a tackle.
Take Sheldon Day and move him from tackle to end.
In place of Romeo Okwara, use fireplug fifth-year senior Justin Utupo who, like Day, is a combination end-tackle.
Single safety - Max Redfield or Elijah Shumate - in the middle.
Man up at cornerback with Cody Riggs and Cole Luke.
Notre Dame's hybrid defense did a lot of good things in Notre Dame's 49-39 victory over Navy Saturday night at FedEx Field in Landover, Md. You just had to look very closely to see it sometimes.
That's because by the end of the evening, the Midshipmen had five touchdowns, 336 yards rushing and, and one juncture, 24 straight points en route to the highest scoring total by a Navy team in regulation in the 88-year history of the Notre Dame series.
"The two stops in the fourth quarter before the pick where we kind of slowed down their momentum (were key)," said Irish head coach Brian Kelly. "They got a little tired and I think we were able to control the line of scrimmage a little better in the fourth quarter."
After all the Navy fireworks - 10 points in the final 2:30 of the first half, 75- and 66-yard touchdown drives in the third quarter, and a 73-yard touchdown drive with a two-point conversion in the fourth quarter - Notre Dame held Navy to just five first downs in its last five drives while the Irish offense scored three touchdowns to seal the victory.
"Notre Dame held Navy to three yards or less on 31 of 60 rushing attempts.
The somewhat radical defensive alignment shifts had a logical approach attached, which often showed itself as productive on first down but lost a little of its luster on second and third down.
"To put Jaylon inside, you really lose the kid's athleticism because he's on dive, and if they want to take him out, they just need to veer inside and you lose him," Kelly explained.
"Putting him outside, our thought was to get him on QB-to-pitch so we could dual (purpose) him and get some more athleticism on the perimeter. Brian (VanGorder) felt like that was the best place for him, to get him on the perimeter, and we kept him to the field (side) for the most part."
The Irish held Navy to three yards or less on 18 first-down attempts, which normally is a recipe for disaster for the Midshipmen. By narrowing the focus of the Irish defensive players and assigning them to specific tasks, they were able to achieve success on a majority of Navy's 60 rushing attempts.
Incredibly, Notre Dame held Navy to three yards or less on 31 of 60 rushing attempts.
"(Along with moving Smith outside), Drue Tranquill came into the boundary," Kelly explained. "We felt by moving the pieces around, it would be better to go with Greer (Martini) because it's a simpler task to be on the fullback than it is to be working through and working out to QB-to-pitch."
Utupo saw his most extensive action and made the most of it, finishing with four tackles, a pass broken up and a key fourth-quarter interception as Day and James Onwualu - who frequently came in for Tranquill and finished with seven tackles, two for loss - converged on quarterback Keenan Reynolds.
"We felt like Utupo gave us a little more ability to get off blocks," said Kelly, taking into account Rochell's strength to play on the inside. "Those are big, physical kids that can control the line of scrimmage but maybe not get off blocks the way you need to against this offense.
"Greer is a very smart kid and his attention to detail is very good. (Plus), he's the only guy we have."
Notre Dame also used walk-on Austin Larkin for a series. Kelly said Michael Deeb would get an opportunity to fill in for Schmidt, whose serious left ankle injury will sideline him for the balance of the season. Sophomore Doug Randolph does not appear to be an option at this time, at least not at the Mike linebacker position.
Sophomore Nyles Morgan likely will get the job moving forward after a four-tackle, one-tackle-for-loss performance in Schmidt's absence.
"He runs around," said Kelly of Morgan. "He's extremely athletic and as you can see, he gets to the football.
"He made two major mistakes: he let the fullback out on the two-point play. That's his. We repped that all week. He just had poor eye discipline on that. On the toss sweep, he overlapped the defense.
"But his trait is physical, and that trait shows itself. He made some real, big physical plays for us. He's going to be a good player. He's just a young guy that needs to continue to grow and he's going to get that opportunity because he's going to be put in that position now."
Now, the Irish prepare for an equally fast pace with Arizona State coming up, only this time, Notre Dame will have an even wider and deeper expanse of the field to cover, only more often through the air.
"We know Arizona State," Kelly said. "We played them last year. (Taylor Kelly) is one of the better quarterbacks in the country. Outstanding wide receiver play. Very good balance. Attack.
"It's a very good football team. There are not a lot of holes offensively. It's a well-put-together offensive scheme. It will be an exciting challenge."