NAVY RUNNING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME AGAINST THE RUN
In nine of the 10 seasons Navy has faced Brian Kelly’s Notre Dame teams, it finished with at least 280 yards rushing, including 281 this year. What was far more pertinent is while the Irish built a 38-0 lead with 1:30 left in the first half, the Midshipmen had 29 carries for 79 yards (2.7 yards per carry) and lost three fumbles that helped set up 21 Notre Dame points.
After that it was all window dressing, but Navy still was 77 yards short of its No. 1-ranked national average of 358 yards rushing per contest.
Notre Dame’s front line aggressively controlled the point of attack by defeating blocks, but particular outstanding in their pursuit and reads were junior Mike linebacker Drew White (team high 10 tackles to go with a fumble recovery) and fifth-year senior Buck linebacker Asmar Bilal (five solo stops, second to White’s six, with one for a loss, plus a fumble recovery of his own).
Navy attempted to establish the speed option with quarterback Malcolm Perry along the perimeter, as he had 10 of Navy’s first 14 carries. However, on two of them where the lanes were closed, he lost fumbles forced by senior end Khalid Kareem.
Advantage: Notre Dame
