Cavalier Corner Digital

navy preview OCt. 30, 2013 Leveling Off ✦ Game Facts The Midshipmen have had an up-and-down year in close battles By Dan Murphy T he inherent disadvantages that come with fielding a football team at a military academy leave those teams with a thin margin for error. Navy is at its best when it minimizes mistakes and wins close games. So far this season, the Midshipmen have been hit and miss in those categories. Navy finished 8-5 last season largely because it was 4-0 in games decided by a touchdown or less. The year before that, Ken Niumatalolo's team finished 5-7 because it lost five of its seven one-possession games. The 2013 season could go in either direction depending on how well the Midshipmen are able to clean up the small mistakes that have had huge consequences during the month of October. Through the first third of the regular season, Niumatalolo and Navy looked like they were headed to one of their best years together since he took control of the program in 2008. In recent weeks, though, a slew of uncharacteristic mistakes and some untimely injuries have brought the Midshipmen back to Earth. Navy sits at 4-3 with lighter side of the schedule on deck after this weekend's trip to Notre Dame. Niumatalolo's team gave up 35 and 45 points in recent losses to Duke and Toledo, which is too much for a grinding, triple- Senior inside linebacker Cody Peterson has averaged a team-best 10.3 tackles per game during Navy's 4-3 start. photo courtesy navy option offense to keep pace. Big plays have been the big culprit in those losses. In a surprising 35-7 blowout, Duke completed three passes of at least 20 yards, one of them for a 27-yard score, and had six runs go for at least 10 yards. The next week Toledo squeaked out a 45-44 double overtime victory thanks to touchdown runs of 52 and 44 yards. The game-winning score was a 20-yard touchdown pass. Bill Wagner, who covers the Midshipmen for the in Annapolis, said Navy's success on defense is predicated on bottling up gamechanging plays. "Navy is always going to be undersized and not quite as big, fast, strong as its opponents," Wagner said. "The option can equalize things offensively, but there's no defensive option if you know what I mean." The Irish offensive line outweighs Navy's defensive line by an average of 55 pounds per man this year. Navy defensive coordinator Buddy Green tries to eliminate his group's size disadvantage by keeping the ball in front of them long enough to force the opponent to make a mistake. They conservatively funnel the ball toward the inside linebacker in the 3-4 lineup. Senior Cody Peterson is the man waiting at the bottom of that funnel this year. He is averaging 10.3 tackles per game. The strategy is not much different than what Irish defensive coordinator Bob Diaco employed last year while trying to protect his inexperienced cornerbacks. Make the offense snap the ball as many times as possible, and once they get into the red zone use the shorter field as an extra defender. Date: Nov. 2, 2013. Site: Notre Dame Stadium (80,795). Kickoff: 3:42 p.m. ET. Television: NBC. Radio: This broadcast can be heard on SIRIUS Satellite Radio (channel 129). Series Facts: This is the 87th meeting between Notre Dame and Navy. The Irish hold a 73-12-1 advantage over the Midshipmen and won last year's meeting 50-10 in Dublin, Ireland. Coaches: Notre Dame — Brian Kelly (34‑13, fourth season); Navy — Ken Niumatalolo (44‑29, sixth season). Noting Navy: Since 2011, the winner of this annual meeting has taken home the Rip Miller Trophy; Miller was one of the "Seven Mules" who lined up in front of Notre Dame's famous "Four Horsemen," and he then went on to spend more than three decades as a coach and administrator at the Naval Academy, leading Navy to its first win over the Irish in 1933 … Notre Dame's 43-game win streak against the Midshipmen, snapped in 2007, was the longest for any annual head-to-head matchup in college football history … Notre Dame has scored 50 or more points in each of the last two meetings (56-14 and 50-10); the only other time that has happened in the series' history was in 1993-94 when the Irish won 58-27 and 58-21. The problem recently for Navy is that it's been the one making more mistakes than its opponents. The Midshipmen, usually among the least penalized teams in the country, had more infractions and more turnovers than

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