Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/204831
on paper revisited set the tone with his aggressive 41-yard scoring run through the middle in the first quarter, but freshman Tarean Folston stole the show with his 18 carries for 140 yards — with 11 of the totes coming in the fourth quarter for 91 yards, highlighted by the one-yard gamewinner over the top. He is the best pure runner on the team, inside or outside with his north-south, downhill running, shiftiness, explosiveness and yards after contact. Junior Cam McDaniel (seven carries for 52 yards and one TD) resembles a skier going through a slalom course with his hip movement and cutbacks. The 264 yards rushing and 7.3 yards per carry speak for themselves. Advantage: Notre Dame Notre Dame Passing Game Vs. Navy Pass Defense Senior quarterback Tommy Rees' two interceptions (one aided by a TJ Jones slip) were setbacks, but his 12-of-20 effort for 242 yards with two scores and no sacks helped atone for the mistakes. Most effective was the bootleg pass to the tight end, which included two 17-yard completions to junior Ben Koyack (one for a touchdown) and 16 yards to junior Troy Niklas. A productive running game made those play-action passes more effective, as did Navy pinching too close to the line. To Notre Dame's credit, it didn't get greedy with the pass either because it was confident it could run consistently against the smaller Midshipmen. Advantage: Notre Dame Special Teams A missed extra point by Navy right before halftime left it ahead only 20-17, and it forced the Midshipmen thereafter to always think touchdown instead of field goal when down 24-20, 31-27 and 38-34. Notre Dame kicker Kyle Brindza's lone field goal (26 yards) helped make a difference. However, a 44-yard kickoff return by Navy slot back Marcus Thomas set up its first touchdown, and a 49yard return by Thomas positioned the Midshipmen at midfield on its final drive. By lou somogyi Navy did mishandle its second kickoff return that forced it to start from its 7-yard line. Also in the first quarter, an illegal block brought back a TJ Jones punt return that reached midfield. Advantage: Even Third-Down Conversions Navy dominated the time of possession (37:36 to 22:24) because the Irish defense was unable to get off the field on third down. The Midshipmen converted 10 of 16 (62.5 percent), including third-and-six on one touchdown drive, third-and-seven on another and fourth-and-four during its final touchdown drive. Notre Dame was 2 of 5 (40.0 percent) — but on the go-ahead scoring march Rees did connect with Niklas for 28 yards across the middle on third-and-nine from the Navy 48. Advantage: Navy Turnovers Navy won this battle 2-0 with a pair of interceptions. However, a Navy fumble on a toss sweep that the Mids recovered on their final possession put them in a difficult third-and-14 situation that they weren't quite able to convert. Advantage: Navy Summary This is one of those situations where you ask, "Did Navy play an almost perfect game?" or "Was Notre Dame not properly prepared to deal with the triple-option?" Reality is probably somewhere in between. Navy has to be credited with its resourcefulness, but Notre Dame also seemed to have no answers on defense. Just when you think it has the triple option figured out after 56-14 and 50-10 victories in the last two meetings, it has to scratch and claw again to the end. The Irish do seem to find a way. The defense saved the USC game two weeks ago, and this time the offense had to do its part. One of these days, special teams will have to emerge.