Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com NOV. 14, 2016 39 Army's starting defensive line averages just 253.3 pounds and its backups average just 250.4 pounds, while the starting outside linebackers average just 226.5 pounds. Advantage: Even NOTRE DAME PASSING GAME VS. ARMY PASS DEFENSE Army has also been stout in the air, holding its first eight opponents to just 163.0 yards per game, 10.6 yards per completion and 5.82 yards per at- tempt. Each of those statistics ranked in the top 10 nationally. The Black Knights also ranked ninth in pass efficiency defense and were tied for eight na- tionally with 12 interceptions through nine weeks. Aukerman led the team with five sacks, and sophomore outside linebacker Kenneth Brinson was second with four. As bad as Army's opponents were at running the ball, they were even worse through the air. Only two of Army's first eight opponents ranked in the top 75 in passing offense, and five of them ranked 90th or lower. Notre Dame listed 35th in the country in passing offense (263.8 yards per game) through the sea- son's first nine weeks. The Irish also ranked 15th in yards per completion (14.2) and 29th in yards per attempt (8.1). Kizer struggled in losses to North Carolina State and Stanford, but he bounced back with a solid performance in Notre Dame's 30-27 victory over Miami. He passed for 263 yards and a pair of scores in the win while not turning the ball over. Through nine weeks, Kizer ranked 30th nation- ally with 16 passing touchdowns, 34th with 2,038 passing yards and 32nd with a passer efficiency rating of 146.5. Notre Dame's top pass catcher is sophomore wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown, who through eight games ranked 27th nationally in receiving yards per game (85.4), 31st in yards per reception (18.5) and 22nd in receiving touchdowns (seven). St. Brown will be matched up against true freshman cornerback Elijah Riley. Advantage: Notre Dame SPECIAL TEAMS Much like Notre Dame, Army has been a bit erratic with its special teams in its first eight con- tests. The Black Knights ranked 23rd nationally in kick return defense and 40th in punt returns, but was 70th in punt return defense and 102nd in kick returns. Army has used two kickers this season, and the duo of Mitchell Howard and Blake Wilson went just 5 of 10 on field goals through eight games with a long of 39 yards. After eight games, Notre Dame ranked 30th na- tionally in punt returns, 38th in kick returns and 49th in kick return defense despite giving up a 96-yard touchdown return against Duke. The Irish have been abysmal at defending punts, giving up 16.8 yards per return, which ranked them 124th out of 128 teams. Sophomore kicker Justin Yoon made just four of his first seven field goals to start the season, but converted his next five attempts. That included a 23-yard game-winner against Miami with just 30 seconds remaining in the contest. Advantage: Notre Dame COACHING Monken spent eight years as an assistant under current Georgia Tech head coach Paul Johnson, where he learned to master the triple option. After the 2009 season, he left Georgia Tech to take over at Georgia Southern. He led the Eagles to a 38-16 record, while guiding them to the FCS national semifinals in each of his first three seasons. Monken inherited an Army program that had won just eight games in the three years prior to his arrival. Through just eight games in his third season at West Point, Monken had already led the Black Knights to 11 wins. Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly struggled with the option in his first season with the Irish, with Notre Dame getting blasted 35-17 by Navy. From 2011-15, Notre Dame went 6-0 against triple- option teams. Advantage: Notre Dame INTANGIBLES Monken has done an excellent job in his third season with Army, but Notre Dame is without question the biggest and most talented team the Black Knights have faced thus far in the 2016 season. Army has benefitted from playing teams not ac- customed to defending the triple option, but that is not the case with Notre Dame. Army will be the fourth triple-option offense the Irish have faced in the last two seasons, and the Black Knight version of the attack is something Kelly and his staff are used to seeing. Advantage: Notre Dame GAME PREVIEW: ARMY Offense Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. WR 82 Edgar Poe 6-4 218 Sr. 87 Christian Poe 6-3 190 So. TE 85 Quinten Parker 6-1 255 So. 47 Dalton Mendenhall 6-2 235 Sr. LT 72 Colby Enegren 6-2 279 Sr. 62 Rick Kurz 6-2 265 So. LG 60 Justin Gilbert 6-5 295 Sr. 73 Jaxson Deaton 6-4 300 Fr. or 76 Tim Gant 6-3 265 So. C 65 Bryce Holland 6-2 289 Jr. 66 Joshua Boylan 6-2 253 Jr. RG 70 Mike Houghton 6-4 257 Jr. 59 Mike Johnson 6-3 262 Fr. RT 78 Brett Toth 6-6 259 Jr. 62 Rick Kurz 6-2 265 So. or 74 Austin Schuffert 6-3 240 So. QB 17 Ahmad Bradshaw 5-11 196 Jr. or 7 Chris Carter 5-9 197 So. FB 40 Andy Davidson 6-2 220 So. 33 Darnell Woolfolk 5-9 220 So. or 13 Cole Macek 5-11 220 So. A-RB 3 Jordan Asberry 5-9 185 So. 32 Kell Walker 5-9 195 Fr. or 5 Joe Walker 6-0 204 Sr. or 8 Christian Drake 5-10 178 So. T-RB 22 Tyler Campbell 5-11 170 So. 30 Elijah St. Hilaire 5-9 196 Sr. or 6 John Trainor 5-11 190 Jr. WR 81 Jeff Ejekam 6-1 219 Sr. 80 Glen Coates 6-0 175 Fr. Defense Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. SAM 21 Alex Aukerman 6-1 228 Jr. 2 James Gibson 6-1 200 So. END 59 John Voit 6-3 247 So. 97 Amadeo West 6-2 220 Fr. NG 58 Andrew McLean 6-4 272 Jr. or 77 Raymond Wright 6-3 265 So. or 99 Cordarrell Davis 6-0 240 So. END 90 Eddy Ruzga 6-3 241 Sr. 57 Jordan Smith 6-3 258 Sr. or 91 Wunmi Oyetuga 6-4 269 So. RUSH 56 Kenneth Brinson 6-2 225 So. 19 James Nachtigal 6-0 205 So. MIKE 11 Andrew King 6-0 246 Sr. 36 Scott Washle 6-1 238 Jr. WILL 39 Jeremy Timpf 6-1 225 Sr. 42 Calen Holt 6-0 210 So. BC 23 Elijah Riley 6-0 193 Fr. 29 Mike Reynolds 5-10 180 So. BS 9 Xavier Moss 6-2 197 Sr. 38 Cameron Jones 6-0 194 Fr. FS 20 Rhyan England 5-10 192 Jr. 4 Max Regan 6-2 185 So. FC 1 Marcus Hyatt 5-10 170 So. 14 Jalen Sharp 6-1 182 So. ARMY DEPTH CHART Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. K 18 Blake Wilson 5-9 145 Jr. 99 Nick Schrage 6-0 167 So. P 98 JD Mote 5-10 208 So. 99 Nick Schrage 6-0 167 So. H 17 Ahmad Bradshaw 5-11 196 Jr. 7 Chris Carter 5-9 197 So. Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. LS 89 Scott Flanick 6-2 215 So. 48 Clay Barton 5-10 185 Jr. PR 16 Malik McGue 5-8 170 Fr. 6 John Trainor 5-11 190 Jr. KR 22 Tyler Campbell 5-11 170 So. 30 Elijah St. Hilaire 5-9 196 Sr. Special Teams