Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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30 NOV. 27, 2017 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED What Worked Defense Goes On The Attack: One mistake many teams make when facing the option is to play a read-and- react or flowing style of de- fense. Notre Dame defensive coordinator Mike Elko chose to attack the Navy offense, and it paid big dividends. Navy was able to get its yards (277), but it was unable to rip off the long runs it is ac- customed to because of Notre Dame's aggressive game plan. The Irish defense was able to attack the quarterback and not only keep him to a lot of short runs, but it also forced him to get pitches out quicker than he wanted, which allowed the rest of the defense to rally to the football. The longest outside run for Navy was just 13 yards, and the ability to force the early pitches and the man- ner in which the defense attacked the Navy toss sweeps were the primary reasons why. Navy ran the football 72 times against Notre Dame, and 18 of those runs were for one yard or less — Navy gained one yard, zero yards or lost yardage on 25.0 percent of its carries. Notre Dame gave up two yards or less on 30 of those runs, holding Navy to two yards or less on 41.7 percent of its rushes. Going after the Navy offense was a major reason for Notre Dame's success, and if not for far too many missed tackles (see below), those numbers would have been even more impressive. Ground Game Sets Up Pass Game … Eventually: Notre Dame has not been productive throwing the foot- ball this season, ranking 108th na- tionally in passing offense through its first 10 games. That made the decision to come out throwing on its first three plays of the game on a rainy day that much more confusing. Notre Dame returned to its ground game on the next series, but two straight red zone incompletions forced the Irish to settle for a field goal. The Irish offense finally went back to the ground on its next pos- session, running the ball on eight of nine snaps. That success started to pay off in the third quarter, with the Irish rush- ing attack beginning to pound on Navy — which opened up the pass game when it mattered most. After Navy took a 17-10 lead in the third quarter, Notre Dame came right back with four straight runs, including a 30-yard gain from junior running back Josh Adams. On the fifth play, offensive coordi- nator Chip Long called a play-action pass, and Navy bit hard on the run, which opened up sophomore wide- out Kevin Stepherson for a 30-yard touchdown to tie the game. Long went back to the play action on Notre Dame's next series, and ju- nior quarterback Brandon Wimbush hit Stepherson for a 23-yard gain on a corner route with Navy playing the run action. Facing a third-and-10 later in the drive, Long motioned Stepherson to the left, and with Navy still keying the run, Stepherson was able to find room to run on a screen pass that gained 18 yards. Notre Dame scored the game-winning touchdown three plays later. What Didn't Work Early Pass Game Woes Stall The Offense: Notre Dame's passing at- tack was off early in the game, with Wimbush completing just one of his first five passes. Notre Dame moved its sec- ond possession into the red zone, but again the pass game faltered. Wimbush missed wide-open junior tight end Alizé Mack in the flats on second down and didn't see sophomore running back Tony Jones Jr. wide open on a wheel route on third down. Those two misses forced the Irish to kick a field goal. It wasn't until late in the second quarter that the pass game finally found a rhythm. Wimbush completed two 23- yard passes to put the Irish in the red zone before he fin- ished the drive off with a two- yard touchdown run. Once the pass game produced, the Irish were able to move the ball with ease. But by sputtering for most of two quarters, it kept the points down and allowed Navy to stay in the game. Too Many Missed Tackles and Missed Opportunities: The main culprit for the Notre Dame defense having to stay too long on the field was far too many blown stops and missed chances for big plays. On Navy's first drive, junior cor- nerback Shaun Crawford came into the backfield untouched on second- and-five with an opportunity to make a stop for at least a four-yard loss. He whiffed, and instead Navy was in third-and-two, which ulti- mately led to a first down. When Notre Dame fumbled a punt after the defense forced a three- and-out, the defense had Navy in a fourth-and-four. Sophomore defensive end Khalid Kareem kept contain and had the Navy reverse read perfectly, but he missed the tackle and allowed the Midshipmen ball carrier to convert the first down. Navy eventually scored on the drive. ✦ Navy: What Worked And What Didn't Work CLOSER LOOK BRYAN DRISKELL Bryan Driskell has been a football analyst for Blue & Gold Illustrated since April 2015. He can be reached at bdriskell@blueandgold.com. The aggressive, attacking Irish defense limited Navy's potent triple option to one yard or less on 25.0 percent of its 72 running plays. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA