GAMEDAY BREAKDOWN
Navy at No. 19 Notre Dame
Buy Photo
|
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
WHEN: 2:30 p.m.
WHERE: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, Ind. (80,795).
Forecast: Partly cloudy, mid-50s.
TV: WRC (Channel 4), WBAL (Channel 11).
RADIO: WWFD (820 AM), WZAA (1050 AM), WBAL (1090 AM), WNAV (1430 AM), WFED (1500 AM), WTRI (1520 AM).
RECORDS: Midshipmen 6-3; Fighting Irish 6-2.
COACHES: Ken Niumatalolo (14-9, second year); Charlie Weis (35-23, fifth year).
WHEN NAVY HAS THE BALL
The Midshipmen's offense should get a boost with the return of junior quarterback Ricky Dobbs, who leads the nation in touchdowns scored (16). Dobbs is a physical runner and a stronger passer -- the Fighting Irish discovered that last year, when he led Navy to two quick touchdowns in the final two minutes of a 27-21 loss. Junior Vince Murray has settled in at fullback, reeling off three straight 100-yard games, but the Midshipmen likely will be without one of their top outside threats, speedy sophomore slotback Marcus Curry (pulled quadriceps). Over the past three games, Notre Dame's defense has given up just three touchdowns on the ground.
WHEN NOTRE DAME HAS THE BALL
Navy's players and coaches have spent the week praising Notre Dame's offensive weapons. Quarterback Jimmy Clausen, who has thrown for 18 touchdowns with just two interceptions, "reminds me of the way [Brett] Favre was playing when he was a senior" at Southern Mississippi, Midshipmen defensive coordinator Buddy Green said. Wide receivers Golden Tate and Michael Floyd, who have 14 touchdown catches between them, "seem almost impossible to tackle," cornerback Blake Carter said. According to Weis, this is "by far" the best Navy defense he's seen in his tenure as coach; eight of the Midshipmen's 11 defensive starters played in the team's historic win over Notre Dame in 2007.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Onside kick coverage was the first special teams issue that Notre Dame discussed this week, Weis said; in last year's game, Navy successfully executed two onside kicks in a 30-second span. Freshman place kicker Nick Tausch has converted a school-record 14 straight field goals for the Fighting Irish. Navy's kickers -- Joe Buckley (field goals and PATs), Jon Teague (kickoffs) and Kyle Delahooke (punts) -- have been solid, but its coverage teams have had some breakdowns, most recently last Saturday against Temple, when it gave up a 100-yard kickoff return.
COACHES
Niumatalolo was an assistant in 2007 when Navy ended its 43-year losing streak to the Fighting Irish with a thrilling 46-44 victory in triple overtime. This is the Midshipmen's first trip to South Bend since that win, and it will be the third time this season that they've played in front of a road crowd of larger than 55,000. Weis is faced with far fewer questions about his job security than he was at this time last season. It was against Navy in 2008 that he took over play-calling duties, which he continues to perform.
-- Camille Powell
