The Navy Midshipmen sail into EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Florida to do battle with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The contest is set to get underway on Saturday, November 5th at 11:30 a.m. ET and will be shown on the CBS Network. As of now, the Fighting Irish are -7 point favorites and the game’s total rests at 67.
In last year’s meeting in South Bend, the Midshipmen turned the ball over on three different occasions and gave way to three C.J. Prosise rushing touchdowns. As a result, Navy was beaten by the Fighting Irish 41-24. After that affair, Notre Dame added to their dominate record against the Midshipmen. The Fighting Irish now lead the head-to-head series 76-12-1.
Navy (5-2):
The Midshipmen’s defense struggled to contain the South Florida Bulls last week, giving way to six touchdowns in seven first-half possessions. The Bulls racked-up over 600 yards of total offense and Navy fell on the road 45-52.
Some positives came from Navy’s performance. Even when down, the Midshipmen used their fifth ranked rushing attack to battle back behind their offensive leader Will Worth. This season, the Admiral-under-center has over 1,600 yards of total offense.
Will Worth has tossed the pigskin for just under 1,000 yards with six touchdowns and three interceptions. He also has ran the rock 162 times for 616 yards and an impressive 16 scores.
When Will Worth isn’t tucking the ball and running, he hands it off to a platoon of backs out of the back field. As a squad, they have amassed over 1,300 yards and 12 trips to the promised land. Chris High leads this group with 445 yards and five end zone appearances.
Navy doesn’t throw the ball around a lot, but when they do Will Worth looks to wide out Jamir Tillman to get the job done. Tillman has responded, catching a team-high 23 balls for 362 yards and a touchdown.
There’s no question that the Midshipmen are under-sized whenever their defense takes the field to compete. Their overall lack of size and speed showed against a fast and physical South Florida team last week. That being said, the Midshipmen rank 82nd in the nation, giving way to 28 points a contest.
Notre Dame (3-5):
Coach Brian Kelly’s team finally put together a complete game, despite blowing lead. The fighting Irish were efficient on offense, collecting 411 yards against Miami. Deshone Kizer also protected the ball throwing for 263 yards and two scores with no picks. For the 2016 season, he has completed 143 balls for a little over 2,000 yards with 16 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
The Fighting Irish like to stay balanced on offense, so they look to three tail backs to move the ball via the ground. Altogether, they have totaled 182 carries for over 1,000 yards and six scores. In fact, quarterback Deshone Kizer has pitched-in 316 yards and a team-high seven rushing touchdowns.
Equanimeous St. Brown and Torii Hunter Jr. are Deshone Kizer’s one-two punch through the air. The two speedy wide outs have reeled in 67 passes for 1,100 yards and nine touchdowns. As a unit, the Fighting Irish have over 1,600 yards and 16 trips to pay-dirt.
Notre Dame came into the Hurricane game ranked 125th in the country in sacks with just six in seven contests. Amazingly, they found a way to sack Hurricane’s quarterback Brad Kaaya five times. More importantly, Notre Dame ranks 60th in the country against the run, allowing 160 yards a game. Their front seven will be tested against the Midshipmen’s vaunted rushing attack.
Trends and Notes:
The Midshipmen are 5-2-1 ATS in their last 8 games overall.
The Fighting Irish are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games following a straight up win.
The Over is 10-3 in Midshipmen last 13 games overall.
The Under is 37-18-1 in the Fighting Irish last 56 games following a straight up win.
The Over is 6-0 in the last 6 meetings.
Game Prediction:
The Midshipmen showed a lot of salt in their come-back bid against South Florida last week. Nevertheless, their second half performance just wasn’t enough. Fortunately, they proved that they can come from behind with a ball control offense. The Midshipmen put up enough points to get the victory, but the defense was over-matched.
Notre Dame is playing on life support. With only three wins in 2016, the Fighting Irish need to win out to find themselves bowl bound. There was some improvement on the defensive side of the ball last week, but Notre Dame’s special teams were atrocious. The Fighting Irish will need a complete performance to beat the Midshipmen on Saturday.
This game is on neutral turf and both schools travel plenty of fans, so there won’t be a home field advantage in this one. The Fighting Irish are a -7 point favorite and that seems like to much for a 3-5 team on even ground.
Yes, Navy struggled with South Florida’s speed, but recovered and almost got the come-from-behind victory. This match-up could be a lot like the Midshipmen’s previous game. There should be plenty of points so the over 67 wouldn’t hurt any feelings, but take the midshipmen to cover the +7 in another come-back performance.
