EDITORIAL BY GRAYDON FOX

Overview:

On Saturday, October 27^th, the (7-0) Notre Dame Fighting Irish will take on the (2-5) Navy Midshipmen at San Diego County Credit Union Stadium.

The Crowd:

The Crowd projects a final score of Notre Dame 31.4 – Navy 24.4 with an over/under of 55.7.

Lou Holtz and Mark May:

Lou is predicting a final score of Notre Dame 51 – Navy 10.

Mark is predicting a final score of Notre Dame 42 – Navy 17.

2018-19 Statistics (130 total teams):

Passing offense: Notre Dame 248.6 YPG > Navy 78.3 YPG

Rushing offense: Notre Dame 179.1 YPG > Navy 310.1 YPG

Scoring offense: Notre Dame 32.6 PPG > Navy 29.1 PPG

Scoring defense: Notre Dame 18.7 PPG > Navy 34.3 PPG

Passing defense: Notre Dame 214.7 YPG > Navy 253.7 YPG

Rushing defense: Notre Dame 126.1 YPG > Navy 166.0 YPG

Turnover Margin Per Game: Navy +0.7 > Notre Dame +0.4

Summary:

Notre Dame is a perfect (7-0) to start the season with wins over #14 Michigan, Ball State, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, #7 Stanford, #24 Virginia Tech, and Pittsburgh.  Notre Dame is coming off their bye week after their narrow 19-13 escape against Pittsburgh.  The Fighting Irish rank 12^th in points per game (32.6) and 21^st in scoring defense (18.7 PPG).  Notre Dame’s offense has really taken off since Head Coach Brian Kelly made the decision to start quarterback Ian Book over Brandon Wimbush.  Book has completed 75% of his passes for 1,151 yards with 11 touchdowns to 3 interceptions.  Dexter Williams, Tony Jones Jr., and Jafar Armstrong have combined to rush for 892 yards and 12 touchdowns.  Miles Boykin leads the team in receiving with 512 yards and 4 touchdowns.  The Fighting Irish defense ranks 50^th against the pass (214.7 YPG) and 30^th against the run (126.1 YPG).

Navy is (2-5) to start the season with victories over Memphis and Lehigh.  They were defeated by Hawaii, SMU, Air Force, Temple, and Houston.  The Midshipmen rank 64^th in points per game (29.1) and 107^th in scoring defense (34.3 PPG).  Navy employs the triple option offense and are obviously a run heavy team.  Quarterback Garret Lewis has completed 49% of his passes for 346 yards with 2 touchdowns to 1 interception.  Lewis is also the team’s third leading rusher with 244 yards and 4 touchdowns.  Malcolm Perry has rushed for 729 yards and 7 touchdowns.  The Midshipmen defense ranks 102^nd against the pass (253.7 YPG) and 66^th against the run (166.0 YPG).  Navy ranks 29^th in turnover margin (+0.7).

Bottom Line:

Navy is having a down season and Notre Dame has had two weeks to prepare for their triple option attack.  Navy has struggled defensively, especially against the pass, where Ian Book should be able to easily exploit them.  Four of the last five contests between these teams have been decided by ten or fewer points but Navy is not as talented as they’ve been in recent years.

Notre Dame wins 41-14

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