Notre Dame Football Preview: Navy Midshipmen Defense
By Andrew Hall
The Naval Academy is allowing 30.3 points per contest. This total ranks 90th in the FBS. In fact, this is the “worst” scoring defense the Irish have faced to date. With Notre Dame’s wide talent superiority and the fact that this Midshipmen defense is not great, the Fighting Irish should have their way on Saturday afternoon.
Defensive Linemen
The Midshipmen feature an undersized Defensive Line. With Notre Dame’s physical advantage up front, there should be no reason why the Irish cannot rush for over 300 yards.
Along the line, the Middies weigh in at 292, 304 and 257. This is a decent size Navy line. However, the Irish should push them around. Jarvis Polu, Jackson Pittman and Tyler Sayles will try to prevent that from happening.
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Linebacker
The Linebacker corps features a four-man group of Striker Jerry Thompson (Sr.), Mike Winn Howard (Sr.), Sam Micah Thomas (Sr.) and Raid D.J. Palmore.
Micah Thomas leads all Linebackers with 60 tackles. Thomas’ 60 tackles rank 2nd on the team.
D.J. Palmore leads the team in tackles for loss with 10.5. He definitely needs to be neutralized on the edge by the Irish Tight Ends.
Secondary
Tyris Wooten and Elijah Merchant hold down the Cornerback positions. Jarid Ryan and Sean Williams start at the Strong and Free Safety positions respectively.
Sean Williams leads the team in tackles with 63 total tackles on the season.
Unfortunately, this group ranks as the 91st passing defense, allowing 244.3 yards per game.
Bottom Line
The only way the Notre Dame football team does not completely dominate in this game is if they attempt to get too cute. Obviously, Wimbush needs to improve his passing. If the Irish get up by more than two touchdowns, they will definitely try and treat the game like a glorified practice. However, they cannot let the Midshipmen hang around. If they gain confidence, they will make it a game and it should not be.