Notre Dame Football: 3 Bold Predictions vs. Navy

Navy rushes for 300+ yards

How much of a bold prediction is this? Depends on how you look at it. 309.4 rushing yards is what the Midshipman currently average per game. It’s Navy, it’s the triple option and it’s what you expect.

This becomes a lot bolder when you look at it from an opponent’s standpoint. Navy hasn’t faced an opponent anywhere close to the level of Notre Dame. They have not faced a single ranked opponent to this point.

Looking at Notre Dame’s defense, the talent that they possess, this should be a horrendous day for Navy’s offense.

The Midshipmen rank third in the nation in rushing yards behind only Georgia Tech and Army. It’s expected that Navy would be ranked that high based off their system. Either way you look at it, this Navy offense is not as good as they’ve been in the past:

2013 – 325 yards
2014 – 338 yards
2015 – 326 yards
2016 – 311 yards
2017 – 351 yards

In the last five seasons, this is the worst rushing offense Navy has had. The reason why this is a problem? Navy doesn’t have the passing game that they have relied on in recent years.

For a team that passes the ball only a handful of times, those few passes have been the difference in the last few seasons. A surprise pass over the top changed a lot of games for the Midshipmen. This season, that’s not a strong tool in Garret Lewis’s arsenal.

With not a lot in favor in Navy’s offense, they will still have their basic 300-yard rushing day. They play slow and grueling football. No matter how great your defense is, Navy will be able to wear them out, even off of a bye week.

It will not matter what the score is, Notre Dame could blow the gates off of this game early, or it could be a mirror image of Pitt and go down to the wire. Navy will stay the course and get their rushing yards just like they always do.