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Notre Dame football: Irish should have no issues against Navy

By Daniel Morrison

SAN DIEGO, CA - OCTOBER 27: SDCCU stadium filed during the opening ceremony and national anthem singing prior to the 92nd playing between the Navy Midshipmen and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at SDCCU Stadium on October 27, 2018 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Kent Horner/Getty Images)
SAN DIEGO, CA - OCTOBER 27: SDCCU stadium filed during the opening ceremony and national anthem singing prior to the 92nd playing between the Navy Midshipmen and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at SDCCU Stadium on October 27, 2018 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Kent Horner/Getty Images) /
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WEST POINT, NY – DECEMBER 12: Diego Fagot #54 of the Navy Midshipmen kneels in the end zone before the start of a game against the Army Black Knights at Michie Stadium on December 12, 2020 in West Point, New York. (Photo by Dustin Satloff/Getty Images)
WEST POINT, NY – DECEMBER 12: Diego Fagot #54 of the Navy Midshipmen kneels in the end zone before the start of a game against the Army Black Knights at Michie Stadium on December 12, 2020 in West Point, New York. (Photo by Dustin Satloff/Getty Images) /

Notre Dame football: Irish should have no issues against Navy

Navy Defense

The Navy defense suffers from an inherent problem-the type of player Navy can recruit. This isn’t to insult Navy’s players, because they are talented and no one should have a bad word to say about any of them on a personal level. The simple reality, though, is that most players with the talent to play FBS football either can’t get into Navy or they don’t want to commit. This means that they’re undersized and less athletic than their opponents.

So, they need tricks to compete.

On defense, one of the main tricks that they pull is by having an offense that holds the ball for most of the game. This allows the defense to stay rested and take their time to regroup. When that fails, the defense often struggles. Under Brian Newberry, the Navy defense also tries to be deceitful. They want to trick opposing quarterbacks and offensive lines to create havoc.

This means that their front seven rarely line up in a traditional formation, they shift late and love to run unique blitz packages. This can be difficult for young teams to pick up against the Midshipmen.

Navy also has an excellent linebacker in Deigo Fagot. Fagot is a senior who was 1st team All-AAC in 2019 and 2nd team All-AAC in 2020. The captain has a legitimate shot at the Bednarik Award. You’ll know who he is by the old-school neck roll.

Navy’s defensive line is shockingly small, and they really shouldn’t get any push that doesn’t come from a deceptive blitz scheme. Their secondary, meanwhile, is liable to give up big plays. For the Midshipmen, it all comes down to out-scheming opponents on defense.

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