Notre Dame football: 3 Keys to victory against Navy in Week 10
By Brad Weiss
The Notre Dame football team takes on Navy in Week 10 of the college football season, and here are three keys to victory against the Midshipmen.
When the Notre Dame football team takes on Navy this weekend, they will be a heavily-favored team and one that is playing its best football right now. Over the past two weeks, since coming out of the bye week, Notre Dame has looked like a different team, and a lot of that has to do with them fixing their issues upfront along the offensive line.
Navy is a strange team, as they do things offensively that the Irish won’t see the rest of the year, and here are three things Notre Dame football must do to win on Saturday.
Notre Dame football: 3 Keys to victory against Navy in Week 10
Force Navy to pass
Last weekend, the Navy Midshipmen got the victory over the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes and did so without completing a single pass. That is pretty crazy when you think about it, and against a defense like Notre Dame’s, that scheme may not work.
Notre Dame has to get Navy out of sync in their run game and force them to attempt some passes downfield. They have not proven they can throw, so getting them to do so could lead to some key turnovers.
Get out to an early lead
Whenever you are playing a lesser team, the goal is to get out to an early lead and stomp their confidence away. Notre Dame football is the better team and should win this game, but they have had trouble getting out to fast starts, and have let lesser teams hang in against them all season long.
Against Navy, they need to get out of the gates fast, continue to pound them and make this one a lopsided victory.
Protect the football
One thing that the Irish have to do on Saturday is protect the football, as you can never let lesser teams hang in by giving them more possessions. Navy is a team that will take advantage of field position, and milk a lot of clock, so protecting the football, and making them start well within their territory will be key on Saturday.
This is a game that the Irish should win easily, as they are 22-point favorites, and have way more talent on both sides of the ball. However, we have seen Navy give teams fits, including No. 2 Cincinnati a few weeks back, so getting out to an early lead and putting them away will be key this weekend inside Notre Dame Stadium.