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Navy could give ND fits on Saturday. by mkovac

OK, follow me here. It's going to be a bumpy ride.

Let me lay the groundwork.

Lou's teams sometimes struggled with Navy for the first two series. Navy would march down the field and either give up the ball on downs or kick a field goal to take an early lead, causing me to start looking for the Pepto Bismol.

And, remember 1988? (see below - sorry for the poor quality) ND played probably its worst game against Navy, winning 22-7. It was a frustrating game to listen to on the radio. I kept wondering when ND would break the game wide open. Didn't happen.

And, most of us remember when Ara decided to retire: it was during the 1974 game against Navy. Notre Dame won that game 14-6, but it was kept close by Navy's punter, John "Boomer" Stufflebeem, who earned his nickname because of his booming punts. He kept sailing his punts deep against Notre Dame, pinning the Irish deep into their own territory, frustrating Ara, who decided that this was going to be his last season.

Ah, yes. 1974. What a year. ND squeaked past Navy and then we got our hat handed to us in the LA Coliseum by USC. I remember that day. I've never heard the Coliseum so loud as that day.

It's hard to fathom that ND ended the season with a win over #2 Alabama in the Orange Bowl, but we did.

And then, those losses to Navy under Charlie Weis. Ugh. Double Ugh.

Football is a game dominated by the quarterback. If a team has a good quarterback, they will almost always have a very good season. Witness LSU under when Joe Burrow led his team to a National Championship, and how the wheels came off after he left.

The service academies have had success with option football ever since Ken Hatfield, and then Fisher DeBerry instituted it at the Air Force Academy. Soon, the other service academies followed.

I remember listening to the December 31, 1985 Bluebonnet Bowl when Air Force beat the Texas Longhorns 24-16. Bart Weiss was the Zoomies quarterback and he was a good one. One play that stood out was when Weiss called his own number and ran right up the middle and ran for 40 plus yards, untouched, for a touchdown.

And, let's not talk about that Air Force victory over ND in 1985. I witnessed that one. A typical Gerry Faust blow job.

So, what should we expect on Saturday? Well, Navy comes into this game 2-6. I watched part of their game against Tulsa. Navy won that game 20-17, but I was not impressed by their quarterback. If Navy does not have a good quarterback, then he gets pounded and tackled in the backfield before he has a chance to execute more than the first part of the triple option, the fullback plunge. It's a long day for a Navy quarterback if he's not very good. Triple option football. First option, fullback plunge. Second option, take the ball out of the fullback's gut and keep it yourself and dive off tackle. Third option, fake the dive off tackle and pitch the ball to the trailing running back. Not too much mention of the fourth option which is to fake the run and pedal back and pass the ball. If you are not a quick quarterback and not a great ball handler, then as you are pedaling back, before you have time to plant your feet to set up for a pass, you are being pushed backward by an onrushing defensive tackle or a blitzing linebacker or safety and you are feeling your sternum being pushed into your spine and you are trying to remember if it's day or night and whether your girlfriend is Teresa from next door or Mother Teresa.

I anticipate that it's going to be a long day for Navy's quarterback, and that ND's defense might score off of a fumble or an interception, or both. At any rate, I predict 33 points by our offense and 14 by our defense, and 10 points by Navy's offense in the first half and 13 by Navy in the second half, with a final score of ND 47 - Navy 23.