Cue Lou | by Jay

Right about now, nobody could use a pep talk more than Charlie Weis.

"Charlie, nothing's ever as good as it seems. And nothing's ever as bad as it seems. Somewhere in the middle is where reality falls.

Now it's been a bad year. We just lost to the University of the Navy and it broke one of the biggest streaks in college football history. But we can't worry about Navy, that's in the past. It's not like they can break the streak again.

Charlie you've made some mistakes. With these young guys on the team you needed to teach them to block and tackle and that's all about practice and repetition. A fisherman without tackle dudn't catch any fish, but a linebacker who can't tackle loses football games. You've made some mistakes. But everybody makes mistakes. When Notre Dame burnt to the ground, Father Sorin said his biggest mistake was that he didn't built it big enough. And when this team has been broken down and defeated, you're going to work harder to build the team back bigger and better than ever before, because that's the only way you can achieve greatness.

Never forget you've got a family. I'm not talking about your wife and kids, I'm talking about the Notre Dame family. One of the special things about the University of Notre Dame is that they will pick you up when you've stumbled. Now when you gather 'round the Thanksgiving dinner table, do you kick out the uncle who backed over the family dog? No, you don't. He made a mistake. And poor Rover paid the price. But you stand by your family, even when they make mistakes. Our fans may be disgruntled. Hell, I'm disgruntled, Charlie. But it's because I and everybody else under the Dome want to win just as badly as you. The good thing is football fans have a shorter memory than a goldfish. People may not remember your two BCS trips as well as they should, but the beauty of it is they'll forget these losses as soon as a couple wins start popping up.

The first step in winning the football game tomorrow is believing you can win the football game. Charlie, when the big ball in New York dropped at midnight last January your coaching abilities didn't go out the window. You've had a lifetime of success and that doesn't disappear overnight. Look around you, you're surrounded by a staff that didn't come here to lose, and players that didn't come here to lose. And we know you didn't come here to lose. So look on the bright side. You're all on the same page! That's a foundation for success. You believe you can win, your coaches believe you can win, your players believe you can win. And even when the players are doubting themselves you can inspire them to win. When you squeeze an orange, you get orange juice. But when you squeeze a Notre Dame player, you get a winner, because that's what's inside us all.

Now tomorrow, we've got a challenge. The Air Force Academy is a tough and disciplined group. They execute well and they've got more heart than just about any team I've ever seen. We're gonna get their best. But you can rest easy knowing they don't get to use their jets or sidewinder missiles on the field of play. Tomorrow, they're just another group of guys in pads. And I guarantee you this: they don't have a monopoly on heart. Because if I can bank on anything this year it's that this Notre Dame team does not quit. We have players who believe. They believe in the University of Notre Dame, and they believe in their coaches. They want to win, every second of every game.

When Rockne gave his famous talk he said let's get out there and win one for the Gipper. Well, we're at 1-8 right now, so we got our One. But nobody ever said we had to win just One for the Gipper. We can win a couple more and here's how it's gonna happen.

Tomorrow I want you to find a play that's successful. And then I want you to find another one. You string a couple of those plays together and you get a first down. A couple of those and you've got a touchdown. A couple of those and you've got a win. And a couple of those . . . well that's how you get a championship. But don't forget, it all started with that one successful play.

And always remember this: You're only one win away from starting an undefeated streak. Now get out there and beat Air Force."

Bird-doggin' | by Jay

Quick update on an earlier post. We had invited Mike James of the Navy blog The Birddog to add his thoughts and analysis to our dissection of the Navy attack a couple of posts below, and he graciously accepted. I've updated the post with his notes, which clarify many of the nuances of Paul Johnson's offense and provide quite a bit of insight into how it all works. Take a gander.

Irish Seek Split With Academies | by Brian

Troy Calhoun: the strong, silent type

In the wake of a demoralizing loss to Navy, Notre Dame hopes to rebound when they host the Air Force Falcons this Saturday. It's a new-look Air Force squad, with a new head man on the sideline. After 23 years at the helm, Fisher DeBerry has given way to '50's matinee idol Troy Calhoun.

Calhoun's coaching pedigree includes stints as an assistant to Evil Genius Mike Shanahan with the Denver Broncos, as well as getting David Carr killed as offensive coordinator of the Houston Texans.

For the second straight week, the Irish must deal with an option offense, this time led by Air Force quarterback Shaun Carney. The Falcons average 395.2 yards per game, 272.8 of them on the ground. With 122.4 ypg passing, they are a bigger threat in the air than Navy, with the possible exception of Navy pilot Pete Mitchell. The Academy's ground game is led by 1100-yard rusher Chad Hall, with an impressive 12 rushing touchdowns on the season. Carney is second in rushing with 411 yards and three scores.

The Air Force defense, though better than Navy's, is again below most of the teams Notre Dame faced through the first eight games. They allow just under 142 ypg rushing, but are also susceptible to the pass, allowing over 200 ypg. With Top Jimmy back in the starting lineup this week, this game could be a showcase for talented freshmen Clausen, Duval "The Ugandan Giant" Kamara, and Armando Allen.

Idris Leppla, May I Have Your Attention Please?

The United States Air Force Academy is affiliated with the United States Air Force.

Beau Morgan: A Worthy Foe

Yippee ki yay, Mister Falcon.

In 1996, the Falcons came into Notre Dame Stadium and defeated the Irish 20-17, in Notre Dame's first-ever overtime game. No Irish fan in attendance will ever forget the name of Falcon quarterback Beau Morgan, who practically willed Air Force to victory.

Though Morgan completed only 5 of 11 passes for 51 yards, he rushed 23 times for 183 yards and a touchdown, picking up crucial, spirit-crushing yards seemingly every time he touched the ball. He also conducted the Band of the Fighting Irish in its halftime show The Songs of Billy Joel, performed the Heimlich maneuver on a choking fan sitting in Section 28, and filled in for Officer Tim McCarthy for that day's safe driving announcement:

"May I have your attention please? This is Deputy Beau Morgan of the Indiana State Police. Whether it's driving your car back to Colorado Springs or driving your football team down the field for a winning score, it requires alertness, concentration, and quick reflexes. So remember, if you're headed for the Rocky Mountains, lay off the Busch."

For all this, and so much more, we here at BGS give a tip of the cap, and coveted Worthy Foe Status, to former Air Force quarterback Beau Morgan. He is one of only two Worthy Foes for the 1996 season, joining former Ohio State running back That Damn Pepe Pearson.

When Coach DeBerry's Career Began to Short Circuit

Fisher DeBerry and Steve Guttenberg plead
their case for using robots to the NCAA

In every coach's life, there comes a time when he realizes that the game has passed him by. For Fisher DeBerry, it happened prior to the 2006 season. Hoping to level the playing field, so to speak, with some of the big-time programs in college football, DeBerry realized that he would be hard-pressed to compete with them for the top recruits. So, he hit upon the idea of using robots to fill out his roster.

Ultimately, however, the NCAA ruled against the use of robots, citing the inherent danger involved as well as the fact that such a practice would clearly be offensive to cyborgs. Miles Brand commented as follows: "Robots are everywhere, and they eat old people's medicine for fuel....And when they grab you with those metal claws, you can't break free, because they're made of metal, and robots are strong." I really can't dispute any of that. Chalk it up as a rare sensible decision by the NCAA.

The Government Knows You're Reading This Right Now

Dat's how da AF rolls

The National Security Agency was officially formed in 1952, after an embryonic stage of sorts which dated back to the National Security Act of 1947. The Director of the NSA, by law, must be a commissioned military officer with at least the grade of a three star lieutenant general or vice admiral. From 1999-2005, the Director was Air Force General Michael Hayden. In 2006, President Bush appointed Hayden to the post of Director of the CIA. We recently got Gen. Hayden's thoughts on this week's game, in a Blue-Gray Sky EXCLUSIVE:

"Yeah, Air Force up in dis bitch! We gonna run it down yo throats all day, son. We got luv fo' da flyers and Luvs fo' da liars. Tell Charlie to go eat another donut! You Irish 'bout ta get hit wit a LIGHTNIN BOLT!!! Peace out bitches. Dinkin' flicka."

QB Browns Alert Level Update: BLACK

Since it's been a while since the last update, I figured we'd check in on the progress of QB Browns. There really isn't much to report: the QB Browns Alert Level is ensconced in BLACK (Backup). Behind quarterback Derek Anderson, the Browns have been surprisingly frisky: they are 5-3 and are headed into a matchup with archrival Pittsburgh with first place in the AFC North on the line. They have benefitted from an easy schedule to this point: their five wins have come against teams with a combined record of 10-30, and one of their losses was to 2-6 Oakland. The schedule doesn't exactly get tougher: after this week's game in Pittsburgh, their remaining schedule is as follows (current record of each opponent in parentheses):

11/18 @ Baltimore (4-4)

11/25 HOUSTON (4-5)

12/2 @ Arizona (3-5)

12/9 @ NY Jets (1-8)

12/16 BUFFALO (4-4)

12/23 @ Cincinnati (2-6)

12/30 SAN FRANCISCO (2-6)
Total: 20-38

I'm calling my shot, ladies and gentlemen: the Cleveland Browns will go to the playoffs (where they will be promptly shellacked). But more to the point, QB Browns won't see the field this year in anything other than mop-up duty.

Prediction From the Oracle

With the Irish offense exploding last week for 44 overtime-assisted points, will The Blind Oracle at Bristol still have doubts about their ability to score? Let's find out.

"Having been weakened by one fighting force, reinforcements arrive to finish the job. The ninth plague descends from above. A flash of blue lightning, beautiful but deadly, like Lenin's goatee. Once led by a Fisher of Men, they now blaze their own path. Bottom line, the Irish lack the team speed to keep up with the Falcons. Air Force beats Notre Dame 35-10."

A shocking loss | by Pat

The football game on Saturday was preceded by the horrible news of the sudden death of Ryan Shay, a former Notre Dame All-American in track and cross-country and current Olympic hopeful in the marathon. Shay, 28, died while competing in the U.S. Olympic marathon trials in New York City.

Und.com has a wonderful tribute to Shay, noting his multitude of accomplishments both on the field (9 time All-American, ND's first individual track event national champion since 1952) and off (Academic All-American). It also includes many personal anecdotes about one of the best athletes to ever wear the Blue and Gold.

There is also a touching article in the New York Times about Shay, his family, and his hometown of Central Lake, Michigan.

Please make sure to read both of these tributes to an extremely impressive and inspirational individual and offer up your prayers to the Shay family.

Rest in peace Ryan.

Simple Complexity | by Jay

Instead of breaking down the Irish units from Saturday, we figured we'd look at something that actually worked: the Navy offense. Brian P. sends us this review of the Middies' triple-option attack, and shows us plenty of examples of why Paul Johnson is such a terrific offensive mind. We also invited Mike James of the Navy blog The Birddog to add his thoughts and analysis, which he graciously shared with us. His thoughts are in blue, below.

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A couple of years ago, during the preparation for a bowl game against Colorado State, Paul Johnson was asked by a reporter to describe the Navy offense:

To better understand the concepts behind the Navy football team's top-ranked rushing offense, a newspaper reporter recently asked Navy head coach Paul Johnson how many plays were in his team's playbook.

Johnson, 48, might have told him – if he had one.

"We don't have a playbook," Johnson said. "I found that if you have playbooks, they end up on eBay and everywhere else."

Johnson instead said he gives his players empty notebooks and lets them write down plays in their terms. In tonight's 7:30 San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl game against Colorado State, the game plan won't even take up more than a few sheets: Navy probably won't use more than five or six different plays, Johnson said.

It's all part of a system that's so simple, it's complicated – at least for opposing defenses. Conceptually, the offense builds around one basic play – the triple option, a system unto itself that's worked so well that New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick called it "one of the best running offenses of the last decade."...

"We probably run the same play over 3,000 times, and our whole offense is based off of one play," fullback Adam Ballard said. "We rep it every day, so we know what's going on."

This disciplined simplicity was alive and well on Saturday, as Navy's offense rolled down the field en route to an incredible, streak-breaking win over Notre Dame. By my count, Navy ran a total of 10 different plays during the game. They used 3 different formations to run these plays, and they had what looked like 3 different blocking schemes. That's pretty much it.

These five plays were run more than twice:

• Triple Option
• Toss Sweep
• FB Blast (which is the Delaware Wing T play)
• QB designed keeper behind the lead FB / midline option
  
• Reverse Pivot - Counter Option. (The FB option is to one side but the QB and HB option are back to the other side.)

And these five plays appeared just once or twice:

• HB option pass. (Play action pass from Triple Option look)
• FB waggle pass
• 1-yard Hitch/quick pass
• Double Option - blocking all players
• Screen pass (used once late in the second half)
  

Mike's notes: QB keeper usually isn't a designed keeper, except around the goal line or in really short-yardage situations. This is actually the midline option, where the quarterback has the choice of giving to the fullback or keeping the ball. The slotback that goes in tail motion on the play usually becomes a lead blocker for the quarterback if he reads to keep, although he didn’t have to in this game because the linebackers followed him outside. The first man lined up outside of the playside guard is the quarterback's read -- usually a 3 technique, sometimes a 4i or 5 tech. Usually he crashes down on the fullback, which is why it seems like it’s a designed QB keeper.

On the counter option, the fullback is only a decoy and is not an option on this play.

Sometimes when you run the triple option, the backside DE will cheat a little bit on the snap and play the fullback dive. One of the ways that Navy’s coaches take advantage of that is through the counter option. On the counter option, the playside slotback goes into tail motion. This gives the DE lined up across from him the impression that the play will be going the other way. When the ball is snapped, the motion slotback reverses direction and becomes a lead blocker. The quarterback fakes to the fullback in one direction to make it look like a regular triple option play. He then reverses direction and follows the motion slotback. The backside guard pulls to seal off the cheating DE from pursuing outside and stringing out the play. If the formation is balanced and the middle linebacker hesitates at all on the fake to the fullback, this should leave one man to cover both the quarterback and the pitch.

The thing about the counter option is that it allows the offense to attack the outside without reading its way there. On triple option plays, the ball won’t get outside it the quarterback reads to give to the fullback.

So it's basically a 5-play offense, with just a handful of wrinkles. The power of this simplified approach comes in the precise execution, and the sequencing of plays to set up surprises later in the game. Johnson is as wily as any playcaller in mixing and matching and keeping a defense off balance. Let's take a look.

Drive 1:



1. A 1-yard quick hitch pass. ND is geared up for the option but the CB were playing off the WR, so Navy took the easy catch for a 14 yard gain.
2. Triple Option - Blocking Scheme 1 (lineman block down inside). ND has practiced and stop the play easily.
3. Toss Sweep - Blocking Scheme 2 (the lineman loop around the outside of the DE and OLB). The play works but ND causes a fumble.

Drive 2:

First play: Triple Option, but with blocking scheme 2. So now Johnson is mixing together the 2nd play call with the 3rd play's blocking scheme to mess with the defense.

Mike's notes: Acutally, this isn’t the same blocking scheme as the toss sweep, although it looks similar. The sweep is more or less a screen play, with the playside linemen releasing to the outside. On this play, notice how the playside guard actually blocks up the middle, and does not release to the outside? The blocking here is really just a scoop block. The defensive end is lined up over the B gap and becomes the quarterback’s first read. He goes after the fullback. The tackle’s responsibility is to chip the next man lined up outside of the DE (who is the QB’s pitch key), then release to block defenders flowing to the play.

On defense, it looks like getting the MLBs to flow was crucial to Corwin Brown's scheme for getting to the pitchman. He wanted to play cat and mouse with the DE and OLB, and buy time for Crum and/or Brockington to come make the play. That is what looked to be the plan for Notre Dame on defense. Johnson quickly adjusts to this, using the new blocking scheme to make sure he can get the block on the flowing MLB by the 3rd or 4th play of the game. He loops a Guard around the end because Crum could easily beat the OT trying to block down inside on him...that is a very difficult block. No significant adjustment was made by Notre Dame in response. (Also of note: Kuntz is hurt on this first play of the second drive, and will not return for the rest of the game.)

This is correct about the Notre Dame gameplan, but the adjustment is different. The guard does not go around the end; he blocks pretty much north-south. The adjustment that Paul Johnson made was simply to bring the wide receivers in close to the rest of the formation. This allowed them to make crackback blocks on the linebacker covering the pitch. Notre Dame left their corners 6-7 yards off of the line of scrimmage, so the playside slotback had enough time to get upfield and block him. Essentially, the slotbacks and wide receivers switched blocking responsibilities. The wide receiver could take a better angle in blocking the linebacker this way. Notre Dame did adjust to this eventually, but that adjustment led to their demise.



Johnson likes this scheme and sticks with it for much of the first half. The key is that Navy is able to block the NT with just the Center. No double team is required in the middle of the field which frees up the Guard to loop around and block the LB flowing to the play. The Notre Dame DE and OLB are standing very close together and pretty much just standing still. Navy's QB is not getting hit hard. The defense is not committing to any particular option consistently so Navy has a nice mix of FB, QB and HB carries on the option plays.

Also of note, normally the option gets run to the wide side of the field unless the defense commits an extra player to one side. Johnson was faithful to this "field" side convention but added a wrinkle on Navy's first touchdown. Navy had a first and goal from the 5 yard line. Navy ran the Reverse Pivot - Split option. The FB dive option went to the boundary side and the QB reversed direction and ran the rest of the option to the field. This was the first time Navy used that look in the game and it allowed the slower Navy HB to outrun the faster Notre Dame CB to the corner of the end zone. Just a half-second delay that gets induced by getting the defense to flow one way and then coming back the other way. The timing of when that half-second could be used to the maximum effect was brilliant anticipation by Johnson.

Drive 3:



New wrinkle. On the second play of this drive, Navy lines up in a new formation. The WRs are tucked in very close to the OT's in the formation. The WBs are a little deeper in the backfield behind the WRs. Navy runs the reverse pivot - split option again, but with a new blocking scheme on this drive. This time the OT blocks the DE. This is the first time the DE has been blocked all game long, now deep into the 2nd quarter. The WR runs deep taking the CB with him. The far side OG pulls and loops around and blocks the MLB...a rather long run but he makes his block perfectly. The OLB is left unblocked for the option. The FB fake is to the right, the QB and WB reverse and come back to the left. It's a 12 yard gain even though the pitch man read his block wrong and went outside when he should have cut in.

This is a great example of the backside DE (or at least he thinks he is) biting on the FB fake on the counter option. The DE here wasn’t blocked as much as he just took himself out of the play.

The very next play, from the same formation, Navy fakes the toss sweep to the right and give to the FB also to the right. Something looks weird. I watch the play 4 times in slow motion before I see it. There it is. This was just a regular running play. Everybody was blocked by the man in front of them. So on two consecutive plays, Johnson runs at a DE while blocking him for the first time all game long. The DE is so used to standing up and watching the play as nobody touches him. Now he gets blocked straight up by a Navy lineman who weighs 50 lbs less than him, all because of a well-timed use of the play.

Next play, same look, Triple option boundary side.

Next play, same look, fake triple option, drop back pass - dropped in the end zone by the WR. ND actually had this play covered fairly well which is encouraging.

The drive ends in a touchdown to make it 14-14.

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Second Half, Drive 1:



1st Play (didn't make it into the reel for some reason; sorry about that): Triple option, give to the FB. For once, the MLB comes up strong to meet this play at the line of scrimmage. This is a good correction by Corwin Brown at halftime, but really, this should have been the plan all along. Still goes for seven yards.

2nd Play. FB Blast. No option, just a regular running play. The Navy OG crushes Trevor Laws who is nearly twice his size. Again Laws is used to standing up and watching as nobody blocks him. On this play the Guard takes two steps forward like he is blocking down on the LB like he normally does, and then he makes a right turn and basically trap blocks Laws. Again, the blocking scheme is very clever when put into the contect of what has been happening all game long.

3rd play: Toss Sweep

4th Play: Triple Option

5th Play: QB keeps and follows the FB into the dive hole. This was not an option but a designed play. The OT uses a kick out block on the OLB, the first time the OLB has been blocked all game long, and the WB blocks down on the DE, the first time he has been blocked from this angle all game long. Just a simple cross blocking scheme but it is so effective since those players have been so used to not getting blocked and they had not yet been blocked by those players from those angles before.

As I mentioned above, this was that midline option. The first man lined up over the B-gap is the DE; notice how he goes unblocked and crashes down on the fullback. The quarterback read this and just ran into the space that the DE left behind. The playside OT does block the OLB, but the slotback is blocking a middle linebacker here, not the DE.

6th play: FB Blast - everyone blocked

7th play: Triple Option - give to FB

8th play: 4th and 2 Navy gives a weird look. WB motions into backfield like an I formation and stops...normally on the option this is fluid and the ball is snapped while he is moving. Then the other WB motions into the backfield and stops forming a true wishbone. Navy is just trying to draw ND offside with a weird look. ND doesn't fall for it and Navy calls timeout.

This actually serves two purposes. One is to try to draw the defense offside. The other is to show Paul Johnson how the defense is going to line up on the next play.

9th play: 4th and 2. Fake the reverse pivot triple option and the QB keeps the ball. Everyone was blocked. The Guard kicks out the DE. The Tackle kicks out the OLB and the WB loops inside and lead blocks on the isolated MLB. This is the first look at this blocking scheme so far for the defense.

Actually, I think this was just a regular triple option play. It looks like the quarterback made the wrong read on the fullback dive, and when you do that you’re taught to just follow the fullback through the hole.

10th play: Triple option to the boundary instead of the field side for a change of pace.

There’s a numbers advantage here on the right side. To give an idea of what I mean by "numbers advantage," complete with very crude illustrations, take a look at a post from last month, here.

11th play: FB Blast. #74 of Navy takes out Trevor Laws again.

12th play: Toss Sweep. Should have been called for a block in the back but Navy got away with it. Notre Dame defense has not blown up a single play all game.

13th play: 3rd and 1 from the 5. New look. Navy goes unbalanced line with a 3rd lineman covering the tackle on the field side. The defense doesn't respond quite right but the safety sort of cheats over a bit to the formation. FB Blast look but the QB keeps and follows the FB through the hole.

14th play: 1st and goal from the 4. FB Blast. Navy uses the Guard and Tackle to double team the DE. This is the first double team of the game on a player that has been left unblocked most of the time. Dwight Stephenson is plowed back into the end zone ending up on his back. Navy gets to the 1 inch line.

15th play: FB Blast - for a touchdown. Navy misses the kick and it is 21-20.

Drive 2:

See if you can notice how Johnson picks his moments to decide to block the Irish DE and OLB. He knows that they usually aren't expecting a block, so he was able to get 2-3 valuable yards when he needed them inside the tackles by springing this trap. The option is sometimes a risky play: it can get stuffed in the backfield when you really need that 3rd and 3. But the FB wing-T play inside the tackles are much lower risk, and combined with the surprise of blocking the DE and OLB, are actually high probability plays.



1st Play: FB Blast - holding penalty making it 1st and 20

2nd Play: 1 yard hitch pass - minimal gain

3rd play: Triple Option Play Action - deep pass. Pass Interference leads to a 1st down.

4th play: FB Blast

5th play: Triple Option- FB give. This is the first option play in the last 10 plays. Navy has been beating Notre Dame using straight-up Wing T plays from 1950.

6th play: 3rd and 5. FB waggle pass for a 1st down. Great design. The WR runs a seam route. The WB motions to the other side of the field. They give the reverse pivot - split option look but the FB flares out into the empty flat.

Actually, this isn’t the counter option-look, it’s toss sweep-look. The middle linebackers bite on the fake sweep and leave the FB wide open.

7th play: Toss Sweep

9th Play: FB Blast

10th Play: FB Blast

11th play: 2nd and 9. Triple Option - give to the FB. For the first time all game long, the NT beats the single block from the Center and stuffs this play.

12th play: 3rd and 8. Triple option but with no motion by the WB this time for a new look. The give is to the FB which was a poor choice on 3rd and 8. This may be the first bad read Kaipo-Noa has made all game long.

I don't think this was a bad read; it looked like the correct one. The DE on this play is Kaipo’s give key. He kept his shoulders parallel to the line of scrimmage and didn’t go for the fullback. Maybe the play call wasn’t the best, but the read was correct. Although in all honesty, the play wasn’t a bad one. Navy is a very effective passing offense when it passes on its own terms. When a defense is expecting it on 3rd & long is not usually one of those times, and passing when the defense knows it’s coming results in a turnover for Navy way too often.

The FG attempt misses, but on the ensuing drive Navy sacks Sharpley and returns the fumble for a TD.

The two-point conversion play is interesting (sorry, no clip). Navy lines up trips right. They pull a guard away from the formation to kick out the OLB and run a double option with the FB as the pitch man. But the players are blocked at the point of attack. This looks like the Lou Holtz option.

Drive 3:



1st play: Triple Option, FB handoff.

2nd play: Finally, we blow one up. Walls come flying in on a run blitz, kills a toss sweep and forces a fumble which Navy was lucky to recover. You sort of wonder where plays like this were earlier in the game.

Remember when I said that Notre Dame did eventually make an adjustment to Paul Johnson’s new formation? This is the adjustment. Since the WRs are in tight and not blocking the cornerbacks anymore, Corwin Brown finally decided to shoot the corner. Doing so usually means that the CB will get to the ball carrier before the slotback can block him. But Paul Johnson will make an adjustment of his own that will take care of this...

3rd play: Looks like a straight dropback and a screen pass which gains a few yards. Well-covered. Navy has to punt.

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Overtime. 1st OT:



FB Waggle Pass
Triple Option - Pitch
FB Blast
FB Blast, but out of a wide formation - for a touchdown.

2nd OT:



Triple Option - QB keep
Triple option - QB keep

Then a very interesting series of events. On the previous play, the CB crashed the pitch man very hard. This was only the second or third time all game that Walls played the option this way. On the very next play, Navy changed up the blocking scheme. They came triple option but had the Guard kick out the OLB and had the WB loop inside of this block and lead up through the hole. The QB kept the ball and ran up inside of the kicked out OLB. So as soon as ND decided to be aggressive on the perimeter, Johnson simply changed the perimeter and ran the option in between the DE and the OLB. So for those who thought that Brown should have the defense be more aggressive, Johnson already thought about that and had his answer ready.

On the next play, the Triple Option - pitch was stopped for a loss. For the first time all game long, the DE prevented the OT from getting off the line of scrimmage cleanly and it screwed the whole play up. This is what we should have had our ends doing the whole game: don't let Navy get away clean, leaving you unblocked, and getting their blocks on other players. Intercept them and disrupt the play.

It wasn’t the end that blew up this play as much as it was the corner. The slotback whiffed on his cut block and the corner was able to string the pitch man out to the sideline. The OT’s assignment is the one who eventually made the tackle, but if the slotback had made his block then the pitch man would have cut upfield. The safety who made the tackle would have been blocked by the OT on the outside and unable to get back inside to make the play.

3rd OT:



Drop Back Pass - Touchdown to Campbell on a fake toss that's wide open. Navy converts the two pointer, and that's all they needed.

And here’s where firing the corner killed Notre Dame. The corner played the fake toss. The WR ran a post pattern to occupy the safety. That left the right side of the field wide open for a wheel route. No linebacker is going to cover Reggie Campbell one on one, and he ended up wide open with the corner chasing the play 10 yards behind.

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When your offense is this streamlined, not only can the players practice their execution to perfection, but the coach already knows what adjustments he is going to make based on how the defense reacts. It's interesting to note that Johnson doesn't use a call sheet during the game; he's able to keep the entire selection of plays in his head, and that frees him up to call the game by intuition as much as by calculation. Charlie Weis could probably learn something from Paul Johnson's approach, and take to heart the advantages of doing just a few simple things, but doing them very, very well.

Wearing o' the Green | by Pat

It's been open season on Irish recruits all year long, with each mounting loss providing an opportunity for opposing teams (and perhaps a few recruiting websites) to ramp up the heat on the 21 players currently committed to ND. It's still a long way until National Signing Day, and who knows what will happen. One thing I've come to accept is that there is no sure thing in recruiting and things can change in an instant.

Still, if you're looking for a sign that a kid is going to stick with ND, this is a pretty good one:

Coach Kevin Rooney held a meeting with his Sherman Oaks Notre Dame football team on Halloween, and he found that keeping a straight face was extremely difficult. Linebacker Anthony McDonald showed up as Dog the Bounty Hunter. A teammate was Scooby-Doo and another was dressed as Superman.

Then there was 6-foot-5, 230-pound quarterback Dayne Crist, set to join Coach Charlie Weis next fall at the University of Notre Dame. Wearing a green top hat, green coat, green tie, green scarf and socks up to his knees, Crist turned himself into a giant leprechaun.

Very nice. McDonald as Dog the Bounty Hunter isn't bad either. The rest of the LA Times article is a fun read on ND's latest QB recruit. Included are a few quotes from Crist about his relationship with Coach Weis.

Once a week, Crist speaks with Weis on the phone. The conversations usually last 15 to 30 minutes. They also communicate by e-mail. Crist has sensed Weis' emotional ups and downs this season as Notre Dame struggles with a 1-8 record, but he enjoys learning from his future coach.

"It's a real comfortable relationship," he said. "We talk about what's going on with their week and game plan and he's interested in knowing what we're doing. He's a very emotional person. It's tough to talk to him on the phone because you can't get facial reactions. I love his personality."

the Heart of the Matter | by Jay

Mike Frank has a revealing piece today over on Irish Eyes, where he calls up former ND captain Shane Walton to talk about the Irish defensive effort versus Navy and get his take on this year's Irish squad:

Walton remains a loyal son of Notre Dame and never misses a game. He’s hopeful for the future, but says the team needs to change their attitude before they’ll win some games.

“The losses don’t bother me, it’s the way we lose,” [Walton] said. “I’m not even talking about the score. I’m talking about the lack of effort on the field. When we played, our coaches used to tell us that we played for all the people who are here right now, and you played for all those people who wore this jersey before you. I think maybe they need to be reminded of that. That’s a big burden to carry. I never wanted to disappoint anyone who wore that jersey before me. You don’t want to let those guys down. You want to uphold that tradition and be a part of the tradition that’s made Notre Dame so great over the years.”

Flotsam and Jetsam | by Jay

A couple of articles from the national scene about Navy breaking the streak: Jon Saraceno in USA Today:

As midnight approached in Annapolis, Md., a crowd gathered to greet their conquering heroes.

"It was incredible, absolutely electric watching the Midshipmen jump around," said Cmdr. John Fuller, 42, who enjoyed the revelry after returning from Indiana. "Rarely have I seen that much spontaneous enthusiasm. The town was happy, too — nothing like Boston celebrating the Red Sox, but it was special. Everyone was happy for us because the monkey is off our backs."

Jack Stem, a retired Navy lieutenant commander and a 1981 grad, was 1 the last time Navy beat Notre Dame. He watched the game with his father (Class of '61). "I can't explain it — unbelievable," the son said.

If you weren't inspired by the plucky, outmanned band of Midshipmen, or if the hair on the back of your neck didn't stand like a plebe at attention, you don't understand what Notre Dame-Navy is all about.

Vince McBeth, captain of Navy's 1986 team, flew to South Bend on Friday with Fuller, his former teammate with whom he shared a heartbreaking loss to the Irish in 1984. They toured campus wearing Navy attire, and McBeth said they were impressed by the "hospitality, friendliness and sportsmanship" shown by Irish fans.

"Every time we turned a corner, someone said, 'Welcome to Notre Dame,' " McBeth said. "Many people have argued over the years, 'Why does Notre Dame continue to play Navy?' There's a deep-rooted mutual respect. It's validation for both institutions."

If you think those Irish fans were merely happy to see a perceived patsy walk into town, you are wrong. The intersectional rivalry began in '27, but a closer relationship developed when Navy took over Notre Dame's campus to train officers and house midshipmen during World War II. Notre Dame graduates more Navy officers than any school other than the Academy.

For decades, Navy mostly served as cannon fodder for the Irish, who often blew the Midshipmen right out of the water. The Streak had become so ignominious that coaches on both sides cringed. The phrase "winless against Notre Dame since the year JFK was assassinated" had become part of the Navy lexicon.

Now it was gone forever, unlike the undying spirit belonging to those young men who made it vanish.

And then, a hyperbolic John Feinstein in the WaPo:

When the U.S. Olympic hockey team defeated the seemingly unbeatable Soviet Union in Lake Placid in 1980 en route to the gold medal, it was hailed as the most stunning upset in sports history.

It may be difficult for an outsider to understand, but the Navy football team's 46-44 triple-overtime victory over Notre Dame on Saturday may rank, at the very least, a close second to that storied miracle on ice...

The players Coach Paul Johnson recruits are frequently like Campbell and Singleton: too small for big-time programs like Notre Dame to bother with; tough kids who love a challenge and love proving they can do things that "can't" be done.

Like beating Notre Dame in Notre Dame Stadium.

The best description I ever heard of what it is like to play football at Navy, Army and Air Force came from Fred Goldsmith, who coached at Air Force: "At a civilian school the hardest part of a football player's day is football practice," he said. "At an academy, the easiest part of a football player's day is football practice."

Navy can't possibly beat Notre Dame. Except on Saturday a group of youngsters who were too small or too slow (or both) to play big-time college football did just that.

It was an incredible win for Navy, and it broke the longest running streak in division one. And it was an upset. But was it really a big upset? On par with the Miracle on Ice, even [cough]? Let's pick this apart.

In the article Feinstein paints Navy as a team of nerdy, pasty bookworms who get by on heart and effort alone, citing 5'8 Zerbin Singleton and 5'6 Reggie Campbell as representative of your typical Middie. This isn't exactly an honest portrait. Forget about the ND game; if Navy were as Feinstein describes -- a plucky band of Oompa-Loompas -- every game Navy ever won against Division 1 talent would have to be a cataclysmic upset.

Obvously, that's not the case. Feinstein makes no mention of the fact that Navy is actually a pretty good team. Since Paul Johnson took over, the Middies have actually been one of the better teams in college football, posting nearly a .600 winning percentage. If you filter out his first year where he went 2-10, Johnson is .700 over the last four years. That's 20th-best in all of division one. They've played in four straight bowl games, and last year came within a breath of knocking off Boston College (losing 24-25).

And it's not a fluke. Feinstein might want you to believe that Johnson pulls guys out of the library to cobble together a squad each year ("Hey, you with the horn-rims -- ever heard of football?"), but Navy actually does recruit players. And Johnson's option attack is a very effective system that capitalizes on all of those traits that Feinstein admires in the Navy players: heart, effort, discipline, intelligence, and yes, even talent. Frankly, I think Feinstein does a big disservice to Navy. He wants to prop up the upset as second only to the Miracle on Ice, but in order to do so he's gotta portray ND as King Kong and Navy as, well, pygmies. That's a shame.

Ending the streak was certainly a momentous (and joyous) occasion for Navy. And it's definitely a signpost for the sorry state of ND football: the canary in the coal mine just keeled over. But if we're talking strictly about big upsets, Feinstein missed the boat. If he's really looking for a ragtag bunch of amateurs who took down the Soviet Empire, all he has to do is look back to the first week of the season, when a little team from the hills of North Carolina wandered into the Big House and knocked off the 5th-best team in the country. It was the only time a ranked team has ever lost to a Division 1-AA opponent. That's truly miraculous.

Bad Notre Dame Jay | by Jay

Thanks for letting me vent.

Nutshell version: decision to forego the kick to potentially win the game in regulation equals the worst call in Charlie's tenure.

Still angry, but a little less so now. It's been a long season.

P.S. Charlie continues to..well, dissemble is not quite the word, because I think he believes what he says and honestly thinks it was a sound decision. But after being asked again:

Q. You were asked after the game about the field goal. You mentioned into the wind, and you had seen Brandon (Walker) in practice not be able to make that.

COACH WEIS: We're trying to get to the 20-yard line. So what I did is we also wanted, he felt that the best kick was from the right to right middle. So that's why on the play before that I ran stretch to the right, figuring we're on the 24-yard line. If I can get to four yards on the play, I won't get the first down, but I was -- instead of centering it, you know, he really wanted it right right middle.

So running the stretch play to the right was designed if I didn't get the first down, to go ahead and get us four yards and get us to the 20 on the right right middle to come out and kick the field goal. But we had no gain or lost yardage on the play.

And again...

Q. You said that given the yardage going into the wind, that you felt (the field goal) was a long shot. Given the way the game ended up, do you wish you had taken it anyway?

COACH WEIS: What, and missed the field goal? I thought we had a good play to get the first down. We complete the pass for the first down and you're inside the 15-yard line. Now you kick a field goal and you do win the game.

And based off of what we had said we were going to do, we did what we said we were going to do. That's why the previous play, you run the play to put it in position to get where we wanted to be to run the field goal. We didn't get any yards on the play.

That stretch play of the day was a very, very productive play for us. We were getting a lot of yards off that play, just didn't pan out on that play.

and again...

Q. This may be picking at it or something, I don't know. But how close were you to saying 41 seconds left, regardless how long a shot this is, we should just try this and try to make some sort of moment and roll the dice?

COACH WEIS: My intent was to kick the field goal on fourth down. That's why I ran the stretch play to the right on third down. But when we got tackled for a loss, I had made up my mind if we got the ball anywhere close to the 20, we were going to try the field goal. But when you're now still at the 24, 24 and a half, it wasn't a consideration anymore.

...the explanation still doesn't make much sense. Ben Ford is as perplexed as I am, and captures the bewilderment nicely:

Not sending out Brandon Walker to kick to win the game goes against at least three things that we thought we knew about Weis before Saturday:

1. He’s said on a number of occasions that his job, above everything else except graduating players and making good citizens of them, is to put the Irish in a position to win that week’s game. And in my view, Notre Dame was in that position on Saturday and he didn’t go for the win. Frankly, the discussion ends there in my view. His comments about Walker’s range and the wind (I didn’t see the flags flapping that hard against the Irish) shed some light on his decision, and if he said he had the right play called to get the Irish down to the 15-yard line and into range for a shorter kick, I believe him, but you play to win the game. Even Herm Edwards knows that.

2. Weis knows how badly this team needs a win, and how badly it needs something to celebrate, and yet he still didn’t kick when a field goal could have accomplished both of those things. The pressure shifted even more to Notre Dame’s side of the field in overtime and gave the Irish another chance to wonder what was going to go wrong next.

3. The Weis we thought we knew was a gambler, a guy who would go for it on fourth down from his own end of the field in the first quarter. Saturday, a 41-yard field goal against the wind was too much of a risk to take. What happened? I saw Walker miss two 41-yard field goals in practice last week, but I also saw him hit a 48-yarder at UCLA. Walker doesn’t need to be automatic from that distance in practice or pre-game warmups, he just [has] to make it one time on Saturday, and that seems like a gamble worth taking for a 1-7 football team. Was Weis worried about Navy driving down for their own winning field goal? If so, we saw the range the Middies’ kicker had when he came up way short on a kick of his own earlier in the game and we also saw how long it took Navy to get down the field on its other drives. Something tells me Paul Johnson was secretly thrilled about the chance to go to overtime.

Pass the Tylenol | by Jay

As overtime began, the sun fell below the wall of the stadium, shrouding the stands in darkness, and a bitter cold swept through the crowd.

And yet, even in the winter of our discontent, there were a few glowing embers. I liked the running game. I liked the return game. I thought the defense did a decent job against a tough offense. We forced two punts -- Navy had had two punts, total, over the last three game -- and held them to about 80 yards under their season rushing average (the second lowest total all year for Navy), allowing no runs over 13 yards. We made good adjustments (albeit a little late) and the corner blitz on Navy's second-to-last possession was maybe the best defensive call of the year. A perfect guess by Corwin. All told, it was an ugly, but winning effort by the defense.

What in the hell was he thinking? | by Jay

(Warning: bad language follows. This is an R-rated post -- please skip it if you are sensitive. If you choose to read it, please picture Chevy Chase in Vacation, or Steve Martin at the rental car counter in Planes, Trains and Automobiles, and you should get the sense and tone of my exasperation here. Mom, I'm sorry.) 

BUG-EYED mad. Pissed off. Spitting bullets. Even after a night of sleeping on it, I wake up supremely angry. Maybe even angrier than when I went to sleep. So mad I can't even see straight. I can't figure it out. 

You have a chance to WIN THE GAME IN REGULATION and you just pass on it. You just waive it. It's the singular worst call of the Charlie Weis era. My foundation of trust is shaken to its core. Any slack Charlie had with me for this shitty season was just squandered and used up. I just can't wrap my head around it. It's the dumbest call I've seen in years. You might have to go back to Bob Davie at the end of the game versus Purdue when Jarious got sacked; at least then they called a play, and it looked like a miscommunication. 

This was ALL on Charlie. I never thought I would see the day where Charlie Weis would cost us a ballgame. Those kinds of meltdowns are reserved for gameday idiots like Davie and Willingham and Faust, aren't they? Not Charlie: master of the judicious timeout, ruler of the clock, player of the odds. Even when he made calls that blew up in his face, you sort of saw where he was coming from. Not this time. 

Who cares about the goddam streak. Hell, I'm HAPPY for the Navy players and fans. This has nothing to do with that. It's not just about losing the game (which, unbelievably, I had already mentally prepared myself for; this is how low this year has sunk - I'm girding myself to lose to Navy). It's about FOREGOING THE CHANCE TO KICK A FIELD GOAL TO WIN THE MOTHERFUCKING GAME. 

Did ANYONE with a Motorola headset question this decision? Latina, Haywood? Corwin, where the hell were you? Charlie Junior -- you wearing that thing for decoration? ANYONE? Ahh, hell, forget the headset -- he should have listened to the crowd. Fifty thousand people yelling "KICK IT YOU STUPID SON OF A BITCH!" 

And what did we do instead? A PASS ON 4TH AND 8? THAT'S a better option than a 41-yard try, with a guy with plenty of leg from that distance who has already booted a 48-yarder earlier this year? "We were kicking into the wind," Charlie said, "and we weren't hitting it before the game." SO FUCKING WHAT. You line it up and give it a shot. If you miss, you miss -- but at least you TRIED. AT LEAST YOU TRIED TO WIN THE GAME. 

I can't even start with the 4th AND FIFTEEN FAKE FIELD GOAL or the goddam screen passes that got blown up EVERY SINGLE TIME (and honestly, you knew they were going to suck, didn't you? Because we've been running them for EIGHT GAMES NOW and it's clear we can't execute them. WHY ARE THESE PAGES STILL IN OUR PLAYBOOK?) or the crucial moments when you put the game on the shoulders of Evan Sharpley (a game, but let's be honest, a flailing player who's more lucky than good) instead of trusting your rushing attack which had been eating up chunks of yards all game long. 

Instead, we play for OVERTIME. Now I don't know a team in the country that is better suited to play in overtime than Navy. YOU KICK THE BALL AND YOU TRY TO END IT IN REGULATION BECAUSE NAVY CAN GET 25 YARDS WHENEVER THEY GODDAM PLEASE. What are those rules again? Never get involved in a land war in Asia, and NEVER GO IN AGAINST NAVY WHEN OVERTIME IS ON THE LINE. I knew it. My friends I was sitting with knew it. Everybody in section 10 knew it. THE WHOLE GODDAM STADIUM KNEW IT, except for some idiot who calls himself the head coach. 

"We weren't hitting it before the game into the wind." Give me a break. 

You stupid goddam idiot. I'm talking to you, shithead. You just cost us a chance to win the game. Where did you learn your trade, you stupid goddam idiot. You Bob-Davie-versus-Nebraska motherfucker. What you are hired to do is to help us win. Not to FUCK US UP. 

And when we lost, I was...angry. You know what? I've never been ANGRY after a loss under Charlie. I have been variously deflated, humiliated, or resigned, but never really angry. The games we've lost we were either overmatched or a victim of our own mistakes. Have I questioned calls in various situations, questioned gameplans, questioned personnel decisions? Absolutely. But I never pinned a loss totally on Charlie until now. 

I stood in stunned silence. The entire stadium did. Absolutely stunned. Of all the losses in the last three years, this is the first one I hang on his head, and his head alone. After the game we choked down our anger and congratulated a nice Navy couple sitting in front of us (the older gent in his 70s was literally crying tears of joy) and you couldn't help but think what a great moment for those guys. Good for them. They deserved it. Hell, I'm even going to keep the ticket stub -- it'll probably be worth something someday. We shook their hands and wished them well, and congratulated them on a good game. After all, they outplayed us when it counted. 

We trundled out of the stadium and marched directly to the car. Stunned silence. Waves of people emptying out into the parking lots, and nobody saying a goddam thing. Seething. It wasn't the loss - hell, we've had seven of them already this year. Not because Navy outplayed us in overtime -- nope, you knew that was a losing matchup for us. We're seething because maybe, just maybe, it should have never come to that. 

We jumped in the car and turned on the postgame show, catching Jack Nolan sounding like he's under seige and barricading the door. "PLEASE, people, if you're going to call in you have to TONE IT DOWN. I know you're upset, but we can't put you on the air if you're going to curse." Fucking hell, Jack -- cursing is all we've got right now.

The Streak is Over. | by Pat

It had to end sometime and today was that day.

Navy 46
Notre Dame 44

Congratulations to the Naval Academy.

Ask not for whom the bell tolls, Charlie. | by Dylan

It tolls for thee.

Great recruiter. Great coordinator. Not a very good head coach.

Kickoff! | by Pat

Sky Writing | by Pat

It's been awhile since we've had a mixed bag style update. Here's a quick rundown on some assorted news items from the past week or so while we all wait for kickoff.

• Zibby was recently named quarterfinalist for the Lott Trophy. The award is presented by The Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation and honors the IMPACT Defensive Player of the Year. At first I was a bit surprised that Zibby made the quarterfinal cut given that Trevor Laws is the best defensive player on the team and he didn't make the list. But the award is one of the few that considers more than just on the field action.

The student-athlete is judged on both his on-field performance and his off-field performance. The Lott Trophy is the only sports award based on personal character and is appropriately named after the legendary defensive back, Ronnie Lott.

Given Zibby's generous charitable donations over the past few years -- in addition to his on the field play -- it's not quite as surprising that people around the country have noticed and want to recognize his contributions. Congrats to Zibby.

• When it comes to strictly on the field performance, Trevor Laws has been having a stellar year and is a lock for this year's Defensive MVP. ND has also started to do a little push for more national recognition for the 5th year defensive lineman. Tucked in on page 61 of this week's Navy game notes is a special section on Laws as All-American candidate. Included in a list of his accomplishments this season is a table comparing him to likely 1st Team All-American candidates Glenn Dorsey of LSU and Sedrick Ellis of Southern Cal. Trevor's numbers hold up very well compared to the two with Laws holding a big edge in tackles (67) compared to 39 for both Dorsey and Ellis. I don't expect Laws to beat those two talented players out for a 1st Team All-American spot, but Laws absolutely should be seriously considered for a 2nd Team spot.

• Sticking with the award theme, John Carlson has been named a 2007 National Scholar-Athlete by the National Football Foundation. Carlson is ND's 15th player to earn the award, but only the first since Tim Ruddy earned the same honor in 1993.

As a National Scholar-Athlete, Carlson receives an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship and is one of 15 finalists for the Draddy Trophy, the award presented to the nation's top scholar-athlete and often referred to as "The Academic Heisman." Should he win the Draddy Trophy, the scholarship would grow to $25,000.

That's one heck of an accomplishment.

• From one tight end to another, Lacrosse Magazine has an interesting article on sophomore Will Yeatman that documents the non-stop work for one of ND's top dual sport athlete. It also includes his humorous exchange on the every present debate about Yeatman's athletic future.

"I was sitting in the stands for that lacrosse game, and people talking about Will behind us are saying he's going to leave lacrosse for football," Bonnie Yeatman says. "Then I go to the Blue-Gold game, and it just so happened there were a bunch of football guys sitting behind us, and they're saying Will's going to leave spring football and play lacrosse [full time]. My daughter and I were just laughing."

• Finally, let's close with a video clip of future Notre Dame player Michael Floyd. If you were wondering why so many colleges were after the Minnesota native, it's for catches like this one.

It's Hoops Season | by Pat

Tomorrow is football, but tonight marks the kickoff of the 2007-2008 men's basketball season with an exhibition game against the mighty Fighting Bees of St. Ambrose. Consider this post a helpful reminder that you can follow the hoops team all season long on top notch ND hoops blogs like Black and Green and Notes from the Geetar as well as generous helpings of hoops related content at Dome and Domer.

Also, ND will stream all home Notre Dame non-conference games live on und.com starting with tonight's glorified scrimmage so make sure to tune in and cheer on this year's squad. There is plenty of talent with two-time captain Rob Kurz, Luke Harangody (out with an injury for this game), Tory Jackson, Kyle McAlarney, and Ryan Ayers settling in as the initial starting five and it should be an exciting year.

It's also a notable year for ND hoops as in 15 days, Notre Dame's Austin Carr will be inducted into the newly opened Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame along with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Dick Groat, and Dick Barnett. Make sure to bookmark or set up your RSS feeds (if you haven't already) for the previously mentioned blogs.

Anchors Aweigh | by Pat

Here's a quick Q&A with Adam from the always excellent Navy blog, Pitch Right.

1. It seems that Navy has had a few notable injuries this year and even QB Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada has been knocked around the past fewgames. Which injured players are not expected to suit up against ND and what is the impact of their absence?

Adam: Well defensively we're scraping the barrel right now. Losing FS Jeff Deliz and ILB Clint Sovie for the year against Rutgers was something of a death blow, and judging by the defensive play since then I think we can say that the team has never really recovered. These loses were compounded against Pittsburgh when Ketric Buffin, one of our multi-use defensive backs, went down. Buffin had already intercepted four passes when he broke his arm. As I wrote on Pitch Right the other day, the loss of those three guys is huge because A) They were all veterans on a very inexperienced defense B) They were the guys who knew how to line everyone up correctly and c) They actually tackled people. To make matters worse, there is still some unpleasant ambiguity in regards to backup safety Kevin Snyder, who was doing o.k. filing in after Buffin's injury but appears to have some undisclosed injury. Rashawn King, our best cornerback, did suffer a minor injury against Delaware but should be back for the game on Saturday. As far as the offense is concerned Kaipo did suffer a fairly serious "stinger" against Wake Forest that affected his play last weekend, but he should be getting back to full speed. The offense will have its full compliment of players, but guys are so banged up so I would not be surprised to see substitutions during the game, especially on the offensive line.

2. As we head into the part of the season where coaches start to get fired, what is your take on the near annual rumors about Coach Paul Johnson leaving Navy for so-called greener pastures? To your knowledge has he seriously considered any offers in the past and are there any potential opening this year that might result in him leaving Annapolis?

Adam: All we've heard up to this point is message board speculation, and I can't emphasize that enough. The rumors and out-of-town speculation have become commonplace, and despite renegotiating his contract last season it seems as though Navy fans are as worried as ever about the possibility. He has entertained jobs in the past, but that's all it's come to, entertaining. We'll see what happens. I don't think it's an imminent thing, but like I've said in the past it's tough to get a handle on where Coach Johnson is. We as Navy fans can only hope he decides to make a legacy of what he's got going here.

3. The knock on Navy has long been that they lack the athletes to keep up with the talented teams on their schedule. Knowing what you do about the desired traits for an effective option attack, if you could have a fantasy draft of current college football players, who would you pick to man the Navy offense skills positions and why?

Adam: You know this is a tough question to answer because I honestly believe that guys like Reggie Campbell, Zerb Singleton and Eric Kettani are everything you'd want from the skill players in this offense. It's not as easy as just saying "well, obviously Darren McFadden" because you know what, I don't think I guy like him could play in this offense. You've got to be fundamentally sound, and you've got to be willing to dive into someone's legs to block them. It takes an unselfish, highly motivated guy and on offense we have those guys. If I was going to have a fantasy draft pick, I'd much rather use it on defense where Navy's talent deficiencies are much more apparent. That all being said, I'd like to see what a guy like Javorski Lane would do in this system at fullback.

4. Finally, seventeen months ago you predicted that 2007 would be Navy's best shot to win against the Irish. Obviously the Irish are doing their part by putting a horrible offense out on the field, but as we noted in a previous post, you have big concerns about Navy's defense. What is your prediction for the outcome of the game on Saturday?

Adam: I think Navy can win, but the more I think about this game the more I seem to convince myself that Notre Dame is going to score 60 points and beat us in a wild shootout reminiscent of the Delaware game. I know a lot of Notre Dame fans are skeptical of their own offense, but when you put the competition level of both teams in perspective I think it's safe to say that Notre Dame will have it's highest offensive output thus far this season. The key for us is going to be to get those 2-3 stops in the game, and if the defense can do this I think the offense can take care of the rest. Normally I'd give you a prediction, but considering how close this game should be I don't want to do anything to jinx it. It will be close, it will be back-and-forth, and it will likely come down to the wire. That's the way every Navy game has been this season and I don't expect this one to be any different.

that Fighting Spirit | by Jay

You may have seen this article on Scout from a couple of days ago, but if you haven't, check it out. Mike James, writing for GoMids.com, talks a little bit about the Navy-ND tradition and why he holds such respect for the series. Ostensibly it's a response to a facile anti-ND screed that appeared on the same site the day before, but really, it stands on its own:

Most Navy and Notre Dame fans know the story. World War II took a huge toll on colleges and universities across the country as men of college age were called into service. Notre Dame was no exception, and the school faced a financial crisis because of it. The military had a completely different problem; the war had created a demand for officers that existing commissioning sources were unable to meet. Several service schools began to appear on college campuses and military installations; some, like Iowa Pre-Flight and Bainbridge Naval Training Center, even made a splash on the college football scene. Father Hugh O'Donnell, acting president of Notre Dame at the time, saw the military's need as a solution to Notre Dame's financial woes. He offered the school's facilities to the Army, but was turned down. The Navy-- particularly Chester Nimitz-- was far more receptive, and a Naval training center was established at Notre Dame in 1941. During the war, 12,000 Naval officers were trained in South Bend. The influx of Navy trainees saved the school.

Notre Dame awarded Nimitz, who had become Chief of Naval Operations, an honorary degree in 1946. At the ceremony, Nimitz spoke of his gratitude for the service that Notre Dame provided to the Navy, and for the officers that served under him in the Pacific fleet:

"Father O'Donnell, you sent forth to me, as to other naval commands on every ocean and continent, men who had become imbued with more than the mechanical knowledge of warfare. Somehow, in the crowded hours of their preparation for the grim business of war, they had absorbed not only Notre Dame's traditional fighting spirit, but the spiritual strength, too, that this University imparts to all, regardless of creed, who come under its influence."

Nimitz wasn't alone in his expression of gratitude. In thanks for what the Navy did for the school, Notre Dame saves a place on its football schedule for Navy-- Nimitz's alma mater-- each year.

College football has changed a lot since 1946. Once-sacred rivalries such as Oklahoma-Nebraska and Pitt-Penn State haven't stood the test of time, falling victim to a shifting conference landscape driven by television money. But Notre Dame still honors its 60 year-old promise. Adherence to a decades-old vow is far from "disingenuous," as Rohe chooses to describe the Notre Dame administration. It is, in fact, the most genuine form of loyalty that there is in college football. And don't think that Notre Dame's loyalty isn't tested, either. The Irish are under constant criticism for playing Navy. John Feinstein describes Notre Dame as a bully for scheduling what he feels is an overwhelmed Navy team each year. In a BCS world where so much emphasis is placed on strength of schedule, there are many in the media who ridicule Notre Dame for not dropping Navy. The biggest names in college football want to schedule Notre Dame; the Irish could surely make more money by replacing Navy with a higher-profile opponent. Yet Notre Dame never hesitates to renew the series, recently extending it to 2016. Notre Dame does not turn its back on the promise it made.

The picture above is care of IrishTrpt07 over on NDN, and shows Navy officers in formation on South Quad.

For some more ND-Navy love, check out a piece Pete penned a couple years ago as an editorial in the Observer. And then check out this incredible response from a Lieutenant Gerry Motl, who played for Navy against ND forty years ago this year. He scanned in lots of pictures from his scrapbook of the game, including ticket stubs, program covers, and a handwritten note from Rocky Bleier.

Peacock Prattle | by Jay

NBC (a subsidiary of the Sheinhardt Wig Corporation) hosted BGS on Notre Dame Live again yesterday. You can check out the webcast here, in which I propose renaming the program in light of this gawdawful season and brag about my wonderfully tasteful QB Browns tee. I also express some hope for a ground-based attack against the University of the Navy (as Lou would put it), an opinion which Walters doesn't seem to share.

Tiff and John also pepper in some Navy-ND video highlights from games past, chat with Mike Rothstein about the game this weekend, and go over the pronunciation of Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada (Walters: "This will be Hammond's toughest game yet.") Good stuff.

Decades-Long Streak On the Line as Irish Host Navy | by Brian

Though the friendly rivals meet every year, the Navy Midshipmen have not defeated the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame since 1963, when the Middies, led by Heisman's Trophy winner Roger Staubach, defeated an ND squad which would finish the '63 campaign with a 2-7 record, ushering in the Era of Ara the following year.

Many experts in the Footbawl Arts think this could be the year that the streak ends, with the Irish struggling to a 1-7 record through the grueling first eight games of their schedule. That the streak is still alive at 43 straight is surprising, since the tag team combination of former head footbawl coaches Bob Davie and Tyrone Willingham did their damnedest to end it. Four of the eight years of their tenures featured nailbiters:

* 1997: The Irish took a 21-17 lead with 5:48 following a 5-yard touchdown by Autry "Not Darnell Autry" Denson, capping off a 93-yard scoring drive. It appeared that the Irish would hold on, when on the final play, a Hail Mary connected, caught by Navy WR Pat McGrew at the Notre Dame 18. McGrew appeared to be headed in for a miracle touchdown when he was caught from behind by Allen "No Longer Vick's

Not the only Omar to
score big in Baltimore

Teammate" Rossum and pushed out of bounds just short of the goalline.

* 1999: Navy took a 24-21 lead with 5:56 lead. The ensuing Notre Dame drive was extended when, facing 4th and 10, Jarious "His Last Name is Jackson So You Shall Call Him Action" Jackson found Bobby "His Name Conjures Up No Obvious Nicknames" Brown for, oh, 10 yards and one centimeter. The Navy faithful will forever contend that the Irish were given a favorable spot. ND eventually got the winning score a few plays later.

* 2002: With the bloom off the Willingham rose following a feckless (yet verdant) performance against Boston College the week before, the Irish again looked flat for three-and-a-half quarters against Navy. Trailing 23-15 with 7:27 left, Notre Dame unleashed an offensive explosion not often seen in Baltimore's M&T Bank Stadium, site of that year's game. The Irish went on a 52-yard touchdown drive capped off by a one-yard run by Rashon Powers-Neal. A two-point conversion tied the game. The Irish defense quickly forced a punt, getting the ball back with 2:19 left, after which Notre Dame got the winning score on the next play, when Carlyle Holiday hit Omar Jenkins for a 67-yard touchdown.

* 2003: Navy took a 24-21 lead with 9:53 left, after which Notre Dame drives led to two D.J. Fitzpatrick field goals: one which tied the game with 5:10 remaining, and the game-winner as time expired.

Anchors Aweigh

Mekka-lekka hi mekka hiney ho

The Navy defense is, by great lengths, the worst which ND has faced so far this season. They have allowed 305 points in eight games, including 59 last week in a loss to FCS Delaware (which is a footbawl team, not a battleship or upscale toy emporium). The Middies are averaging a stunning 459.5 yards allowed per game, and it's not as if you can only beat them one way: they're giving up 280.6 YPG through the air and 178.9 YPG on the ground.This could be the week when Notre Dame finally puts together some semblance of a balanced offensive attack.

The Navy offense, on the other hand, is its usual brand of crafty triple option skullduggery. They average an astounding 342.9 rush yards per game. The Mids feature a remarkable seven players with over 25 rushing YPG, led by quarterback Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada, which if memory serves was the chant used to summon Jambi the Genie on Pee Wee's Playhouse.

Navy has only 861 passing yards for the entire season through eight games, which is par the course for them, but their typical M.O. is to try to throw the ball deep once or twice a game to exploit defenses' overemphasis on shutting down the option. It's the sort of well-timed, brilliant strategic strike which makes me feel good about the future prospects of America's fighting forces. Look for them to potentially unleash an early deep ball on Saturday, in the hopes of catching the Irish defense napping and establishing early momentum.

Navy's unorthodox offensive attack will provide an unique challenge for Notre Dame's first-year defensive coordinator, Corwin Brown. It will be interesting to see how he attacks it, particularly with the speed of exciting freshmen Kerry Neal and Brian Smith on the outsides. Though Navy's defensive woes would suggest that this should be Notre Dame's highest scoring game of the year, the defense can't assume that it can afford to get into a shootout.

The Middies are again led by head footbawl coach Paul Johnson. already in his sixth season in Annapolis. Johnson has returned the Navy program to respectability, winning 70 percent of his games over the last four years and earning a school-record four consecutive bowl appearances and four straight Commander-in-Chief's Trophies.

Mekka-lekka hi mekka chahney ho

Johnson came to Navy from Georgia Southern, where he won four straight Division I-AA National Coach of the Year awards and led his teams to two consecutive national titles. (Old-timers and college footbawl devotees will recall that Division I-AA is the former moniker of the now more tastefully-named Division I Football Championship Subdivision of Anaheim By Mennen.)

With this pedigree, he has emerged as a hot coaching candidate in the past few years, though he's been content to stay at Navy. Nevertheless, nervous Navy fans have taken to wearing t-shirts emblazoned with the slogan "Hands Off Our Johnson". (The host of Pee Wee's Playhouse would have been wise to give himself the same advice.) The Navy hasn't seen such tawdry behavior since Tailhook, though the slogan is certainly preferable to the alternative, which would no doubt include some combination of the words "Johnson" and "seamen".

In Related News, Army is Affiliated With the Army

In one of the bigger headscratchers in recent memory, Idris Leppla, a senior at Barnard College majoring in political science, wrote an opinion piece for The Columbia Spectator, in which she shared her shock and concern upon discovering that her brother, a student at the Naval Academy, was in fact being trained to be part of the American military. Apparently, this Jewel of the Seven Sisters, and her family, didn't realize that the United States Naval Academy was in fact affiliated with the United States Navy:

"When I talked to my brother about why he wanted to go, he admitted that it was because he was drawn to the structure of the place—as a kid who did not want to sit around and drink beer during college, he liked the fact that he would be busy and have a purpose. I soon became comfortable with the idea of the academy, as if it would be a haven for my brother’s undergraduate career. And when people would congratulate me on my brother’s decision, it made me feel reassured.

Soon that pride turned to anger and fear: after my mom dropped him off at Annapolis, she came home with an acute sense of grief. The only thing she could talk about was how to get him out. In addition to missing his presence at home, she was scared by the extent to which her son had suddenly become the property of the U.S. Navy."

Leppla further distinguished herself as follows:

"My brother ended up liking Annapolis and he has decided to stay. While it has been difficult for me to accept that I have a brother in the military, I must allow him to pursue whatever path he is drawn toward, and he has admitted to me that he feels called to being there. However, for anyone else out there considering a career in the academy, let it be known: the U.S. Naval Academy is not an elite college; it is first and foremost a branch of the U.S. military and the prestige comes at a big price—it taxes parents, siblings, and participants if they do not understand what they were signing up for."

The political science program at Barnard must be a doozy, if Idris wasn't aware of the existence of military academies which educate and train young men and women to become officers in the military. She went on to say that she hadn't been aware that Michigan State University was a state university located in Michigan, or that George Washington University is named for former President George Washington (or, as he's known in the Barnard curriculum, White Male Slaveholding Overlord #1). Ms. Leppla's confusion isn't confined solely to colleges and universities: she reportedly didn't know that toy stores sell toys, or that TV's Real People was about real people.

While her comments have turned some heads, Idris has reportedly been praised by recent Columbia guest speaker Mahmoud Ahmadenijad for "speaking truth to power", and her name has been placed in nomination for the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize. As for me, I think that the Naval Academy is an elite college, and I have known since I was, say, 4 years old that it's affiliated with the U.S. Navy, and I would be damn proud to have a family member go to school there.

Go Navy, Beat Army.

(Note: These views do not necessarily reflect those of BGS and its management, though I would certainly hope that they do...unless one of those schmoehawks is an Army fan or something.)

A Humbled Blind Oracle Weighs In

After a bizarre prediction of an Irish loss in a nonexistent game last week, The Blind Oracle at Bristol is back to give his thoughts on this week's matchup.

"From the banks of the Severn comes a focused fighting force. By sea or by air, but mainly by ground, they have defeated even the stoutest of foes. Decades of anguish will soon be put to rest. Bottom line, the Irish lack the team speed to keep up with the Midshipmen. Navy beats Notre Dame 35-10."

Statistically Speaking: Southern Cal | by Pat

It's a Numbers Game

• As pointed out by, well, just about everyone, Notre Dame is currently on pace for not only the worst offense in the country, but the worst offense in at least the past 9 years of D-I college football. Saurian Sagacity has the breakdown of the numbers, but suffice to say, ND will need to average 267.0 yards per game over the final four games to avoid sliding in under the 214.0 yards per game averaged by Rutgers in 2002.

• One number that will help the Irish in their quest to avoid becoming the worst offense since 1999 is the total defense ranking of ND's remaining teams. The first eight opponents average out to a total defensive ranking of 25th place. The poor Irish offense certainly helped their overall rankings, but if you take the Irish game out of the equation, the first eight opponents still average out to 35th in total defense.

The remaining four opponents average out to 90th place, so it's not unreasonable to expect a much more improved offensive showing over the final four games. The worst defense that the Irish faced in the first four games was Purdue and Notre Dame put up 462 yards of total offense on them. Purdue's defense is currently ranked 56th. The remaining four teams check in at 53rd (Air Force), 94th (Stanford), 101st (Duke), and 105th (Navy).

• Thus I was curious to see where the Irish offense fell with regard to Notre Dame teams of years past. Currently, the worst total offense output for a Notre Dame team since 1946 is 220.0 yards per game in 1963. The Irish went 2-7 that year. The current 2007 ND squad is averaging 187.6 yards per game. By contrast, the top Irish offense was in 1970 when the Irish put up 510.0 yards per game. The top years for rushing and passing were 1973 (350.3) and 2005 (330.3), respectively.

• CFBstats has added even more number crunching capability worth checking out. Now you can sort national offensive and defensive averages by a number of categories such as home, away, grass, turf, vs. winning teams, vs. ranked (AP), and many more. It's fun to check out what kind of surprising results pop up when you start sorting. For example, ND's anemic rushing offense is dead last in the country by a sizable margin. However, when you look at the rushing offense rankings only against teams ranked in the AP Top 25, ND's rushing O did a better job than teams like Arizona, Purdue, Clemson, Texas Tech, and Wake Forest. On the other side of the ball, ND's defense is ranked 35th in the country against teams with winning records. Ultimately this just falls into the category of lies, damned lies, and statistics, but CFBstats has done a great job making sorting through piles of numbers very easy.

• Speaking of defense, Trevor Laws still has more tackles per game at 8.25 than any defensive lineman in country. Pat Kuntz not only has more passes broken up than any defensive lineman in the country with 9, he's ranked 13th in the nation, regardless of position.

• Taking another look at the all-purpose yards, excepting quarterbacks, broken down by class, here's where the team stands.

Freshmen   -  1407 yds
Sophomores -   815
Juniors    -   185
Seniors    -   124
5th Years  -   327 

• Football Outsiders and BCF Toys have updated the Fremeau Efficiency Index with a complete ranking of all 119 teams. ND checks in at 91. The article on Football Outsiders also includes a link to a more detailed google spreadsheet that includes the adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency numbers for each team. The adjusted numbers take each team's offensive and defensive efficiency and adjusts them based on the national averages and opponent strengths. ND's adjusted offense and defense ranks are 116 and 55, respectively. Be sure to read the Football Outsiders article for more in-depth info.

We Want M.O.E.

The Irish offense took a step backwards against a tough Trojan defense as the M.O.E. (Major Offensive Errors) checked in at an ugly 20%. This was the highest M.O.E. score since the Michigan game, also a 38-0 blowout loss. The Irish offense lapsed back into bad habits, and the high sack total (7) was one of the main reasons for the high score. On a lone good note, ND did have the fewest offensive penalties of the entire season.

Southern Cal, on the other hand, did a good job of minimizing mistakes and notched a solid 8% M.O.E. Only Georgia Tech played better mistake-free football against the Irish this year. That is rather impressive considering the Trojan quarterback, Sanchez, was making his first road start.

After 8 games, the Irish are averaging an offensive M.O.E. of 19% while the Irish opponents average stands at 12%.

For the complete breakdown, here is the spreadsheet.

Season Long Running Averages

All season long numbers can be found here.