Notre Dame Faces yet Another Top-Ranked Rush Defense in Navy

Notre Dame dismantled Clemson’s highly touted rush defense last weekend, scampering for 263 yards on 5.6 yards per carry. 

Even Fighting Irish coaches were a bit surprised to see such utter domination against a Tiger front that had allowed fewer than 3.0 yards per carry.

“Did I think we could run the ball?” coach Marcus Freeman said. “Yeah, we can run the ball, but 263 yards is a lot of rushing yards.”

Notre Dame will have another opportunity to establish itself as a dominant rush offense this weekend against Navy. The Midshipmen are 3-6 this season, but they’re as stout as they come against the run. Navy allows just 88.0 rush yards per game and 3.18 yards per carry.

Navy will mark the fourth top-15 rush defense the Irish have faced in 2022. Even after giving up 263 yards last weekend, Clemson still ranks 14th of 131 FBS programs. Ohio State allows 105.9 yards per game in the run-happy Big Ten. Marshall sits at No. 3, giving up just 78.7 yards on the ground per game. 

The Irish produced just 76 yards against the Buckeyes, by far their lowest output of the season.

Notre Dame’s 130 yards on the ground against Marshall is a bit more respectable in hindsight, but the Irish would likely perform much better against the Thundering Herd if they were to face them at this point in the season.

“They’re a very different team right now than they were early on in the year,” Navy defensive coordinator Brian Newberry said. “I think they’re playing at a really high level right now, looking at what they did to a really good Clemson football team. I think the biggest difference for them is they’ve really established the run game. 

“They’ve rushed for over 200 yards in four of the last five games. When they’re able to do that they win.”

The Midshipmen may be on par with Clemson and Ohio State statistically, but service academies often can’t attract future NFL defensive linemen and linebackers. 

For the Tigers, defensive tackle Bryan Bresee, end Myles Murphy and linebacker Trenton Simpson all rank among The Athletic’s top-50 2023 NFL Draft prospects. The Buckeyes feature six different former top-50 high school recruits in its defensive line rotation, including four former five-stars.

Navy’s roster, on the other hand, consists exclusively of former two- and three-star recruits that are often undersized. The Midshipmen front must instead thrive with grit, pre-snap movement and by firing off the ball. 

“Our guys play with great technique and fundamentals up front,” Newberry said. “We get off the ball and we move the front around a little bit to help them, before the snap and after the snap. It’s easy to block targets when you know where they’re going to be, so the movement helps us.

Freeman says Navy plays a similar style to Syracuse, and they’ve been able to handle much bigger offensive linemen this season. 

For instance, Donald “Biscuit” Berniard Jr. starts at noseguard for the Midshipmen. He’s 6-0 and 256 pounds. 

“He’s smaller, but he’s really quick and plays with great leverage,” Newberry said. “Sometimes it's tough for those bigger guys to get leverage and get low enough to push him off the ball.”

Fellow interior defensive lineman Clay Cromwell is significantly more stout but still just 6-3 and 292 pounds.

“He’s a big boy,” Newberry said. 

Notre Dame will undoubtedly still work to establish the run against Navy, but the Midshipmen have a bottom-20 pass defensive that gives up 274.9 yards through the air per game. That’s almost as bad as North Carolina, which quarterback Drew Pyne carved up for 289 yards and three touchdowns while completing 71 percent of his passes. 

Saturday could be a good time to push the ball downfield and reward Fighting Irish receivers for blocking so well against Clemson last weekend. 

Of course, the Notre Dame offense could have its hands full if Pyne continues to struggle with accuracy and has a few batted balls at the line of scrimmage. 

One thing is for sure, Navy isn’t taking this game lightly.

“I’m excited to go back out and get another shot at them,” Newberry said. “I look forward to this game every year. I look forward to the planning of it. I know our players look forward to it. They’re really good across the board: a big, physical O-line, big, physical running backs, an NFL tight end and some big receivers to throw it to. 

“This is going to be our biggest challenge to date.”