Game Thread | No. 3 Notre Dame vs. Navy

No. 3 Notre Dame (7-0) vs. Navy (2-5)

SDCCU Stadium |8:00 p.m. ET | CBS

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The 92nd Consecutive Meeting Between the Irish and the Midshipmen:

Undefeated and in prime contention for a shot at the playoff, Notre Dame will travel 2,151 miles to San Diego to take on Navy Saturday night. Last year’s meeting ended in a 24-17 final in Notre Dame’s favor, but in 2016 Navy won a 28-27 dogfight. Expect a battle between these two rivals. Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly seeks his seventh win against Navy. Notre Dame leads the overall series 75-13-1.

The matchup to watch will be Notre Dame’s front seven led by against Navy’s triple-option offense. Navy’s triple-option offense runs through junior slotback Malcolm Perry who has tallied 729 yards and seven touchdowns on the year. Perry also plays under center for the Midshipmen, but so does Garrett Lewis who is listed as the starter on Saturday and Zach Abey. These three will all touch the football often on Saturday night.

Notre Dame’s front seven led by seniors Te’von Coney, Drue Tranquill and Jerry Tillery will be leaned on heavily to make tackles and win at the line of scrimmage. Navy’s one-dimensional offense will challenge Notre Dame’s defense to play downhill and aggressive.

Offensively, a balanced attack through the air and on the ground will be crucial to success for Notre Dame. Look for Dexter Williams to have a bounce-back game as well as Ian Book to continue to progress in the passing game with his ground of wide receiver’s led by his favorite target Miles Boykin.

The Notre Dame defense will attempt to take advantage of how undersized Navy is all over the field on defense. Expect big plays out of the Notre Dame offense since Navy’s defense has let up 18 plays of 30 yards or more so far this season. However, two players to watch on the Navy defense are safety Sean Williams and linebacker Taylor Heflin who is their leading tackler.

Five Players To Watch

Navy QB/SB Malcolm Perry
Perry is an explosive athlete who can make people miss and take it the distance if defenders don't attack him with the proper angles. The move back to slot back is probably better for him because he was getting beat up at quarterback. Look for Navy to find as many ways as possible for him to touch the football.

Navy safety Sean Williams
Navy's best chance to win this game is if they create turnovers on defense because they haven't been able to stop teams outside of that. Williams is their best defensive player, and he's forced four fumbles as well as adding an interception this season.

Notre Dame CB Julian Love
Will Love play safety in this game? He did against Navy last year and contributed 14 tackles (10 of them solo). Wherever he is lined up, expect Love to be a factor.

Notre Dame LB Drue Tranquill
There's no Greer Martini to be a triple option expert, but don't be surprised if Tranquill steps right into Martini's shoes. He had two tackles for loss last year against Navy lining up on the edge. 

Notre Dame RB Jafar Armstrong
Making his return for the first time since Wake Forest, Armstrong won't have to be leaned on too much. This will be the first time we get to see him and Dexter Williams in the same game, though. There could be some instances where they are on the field together giving the Irish more explosive options for Chip Long to spread the ball around to. 

Quotes of the Week

Notre Dame safety Alohi Gilman:
“My life has changed in so many ways. When I was at Navy, it’s hard to explain. It’s a different lifestyle. You’re very structured, and everything is on a schedule. You have to abide by certain things. 

“Transitioning back to being a civilian was a different process for me. It was challenging. I learned so much at Navy, and I don’t think I’d be the person I am today without Navy. This game means a lot to me.” 

Notre Dame linebacker Te'von Coney: 
“We’re playing an opponent that doesn’t take any plays off. Each and every play they’re going to come hard and be physical, so the challenge is to be locked in on every play.”

Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly on sophomore Aaron Banks making his first start at left guard:
“We really like Banks. It’s his time. He’s been assignment correct, and he’s going to be a nice addition for us at left guard. We wanted someone as close to Alex Bars as possible. He can move well, and he has great size."

Countdown to Kickoff

10 - Ian Book completed his final 10 passes of the game, as part of a 13-for-14 performance for 158
yards and two touchdowns in the second half alone, in the win against Pittsburgh.

9 - After Pittsburgh marched 88 yards in 17 plays for a touchdown on its first drive of the game, the
Notre Dame defense forced the Panthers into three straight three-and-outs and 12 yards of offense
on the ensuing nine plays to end the first half.

8 - Notre Dame is undefeated entering the eighth game of a given season for just the 12th time since 1950.

7 - Justin Yoon sits just seven field goals shy of breaking the Notre Dame career field goals record held by Kyle Brindza. Yoon has connected on 51 career field goals entering Saturday’s game against Navy in San Diego.

6 - Notre Dame and Alabama are the only undefeated teams remaining in the FBS that have each
recorded at least six wins over teams from Power Five conferences (ACC, SEC, Big 12, Big Ten and
Pac-12).

5 -  Notre Dame is one of five remaining undefeated teams in the FBS after the first eight weeks of the 2018 season.

4 -  Miles Boykin leads all Notre Dame receivers with four touchdown catches this season. Boykin is the first Irish pass catcher with a touchdown catch in three straight games since 2016.

3 - Notre Dame is the only team in FBS football with three rushing touchdowns in excess of 90 yards
since 2015.

2 - Notre Dame and Alabama are the only remaining undefeated teams that have exclusively played FBS competition through eight weeks of the 2018 season.

1 - The Notre Dame defense has yielded a single touchdown from scrimmage during the second half in the past three games, outscoring opponents a combined 58-17 over the final 30 minutes of games.

For Your Nerves