Navy presents the Irish with toughest November test

Notre Dame is facing probably its toughest opponent for the month of November and third-best opponent of the entire season today when it meets the 7-1 Midshipmen of Navy in South Bend.

The Mids roll into the game after having a week off and will be prime to upset the Irish. Navy has run the triple-option offense as good as any team has ever run it. Only two opponents have held Navy to fewer than 300 rushing yards in a game this year — Memphis and Air Force. Navy, ranked 21st by the AP, has outpaced the entire FBS in rushing yardage per game by a wide margin. Air Force is the only other team to average more than 300 rushing yards per game. The Falcons are 34.8 yards per game behind Navy.

Today will be a real test for the Irish defense — the entire defense. More on the game later.

Last week the Irish racked up a total of 469 yards on offense, 181 passing the rest on the ground. Although head coach Brian Kelly was proud of the offensive rushing totals, the bulk of the yardage was gained by quarterback Ian Book, who had 139 yards on 12 carries. I for one don’t think a team should rely on its quarterback to be the top rusher for the offense.

Jahmir Smith had 58 yards on eight carries, and C’Bo Flemister added 25 yards on five carries for the Irish. Book completed 18 of 32 pass attempts for four touchdowns, but did throw two interceptions.

The real highlight for me of the dominating 38-7 win over was the Irish defense. All phases of the defense showed up last week and held Duke to just 197 yards of total offense. That was impressive.

Navy comes in to South Bend with wins over Holy Cross, 44-7; East Carolina, 42-10; Air Force, 34-25; Tulsa, 45-17; South Florida, 35-3; Tulane, 41-38; and Connecticut, 56-10. The lone loss was the third game of the season to Memphis, 35-23.

Quarterback Malcolm Perry makes the Mids go. He has run 157 times for 1,042 yards and 16 TDs. Passing is not the Navy way, but Perry has completed 29 of 53 tosses for 722 yards and five scores. Other top rushers are Nekim Smith, 505 yards on 104 carries and seven scores and Jamale Carothers, 355 yards on 36 carries and eight scores.

ND leads the series 76-13-1. The Irish won last year, 44-22, in San Diego.

The game will be televised nationally by NBC-TV with a 2:40 p.m. kickoff.

IRISH NOTES ... The win over Duke was a costly one for the Irish. Senior defensive end Julian Okwara suffered a season-ending fibula fracture and his career at ND is over. He was also a team captain. Okwara was having a great year and had enhanced his chances for a high pick in the NFL draft next spring. Senior defensive end Jamir Jones will replace Okwara in the starting lineup at weakside defensive end ... Finishing up on the Duke game stats. Chase Claypool had five catches for 97 yards and score; Chris Finke had 49 yards on five catches and a score. Tony Jones Jr. had just 14 yards rushing in the game ... Defensively, Drew White led the team with seven tackles followed by Troy Pride Jr, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Alohi Gilman and Jalen Elliott with six each. Owusu-Koramoah, White, Khalid Kareem, Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa and Asmar Bilal, all had tackles for losses ... The Duke win was the first road win since the opener at Louisville ... Despite a capacity of just 40,004, the Duke game was in no way a sellout. The number of ND fans in the stadium pretty well matched that of Duke fans .... In order to stop a rushing offense leading the country with 357.9 yards per game, the entire Notre Dame defense will have to be assignment correct today. Of course, if ND can sustain its own rushing attack, that would be a big help in keeping the ball out of the hands of Perry and company. “It’s going to be a collective deal for us,” Kelly said of the Navy game .... Notre Dame, 16th in the College Football Playoff rankings, stands at No. 26 nationally in total defense and 19th in yards per play allowed heading into today’s game ... The Irish also have to find a replacement for linebacker Jack Lamb, who played a big role in the Irish “dime” package. The sophomore missed the Duke game, and according to Kelly, is done for the season with a muscle tear in the hip/glute region. Lamb had seven tackles this season, including two for losses with a sack, as well as a fumble recovery and a forced fumble. Senior Daelin Hayes is redshirting after suffering a season-ending shoulder injury Sept. 28 against Virginia ... Two of the fastest offensive players for the Irish didn’t make the road trip to Duke. Sophomore receivers Braden Lenzy and Joe Wilkins stayed home due lingering health issues. However, both should be available for today’s game ... Both junior tight end Cole Kmet and senior left tackle Liam Eichenberg plan to return to Notre Dame’s football program next season. Both Irish players could elect to pass on their final year of eligibility and turn pro, but when they were asked about their futures during media availability earlier this week both said they plan on returning next season ... Notre Dame and Alabama are the only two teams that have not lost to an unranked team since the beginning of 2017... Book’s four TD pass performance made him one of just two Notre Dame quarterbacks to throw at least four touchdown passes on four occasions, joining Brady Quinn, who accomplished the feat seven times. He was also the first Notre Dame quarterback ever to throw four TD passes and rush for 100 yards in the same game ... Notre Dame has been ranked in the top 25 for 40 consecutive weeks, the longest such streak for the Irish since the 1994 season ... Notre Dame’s long sellout streak at ND stadium will end today. The streak will end at 273 games. It’s the second-longest in NCAA history, with Nebraska’s run of 373 No. 1 and still active. The streak began after the Thanksgiving Day game in 1973 against Air Force ... Earlier this year I picked the Virginia game as a “trap game” for the Irish, one where they are heavy favorites but get upset. Today’s game is also such a game. Navy comes in with an impressive 7-1 record, rolling up big yardage with its triple-option offense. In past years ND has had problems handling the triple-option offense. ND had a 43 game win streak against Navy that ended in 2007 with a 46-44, triple-overtime win in South Bend by the Middies. In my preseason picks I have the Irish winning today. Last week, I wasn’t so sure about ND winning at Duke, I am less confident of a Irish win today. The bookies have ND just a six point favorites at home, that tells me something. A loss today would be devastating for the Irish chances for a decent bowl game.