Notre Dame Football: 3 bold predictions vs. Navy in Week 12

3. The Irish defense forces three fumbles

As we have come to expect from the nation’s top three military service academies, Army, Air Force, and Navy all rank within the bottom five in passing attempts per game. In fact, if it wasn’t for Georgia Southern; Army, Air Force, and Navy would be the bottom three teams in the entire nation.

Of those three teams, Navy ranks dead last, throwing the ball an average of only 7.6 times per game. As a result, Navy currently leads the league in rushing yards, averaging 358.3 yards on the ground on a per game basis. Navy’s rushing numbers aren’t solely a result of volume, however, as the Midshipmen are currently running the ball at a 6.1 yards per carry clip.

Nevertheless, there’s always room for improvement, even in the case of Navy’s high-octane rushing attack. The source of that improvement can be found in the turnover margin, particularly when it comes to fumbling. Naturally, the Midshipmen are fumbling the ball away at twice the rate that they throw interceptions given the nature of their one-dimensional offensive attack.

While Navy averages 1.5 giveaways per contest, Notre Dame has been particularly effective in taking the ball away from their opponents, forcing an average of two turnovers per game. With Holy Cross and Air Force being the only two non-conference games for Navy this season, the Irish very well may present a defense greater than any the Midshipmen have faced so far.