Notre Dame football will have its hands full with Navy in Week 12

Notre Dame keys to victory

For Notre Dame, the keys to success are much simpler. On offense, the Irish must protect their quarterback. Navy’s defensive backs can’t keep up with Irish wideouts like Chase Claypool. But, if the offensive line doesn’t block long enough to let the wide receivers’ routes to develop, then Notre Dame will become one-dimensional and be forced to run the ball.

Defensively, the Irish will be successful if they can contain Navy’s fullbacks, Jamale Carothers and Nelson Smith, from dominating the rush up the middle. Because the Irish linebackers are quick enough to hawk down Navy rushers outside, all they need to do is stop the fullback.

Easier said than done. Carothers is averaging 9.9 yards per carry on the year and has eight rushing touchdowns in his last four games. To even further the point, Carothers has only carried the ball 36 times in those four games, which means every fourth time he gets the ball, it results in a touchdown.

I will say it again: Notre Dame must stop Navy’s fullbacks in order to avoid being upset.