Notre Dame at Navy – Statistically Speaking

Here is this week’s stats comparison.  You can start to look for these every Tuesday for the last few weeks of the season and moving into next year.

Notre Dame

Statistical Comparison

Navy

Stat Rank Category Rank State
24.33 69th Scoring Offense vs. Scoring Defense 66th 25.56
375.00 50th Total Offense vs. Total Defense 73rd 373.00
115.56 95th Rushing Offense vs. Rushing Defense 30th 116.33
259.44 21st Passing Offense vs. Passing Defense 104th 256.87
127.21 54th Passing Efficiency Off. vs. Passing Efficiency Def 108th 148.87
20.44 35th Scoring Defense vs. Scoring Offense 41st 29.22
324.67 39th Total Defense vs. Total Offense 51st 374.89
132.11 53rd Rushing Defense  vs. Rushing Offense 2nd 308.00
195.56 45th Passing Defense vs. Passing Offense 118th 66.89
103.41 17th Passing Efficiency Def. vs. Passing Efficiency Off. 13th 160.15
33.50 85th Net Punting vs. Net Punting 67th 34.86
8.25 70th Punt Returns vs. Punt Returns 20th 13.22
20.87 69th Kickoff Returns vs. Kickoff Returns 111th 18.71
-0.33 76th Turnover Margin vs. Turnover Margin 18th 0.89
1.56 82nd Sacks vs. Sacks Allowed 3rd 0.78
1.44 36th Sacks Allowed vs. Sacks vs. Sacks 74th 1.67
  • Nothing here is too surprising.  Navy can run the football better than almost anybody in the country, but has trouble stopping the ball.  When you consider the success the Navy offense has running the football and what that does to the time of possession battle, it makes their defense statistics even less impressive.
  • Navy is statistically one of the worst pass defenses in the country.  With Weis calling the plays this weekend and the passing game needing a lot of work, I would be willing to bet that the Irish will pass the ball early and often.
  • Navy is much more efficient stopping the run – partly because it is so easy to pass on them – so while it might be tempting for the Irish to come in with the mentality that they are bigger and stronger than Navy and should be able to run the ball at will, I think that would be a mistake.  We all know the problems this team has had running the ball.  Navy’s weakness is their pass defense – it should be exploited.
  • Considering Navy hardly passes the ball, I was a little surprised to see that they give up almost a full sack a game.
  • Jimmy Clausen should have time to throw the ball.  For a defense that sees a lot of passes, they don’t get to the quarterback much.
  • Neither team returns kickoffs too well so don’t look for too many big returns.  Both teams will likely get quite a few chances to return kicks as well.
  • Neither punts the ball especially well either.  Eric Maust’s troubles have been talked about quite a bit the last few weeks with two blocks in as many weeks.
  • Navy protects the ball very well and is in the top 20 in turnover margin so far this year.  Navy is a very disciplined running offense and it will take a strong defensive effort to slow them down.

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5 Comments

  1. This is going to be a meaningless game unless Navy wins. I say that because Navy winning would probably doom the Weis era. An ND win wouldn’t answer any questions.

    I predict ND passes like crazy and scores 28 points in one half. Then I predict ND tries to run the ball and because the Irish line sucks so bad, will break off a few decent runs, but won’t do much. I feel that the Notre Dame offensive line and any coach that get’s involved with that unit should be ashamed of themselves. They should be blocking as if they are protecting Our Lady herself. How could that have gotten so bad and allowed to deteriorate over 4 years. I know Ty started the trend, but other coaches have done more with less.

    The defense will look good for a while, then tire and allow one or two touchdowns in a good but not impressive performance.

    I envision a lackluster game by a down trodden team and coaching staff.

  2. Whoops, I cut and pasted my template from the BC post and forgot to switch out the name. All of the stats are accurate for Navy though.

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