If the playoff selection committee met today, it might be the equivalent of a hung jury, each member pushing for a different set of four teams. The analyst trio of Barrett Sallee, Adam Kramer and Michael Felder did as well.
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When University of Notre Dame and Navy face off in their annual rivalry Saturday, the teams will be evenly matched in one not very apparent way – their uniform base layers.
Watson and the offense weren’t the stars of that victory by any stretch.
“One of the reasons I came to the Naval Academy to play football was because I get to play Notre Dame every year”, said the native of Antioch, Tenn.
Air Force and Notre Dame are two of the biggest games on the Navy schedule each season. In 2013, the Blue Devils eliminated the Irish in the quarterfinals, en route to their second national title.
But the sentiment seemed to summarize his feelings about this team four games into what’s setting up to become an interesting season.
“And thank you to the Good Lord and my dad, who was with me tonight…” Dodd has been making a name for himself in his first year as a starter, with 26 tackles, six tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks. The lead changed hands a school record nine times before Notre Dame prevailed, 38-34.
“Oh yeah”, Lawson said, per Hale. “I think after four games that’s one thing we can kind of hang our hat on”.
Coach Brian Kelly said Tuesday he wasn’t sure if a one-loss Notre Dame team could make the playoffs, but this much he does know – while the Irish no longer control their own destiny in the big picture, they can control how they respond.
It’s quite a remarkable stat for a front seven that lost nearly all of its starters from previous year, including All-ACC talents Vic Beasley and Grady Jarrett. Robinson has caught five passes for 60 yards through five games. Hopefully the team will grow from this defeat and if they do, this can still be a great season.
The Tigers stayed flawless and moved into the top 10 by holding off No. 15 Notre Dame’s late rally in the instant classic played in a soaking rainstorm. He estimated that the Irish left about 125 yards on the field. “We’ll flex those muscles”.
The Yellow Jackets will be the first in a string of opponents that will test the strength of this Clemson defense on the ground.
The Tigers are ready for what’s next against Georgia Tech. He holds the single-season (31) and career (73) rushing touchdown marks for a quarterback.
“As we like to say, he’s an ‘angry runner, ‘ ” said guard Eric Mac Lain.
No question this is by far the fastest team Notre Dame has ever had.
Additionally, 3 Penny Films and Fighting Irish Media have co-produced a half-hour television documentary called “Onward Notre Dame: Mutual Respect”, which will showcase the Notre Dame-Navy series. If it hadn’t been for the stop on the two-point conversion, the matchup was destined for overtime. Last week, they were picked to win by just about everybody with a respectable opinion. There’s plenty to correct in the first three quarters as well. It’s great to know that we’re in the mix.
Scott said that spoke volumes about the Tigers offensive line, which he said was universally panned by most college football analysts as the weakest point of their attack.
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Nevertheless, just because it looked easy against Georgia Tech doesn’t mean it will automatically be the case versus Navy.
