It’s been about 24 hours, and the loss to Navy doesn’t feel any different. It’s a devastating blow to the Irish, and once again the buzzards are beginning to swirl. Still, in the aftermath of it all, people are forgetting that Notre Dame didn’t just lose a football game. Navy won it, and they won it with a superior game plan, great execution, and by playing good football. Hats off to Navy. They have quickly become a team that you simply want to avoid. The Midshipmen run a niche offense that is incredibly difficult to stop, have a disciplined team that doesn’t turn the ball over, and a win gets you little credit -- you’re supposed to beat Navy.
This one is going to sting, but the Irish have no choice but to move forward, as a date with the eighth-ranked Pitt Panthers looms next weekend. Before we get there, let’s take a look at the good, bad, and ugly from yesterday’s game.
THE GOOD
It’s tough to blame Jimmy Clausen, Michael Floyd, or Golden Tate for this loss. The big three were amazing, and Clausen put up monster numbers and showed a lot of resolve in the late game rally. Michael Floyd didn’t show much rust, making 10 catches for 141 yards and a touchdown, and after a incredibly quiet first half, Tate ended up with 9 catches for 132 yards and a touchdown. It’s amazing to think that it felt like the Navy defensive backs actually had good days when the offense picked up 452 yards in the air and put up 512 yards.
THE BAD
Where to start? Defensively, the Irish were a mess. They failed at every level, giving up big plays by the bundle to the fullback, a big play for a touchdown in the passing game, and repeatedly failed to get off the field on third downs. Offensively, the Irish were dismal in the red zone, entering the red zone six times and getting absolutely nothing four times. As a coaching staff, this has to be one of the worst days at the office Charlie Weis, Jon Tenuta, and Corwin Brown have ever had. As Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo mentioned after the game, schematically Navy dominated the Irish defense, with adjustments coming far too late from the coaching staff. Last season’s success against the option turned out to be a huge detriment to Notre Dame, as Navy knew Tenuta and Brown would use the same tactics to defend the option. Lastly, Nick Tausch has to feel pretty terrible today, knowing that his two missed field goals likely cost the Irish a chance at victory. Obviously, Tausch has been really solid this season, but yesterday he missed two easy kicks -- pulling his first left and pushing his second one right, and even had a poor trajectory on a few extra point attempts as well. All in all, the bad far outweighed the good yesterday for the Irish, and the final score bangs that point home.
THE UGLY
The aftermath. As the comments from yesterday’s story show, this loss opened up a festering wound, and the fate of Charlie Weis as Notre Dame’s football coach is once again a relevant conversation topic. Losing to Navy twice in three years, after not having lost to them in generations sounds like a fireable offense, and many Notre Dame fans will go to their grave arguing that point. Yet this is a Navy team that pushed Ohio State to the brink, beat Wake Forest, hung tough against Pitt, and has a very good argument to be included in the top 25.
Still, this has to be one of the more disappointing games in Charlie Weis’ tenure as a head coach, and while Weis said all the right things yesterday, he had to be shell-shocked that his team just lost to Navy... again. There’s plenty of time to discuss, breakdown, analyze and second-guess this loss, but Notre Dame’s fate will be determined in the next three games. Beat Pitt and a lot of the questions will fade, beat UConn they’ll be down to whispers, beat Stanford and a 9-3 Irish team will be playing in the Gator Bowl.
Charlie Weis certainly didn’t do himself any favors yesterday, and he’ll likely have to make a very tough call this offseason on what to do with his defensive staff. Yet Weis said it himself, 9-3 just isn’t good enough. While I agree, I don’t think you get rid of one of the elite recruiters and offensive minds in college football because he lost to Navy. There will be rumors and wild speculation the next few days about the usual suspects coming to Notre Dame, but it’s all just noise. Weis and the Irish have the opportunity to silence all of that by winning next weekend.