If there’s criticism, it should be of the constructive manner this afternoon, a day after the Irish let go of some frustration on Navy. The 56-14 thumping was the biggest beating of Navy since Tony Rice, Mark Green and Ricky Watters beat up the Midshipmen in 1987.
The victory was a complete mauling -- with the Irish dominating nearly every facet of the game. The Irish averaged a gaudy 7.4 yards a play, put up 442 yards on offense and managed to keep the time of possession battle close against a Navy team that just about always dominates the football.
Defensively, the effort was even more impressive. After struggling against the Navy option last year, the Irish kept the ground game in check, keeping Navy consistently “off schedule,” holding the Midshipmen to an average third down of seven yards. Of the 50 runs Navy called, the Irish held 24 of them to two yards or less. That’s the perfect recipe to defeat a great offensive unit and a team that’s had Notre Dame’s number the past few years.
Let’s put the Midshipmen in the rearview mirror as we look at the good, bad and ugly of the Irish’s 56-14 beating of Navy.
THE GOOD
Let’s hit this in bullet points:
* Michael Floyd: It was only the second time the senior had the opportunity to play against the Midshipmen, and he took advantage of his physical mismatch. Dominating on short throws and long, Floyd was the Irish’s best offensive player.
* Cierre Wood and Jonas Gray: Neither broke the long one, but they moved the chains and dominated the football game. After forgetting about the two-headed ground machine, the Irish ran far more often than they threw it.
* Tommy Rees, the game manager: Tommy will find his way into the “Bad” column too, but going 16 of 22 with a nice long touchdown pass is worthy of a mention. Rees was accurate with the ball on a day where the weather wasn’t perfect, and the Irish look ready to switch to their November mode of football, just like they did last season.
* The offensive line: That’s a sackless month for Ed Warinner‘s group, who dominated the line of scrimmage on Saturday. The Irish only had two third downs in the first half, converting them both.
* Austin Collinsworth: He was a special teams dynamo -- making multiple tackles in kick coverage, a nice return on a short kickoff, and reminded us that he’s the kind of athlete that’ll get a shot to play once Harrison Smith departs.
* Manti Te’o: He was dominant in the middle of the field. He could’ve been in the books for 25 tackles if the game stayed competitive as he embodied the Irish’s nasty disposition. (His run-blitz for a loss was a thing of beauty.)
* Stephon Tuitt: The Irish aren’t sure what they’re going to do with Tuitt yet, reaping the benefits of his physicality both on the inside and outside of the defensive line. What they are sure of is that Tuitt has already turned into a physical mismatch -- and it was obvious yesterday afternoon.
* Louis Nix: The big man also chipped in a big day, with six tackles and a half sack. Between Sean Cwynar and Nix, the Irish are in great shape down the stretch at nose guard.
* Robert Blanton & Jamoris Slaughter: Both members of the secondary played great games at the line of scrimmage, combining for 12 tackles and handling the outside of the option well.
* Dayne Crist: Kelly wanted to get him on the field a series earlier, but the senior quarterback looked good bouncing back from a terribly disappointing Saturday a week ago. (It would’ve been great to get him that touchdown on the QB draw.)
* George Atkinson: Even if he didn’t break another big one, the Irish averaged 30.3 yards a return. Very quietly, the Irish are creeping their way to the top of the statistical heap on kickoff returns.
THE BAD
It’s tough to be too critical about anything after that victory, but let’s officially pick some nits.
* Lateral Damage: Once again, the Irish lost the ball on an incomplete backwards pass. Blaming Rees is the easy thing to do, but Theo Riddick needs to take a better angle on the pattern and Tommy needs to be more accurate.
I think just about every Irish fan would be happy losing the backwards pass deep in the Irish’s own territory.
* Late interceptions: Rees threw a late interception with the Irish already up 49-7 on a 3rd and 6. Rees never should’ve tried to force the ball into the window he had, and his chinstrap slamming reaction showed how upset he was about it.
* Lack of breakaway speed: Theo Riddick tied a career long with his 37 yard catch down the sideline. That’s the good part. But he got caught from behind by a Navy safety. Not sure if Riddick is completely healthy, but either way, file that play under the “maybe he’s not a game-breaker” category.
* Lack of touchbacks: Kyle Brindza spent the first half of the year rocketing kicks into the end zone. Not sure if there’s something wrong or it was strategic, but Brindza didn’t have his regular fastball.
* Fill in the blank: I’m sure I’m forgetting something bad here, but I expect you all to mention it in the comments.
THE UGLY
What could possibly be ugly after this victory? The Irish should be singing Kumbaya together after dealing with an ugly loss in a rivalry game, some hurt feelings, and a team meeting to clear the air.
At 5-3, the Irish need to prepare to hit the road for a night game in Winston-Salem. Get out of there alive, and we can start talking about running the table until Stanford.