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Hobbled Irish prep for Navy
October, 19, 2010 Oct 197:49PM CTEmail Print Comments SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Notre Dame is close to calling in the American Red Cross. With an offense already dinged up like it has driven through a seven-week hailstorm, Tuesday's news of two more injured starters overshadowed the Irish's three-game win streak.
A week after it was announced that tight end Kyle Rudolph would miss the remainder of the season with a hamstring injury, ND coach Brian Kelly said Tuesday that receiver Theo Riddick will miss Saturday's game against Navy in East Rutherford, N.J., with a severely sprained ankle. Kelly added that star wideout Michael Floyd (hamstring) will dress but is questionable versus the Midshipmen (4-2).
Senior Duval Kamara, whose career has been a disappointment, has just one reception this season and will fill in for Floyd this weekend if need be. T.J. Jones will shift over to the slot position in place of Riddick, and John Goodman will take over for Jones.
Meanwhile, Kelly, whose team is 4-3, is conscious of the consequences that come with a poor performance against Navy.
"But, again, for us, we know the challenge ahead of us," he said. "Our players remember last year's game and how that derailed, really, the entire season for Notre Dame."
The Irish lost, 23-21, last season and dropped a 46-44 decision in triple overtime in 2007 to the Midshipmen. Notre Dame's previous defeat in the annual rivalry came in 1963.
Fortunately for Kelly, his defense is mostly healthy. Safety Jamoris Slaughter continues to deal with a tender ankle but former linebacker Zeke Motta has been more than serviceable in his absence. Against the Mids' triple-option attack Saturday, Motta said the key is to remain alert on the back line.
"I'd say it's a real tough group that's going to try and lull you to sleep and catch you slipping and just try and throw it over your head," said Motta, who has 32 tackles this year. "It's hard; you gotta be mentally tough. You gotta keep your eyes on your key each time and not get bored with it."
Little is boring about Navy's coach Ken Niumatalolo's deceptive offense, which is stacking up 259 rushing yards per game this year. Notre Dame has limited its last three opponents to only 157 combined yards on the ground. But Kelly admitted that Navy's unconventional scheme has been on his mind for a while.
"Well, maybe I overstated it a little bit," he said. "Maybe I said five weeks, it's actually been 15 weeks we've been working on it. [I'm] having fun with you. You can't just do two days. So we've had to find time, five minutes here, ten minutes here, just to become acquainted with it more so than two days. It's impossible for two days.
"So we look at opportunities in the spring to run some option. We look at opportunities in those dog days of double sessions where you can change things up a little bit, and maybe add a little bit of that to your practice schedule. So we've tried to keep an eye on it. We've been focused on the next opponent, let's face it. But this isn't the first time our guys are going to see it or hear about it."
Hobbled Irish prep for Navy
October, 19, 2010 Oct 197:49PM CTEmail Print Comments SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Notre Dame is close to calling in the American Red Cross. With an offense already dinged up like it has driven through a seven-week hailstorm, Tuesday's news of two more injured starters overshadowed the Irish's three-game win streak.
A week after it was announced that tight end Kyle Rudolph would miss the remainder of the season with a hamstring injury, ND coach Brian Kelly said Tuesday that receiver Theo Riddick will miss Saturday's game against Navy in East Rutherford, N.J., with a severely sprained ankle. Kelly added that star wideout Michael Floyd (hamstring) will dress but is questionable versus the Midshipmen (4-2).
Senior Duval Kamara, whose career has been a disappointment, has just one reception this season and will fill in for Floyd this weekend if need be. T.J. Jones will shift over to the slot position in place of Riddick, and John Goodman will take over for Jones.
Meanwhile, Kelly, whose team is 4-3, is conscious of the consequences that come with a poor performance against Navy.
"But, again, for us, we know the challenge ahead of us," he said. "Our players remember last year's game and how that derailed, really, the entire season for Notre Dame."
The Irish lost, 23-21, last season and dropped a 46-44 decision in triple overtime in 2007 to the Midshipmen. Notre Dame's previous defeat in the annual rivalry came in 1963.
Fortunately for Kelly, his defense is mostly healthy. Safety Jamoris Slaughter continues to deal with a tender ankle but former linebacker Zeke Motta has been more than serviceable in his absence. Against the Mids' triple-option attack Saturday, Motta said the key is to remain alert on the back line.
"I'd say it's a real tough group that's going to try and lull you to sleep and catch you slipping and just try and throw it over your head," said Motta, who has 32 tackles this year. "It's hard; you gotta be mentally tough. You gotta keep your eyes on your key each time and not get bored with it."
Little is boring about Navy's coach Ken Niumatalolo's deceptive offense, which is stacking up 259 rushing yards per game this year. Notre Dame has limited its last three opponents to only 157 combined yards on the ground. But Kelly admitted that Navy's unconventional scheme has been on his mind for a while.
"Well, maybe I overstated it a little bit," he said. "Maybe I said five weeks, it's actually been 15 weeks we've been working on it. [I'm] having fun with you. You can't just do two days. So we've had to find time, five minutes here, ten minutes here, just to become acquainted with it more so than two days. It's impossible for two days.
"So we look at opportunities in the spring to run some option. We look at opportunities in those dog days of double sessions where you can change things up a little bit, and maybe add a little bit of that to your practice schedule. So we've tried to keep an eye on it. We've been focused on the next opponent, let's face it. But this isn't the first time our guys are going to see it or hear about it."
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