College Sports

Irish face struggling Navy

Posted October 28, 2011 12:00 am

Mike McGraw

Navy (2-5) at Notre Dame (4-3)

When: 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Notre Dame Stadium

TV: Channel 5

Radio: WLS 890-AM

Series: Notre Dame leads 71-12-1; Navy won 35-17 last season.

Coaches: Ken Niumatalolo (29-19, fourth year at Navy); Brian Kelly (12-8, 2nd year at ND).

Players to watch: Navy FB Alexander Teich ran for 210 yards against the Irish last year, and ranks second on the team in rushing this season behind QB Kriss Proctor (591 yards). ... Notre Dame S Harrison Smith had a career-high 14 tackles against USC and moved into the school's top 10 in all-time tackles among defensive backs.

The skinny: A spot in a BCS bowl is pretty much out of the question after last week's loss to USC, but Notre Dame needs to worry about ending a two-game losing streak to Navy. The Midshipmen had lost 43 straight games in the series, but have now won three of the last four meetings, including the last two in South Bend. Navy has lost five in a row and needs a strong finish to qualify for its ninth straight bowl game.

Fast fact: Last week in a 38-35 win over Navy, East Carolina QB Dominique Davis completed an NCAA-record 26 consecutive passes to start the game.

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