Welcome to the Anti-Preview for Navy. Friends, Notre Dame is surrounded by a misty cloud of bullshit. I tried really, really hard to get this thing written earlier today, but the Internet just wouldn’t let me. There is too much going on.
If you haven’t heard anything weird or disturbing, consider yourself lucky. There was a classic case of mind games being played, and little children not knowing the difference blew it ALL out of proportion. It was a trainwreck of a day, and just feel lucky that kickoff is coming up very, very soon.
The problem is…
Navy. The Midshipmen have straight up owned the Irish since they ended the 43 game losing streak in 2007. Notre Dame has dropped 3 out of the last 4 to the Middies, and that is 3 too many.
This years Navy team, however, is not nearly as good as the machine Notre Dame has faced over the past four years. Outsiders may laugh if they like, but almost anyone who has played Navy over the past four years can attest to just how rough of a game it was. This year Navy has some glaring weaknesses- and it starts with injuries on both sides of the ball.
The biggest injury is to Navy quarterback, Kris Proctor. The QB is the most important piece of the option offense, and we are now the third man down from what Navy had last year in Ricky Dobbs.
That sounds good, but we should know better. Navy will come into South Bend ready for “war.” We should return the favor in spades.
What should you be drinking? Notre Dame needs to get straight violent with these guys. Crazy, pirate violent. That would make a great hip-hop lyric. Break out your Pirate Flags YO!
The Pirate Flag
- 1 oz Captain Morgan spiced rum
- 1 oz Midori melon liqueur
- 1 oz Chambord raspberry liqueur
- 6 oz Hawaiian Punch
- 4 – 6 oz 7-Up
- Ice
Mix liquors and rum together with Hawaiian Punch in a beer mug 1/3 full of ice. Add 7-Up soda and serve garnished with a skewer of pineapple chunks and cherries if desired.
What should you be eating? Dig into something out of the ordinary.
Seafood Pot Pie
- 1 can of Clam Chowder
- 3/4 cup of milk
- 1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
- 2 tsp of Old Bay Seasoning
- 1 cup of frozen mixed vegetables
- 1 pound of seafood mix (shrimp, scallops, crabmeat, lobster)
- 1 egg
- 1 cup all-purpose baking mix (I use Jiffy)
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Mix chowder, 1/4 cup of milk, pepper, Old Bay seasoning, veggies, and seafood in a 9″ pie pan. Mix remaining ingredients (milk, egg, baking mix). Pour over the seafood mixture in the pie pan. Bake 30 minutes or until hot and topping is Golden.
Irish Stew: Hey. We’re fucking pirates this week. We are going up against a sovereign nations navy. So… FUCK NAVY. Don’t be afraid to say it, and say it proudly. Break out your eye patches and give a loud, “ARRRRRR!!!!” as you spit in some old lady’s mouth (that old lady was wearing a Navy sweatshirt). What I am truly trying to say is, is to not be afraid to talk as much shit about Navy as we do about any other of our regular opponents. Please see my published works on this topic.
What scares the shit out of me? Two things, actually:
- With Kapron Lewis-Moore out for the season, and the status of Ethan Johnson being more than doubtful… Notre Dame will rely on 3 true freshman (Aaron Lynch, Stephon Tuitt, & Chase Hounshell) and a sophomore (Kona Schwenke) in their defensive end rotation. As talented as these young men are, you have to wonder if they are ready for a game like Navy. Tuitt and Lynch did a decent job against Air Force, but this is a different monster all together.
- The mindset of the team. With all of this extra negative bullshit floating around after a crushing loss to our biggest rival- how will this team respond? Seriously, win or lose, whatever this team does mentally will effect the rest of the season. A season that could still see 10 wins.
Offensive MVP: Jonas Gray. I think all of the subtle, and not so subtle hints are there from not only Kelly- but the entire fanbase. Give Jonas Gray the ball- then give it to him some more. Gray has looked outstanding this season, and he is still averaging somewhere in the neighborhood of 8.9 yards per carry. The law of averages wins out here. Gray will have a monster day of over 150 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Defensive MVP: Jamoris Slaughter. All we have to do is go back to the game tape of Air Force to understand why this was such an easy pick for me to make. Slaughter was a one man wrecking crew. He did a little bit of everything while basically playing a LB hybrid. There is a strong feeling coming from the depths of my gut, and it ain’t the McRib. Slaughter has another monster game against an option team; around 10 tackles and a forced turnover. BANGIN’!!!
Something else to watch for on Saturday… It’s something that we have already touched on a little bit. I want to see how these players react to everything that has happened from the USC game to now. Will the seniors and other key players step up and take a leadership role? If they struggle early, how will they fight back? Will Kelly start dipping into the reserves even more? There is a lot of uncertainty within the program right now. How will they right the ship?
At the end of the day… Notre Dame gets back on track. I have a sneaky suspicion that this team, come gametime, will just say enough is enough. Navy will be hobbled, and there is a sense of urgency on our side as opposed to a sense of entitlement that we had against USC. IRISH roll 55-20. 
