Notre Dame and Air Force have found themselves on opposite sides of the football spectrums. Notre Dame is suppose to be the favorite at Notre Dame Stadium with the high powered run oriented offense. Air Force is suppose to struggle. Now, it's flipped.
Notre Dame and Air Force are squaring off in a rivalry that Air Force has done surprisingly well in. ESPN Classic shows countless replays of games where Notre Dame and Air Force go down to the wire. Now, it's Notre Dame who is looking for the upset.
The teams
Notre Dame: Notre Dame is 1-8 this year. That doesn't even sound right. This season is uncharacteristically bad for the Irish. Gerry Faust, Bob Davie, and Ty Willingham didn't start out this bad. Ever. Now, Charlie Weis has immense talent, especially in his underclassmen, but he can't translate this into wins.
Air Force: Air Force is 7-3. The Falcons haven't played a great schedule. Navy is actually their toughest game so far this year. Air Force is led by a great rushing attack that averages 272.8 yards per game on the ground. Shaun Carney is a very accurate passer with a 62.8 completion percentage.
Key Players
Jimmy Clausen, Notre Dame-Clausen is back in the starting lineup. Weis said that he looks like he healed from whatever injury he suffered against Purdue. This may be the first time we ever see Clausen at full health in his college career. After coming back from the elbow surgery and hip injury, he better be ready to play.
Armando Allen, Notre Dame-The Irish are going to have to keep it on the ground this game. Air Force has had some trouble stopping the run attack this year. Hopefully, Charlie tries to take advantage of it by putting in the speedy Allen. Screen plays and tosses put Allen in a good situation to get into the open field, where he will make you pay.
Shaun Carney, Air Force-Notre Dame has been bad in pass defense recently. Giving up a completion to Navy is bad, let alone a game winning touchdown AND two point conversion. Shaun Carney is a fast QB with an accurate arm. He will have to connect on short passes to wear out the Notre Dame defense.
Chad Hall, Air Force-Not only is he the Falcons' leading rusher. He is their leading receiver also. Hall will have to use his amazing speed to outrun the slow Irish safeties.
Prediction
Notre Dame wins 17-10. Both teams will try to wear out the opposing defenses. Both Allen and Hall will get over 100 yards on the ground. Clausen will not throw more than 20 times. Carney will have more rushes than he has passes. This will be a relatively quick game.
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