Maryland and Virginia may have had the weekend off, but there was still plenty to digest locally and nationally. Navy’s game at Notre Dame may have been played in the afternoon, but the Midshipmen were exposed as not ready for prime time in their loss at the Fighting Irish. Virginia Tech continued to gain momentum in their rout of Georgia Tech, setting up a potential Commonwealth Cup showdown for the Coastal Division.
Navy (7-2) saw things get late early in South Bend. The 52-20 loss at Notre Dame saw the Fighting Irish take a 38-0 lead before the Mids got on the board. Thankfully this won’t affect their status in the AAC West, but head coach Ken Niumatalolo needs to get this loss out of his team’s head pronto. They can’t let the Fighting Irish beat them on successive Saturdays. Easy to say when you’re not an 18 to 22 year old.
Midshipmen Medals:
Malcolm Perry ran for 117 yards while Mychal Cooper caught three passes for 73 yards and a touchdown. Jacob Springer and Diego Fagot each notched ten tackles. Owen White averaged 41.7 yards per punt while Bijan Nichols made both of his field goal attempts.
Midshipmen Miscues: Four fumbles led to 28 points for Notre Dame; the first two helped put Navy down 21-0 with 12:32 left in the second quarter. The passing game that was supposed to take flight this fall completed 4-13 attempts on a day when they needed to rally. The defense allowed six touchdowns plus a field goal on their first seven possessions. While they contained the Fighting Irish running game (3.4 yards per carry), the secondary was roasted for 305 yards on 22 attempts.
Next: Saturday at 3:30 p.m. against 9-1 SMU
Virginia Tech (7-3, 4-2 ACC) may have been wondering in early October if this turnover-prone team with a rather accommodating defense could scrape together enough wins to keep its bowl streak intact. As we enter the second half of November the Hokies are two wins away from returning to the ACC Championship Game (VT has won the Coastal six times in fourteen years), and their 45-0 rout of Georgia Tech puts division-leading Virginia and defending Coastal champ Pitt on notice.
Hokie Highlights: Hendon Hooker completed 9-13 passes for 159 yards and a touchdown while running for two more scores. And no fumbles or interceptions. The running game pounded out 258 yards, with this week’s trick play involving a 49-yard scamper from freshman Tayvion Robinson.
Alan Tisdale notched a pair of sacks as the defense held the Yellow Jackets to 2-15 on third down and posted its first shutout since their 10-0 blanking of Virginia in 2017. That Hokies posted three shutouts en route to a 9-4 season. Oscar Bradburn averaged 45.5 yards per punt.
Hokie Humblings: Tough to find one in as thorough a rout as this one. The offense moved the chains on just 3-10 third downs. I’m sure the postgame meal could have been better as well.
Next: Saturday at 3:30 p.m. vs. 7-3 Pitt.
National Notebook:
Alabama (9-1) may have steamrolled Mississippi State, but the Crimson Tide lose quarterback Tua Tagovailoa for the rest of the season with a dislocated hip. They still have Auburn in two weeks and won’t play in the SEC Championship game unless No. 1 LSU loses to Arkansas (0-6 in the SEC) and Texas A&M. Minnesota (9-1) and Baylor (9-1) left the ranks of the unbeaten. The Golden Gophers were handcuffed by Iowa and the Bears blew a 28-3 second quarter lead. Both schools were making cases for being in the College Football Playoff picture while rolling up either less-than-impressive wins or victories against less-than-impressive foes. November football has a way of sorting things out.
This week’s Final Four: LSU, Ohio State, Clemson & Georgia.
