AT THE HALF...

You watch the first half of today's game and you wonder how Rutgers held the Middies scoreless two weeks ago. Yes, Navy lost quarterback Brian Hampton that day, but the synchronicity the Middie offense has is like watching an assembly line mass-production thingamabob. Very impressive.

The first punt in the game, as you may know, did not take place until the final play of the first half. Navy punted.

Biggest play of the game thus far: KNKE's 17-yard scramble on 3rd-and-19. At the time it was 10-0 Irish and with the way the ND offense has been playing, had Navy been forced to punt the Irish could have put them in a 17-point hole. Instead, KNKE gains 17, then draws Derek Landri offside on 4th-and-1, and Navy marches dowfield to score.

How about Travis Thomas! In his first carry since his 4th-and-goal one-yard TD run against Penn State on Sept. 9, Thomas ran 16 yards for a score. Thomas took the handoff, bounced outside and and exploded downfield without anyone laying a solid hit on him. Maybe even untouched. And so the question arises: Can Darius Walker play linebacker?

Actually, Walker's had a good game thus far: 11 carries for 69 yards plus one reception. But here's the problem. Darius gets his yards against defenses such as Purdue's, Stanford's and Navy's. But Purdue is 96th versus the run, Stanford 119th (last) and Navy 56th. Does Walker or Thomas give the Irish a better chance from a rushing standpoint against a team with a good defense, such as USC? One carry isn't enough to say, of course, but it would be nice to see one game where Walker and Thomas had an equal number of carries.

Defensively for the Irish, Joe Brockington is playing a great game. Tom Zbikowski has done the equivalent of running 16:31 (Navy's time of possession) worth of gassers in the first half. Don't know if you can see it on CBS, bu the offense are basically playing a Cover 3 (three-deep zone) with Zibby alone in the middle of the field and both corners pinched in toward the slot backs. As soon as Zibby reads pitch he zeroes in on the ballcarrier, which is why the Irish were so exposed on Navy's lone reverse.

Correction: Notre Dame's corners are playing man and Zibby is the lone deep guy in coverage. And yet he's making most of the tackles. Sure, he's unblocked, but you always just get the feeling that Zibby wants contact more than anyone else on the field.

Give Navy credit for running their offense with maximum efficiency, and give the Irish DBs credit for tackling sure-handedly in the first half. And Landri and Laws have basically nullified Adam Ballard on the belly dives. The difference is that the Middie slot backs are getting the corner before the Irish linebackers can make the play.

By the way, BQQB set a school record for most games in a row (44) with at least one completion. Is there a dumber record? If any QB at a non-option school went an entire game without a completion, how many games in a row do you think he'd be starting?

Is there a Most Games in a Row with at Least One Snap record held by a center at each school? Do they keep track of that?

John Carlson just caught another pass on 4th down for a 1st down for the Irish. According to the ND folks, that's the 4th time this year for him. I thought it was at least his 5th. Anyway, that's something Pete Carroll want to write a post-it note to himself about.