Navy comes first, but the real test for the Fighting Irish is Miami's passing attack, led by one of the country's most dynamic receivers. The answer may come down to one cornerback.
Notre Dame football got the bounce-back performance it needed against Navy, but the Fighting Irish didn't exactly have an easy afternoon in Foxborough.
After falling to BYU 28-24 two weeks ago, Notre Dame responded with a 35-13 victory over the Midshipmen at Gillette Stadium on Saturday.
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The final score was convincing, but the game was much closer than the numbers suggest for a good portion of the afternoon. Navy took a 13-7 lead late in the first half, using its physical rushing attack to control possession and keep Notre Dame's offense on the sideline. The Irish needed a spark, and running back Nolan James Jr.
provided it with a 52-yard touchdown run just 57 seconds after Navy took the lead.
That play changed the afternoon. Notre Dame scored touchdowns on four consecutive possessions, while the defense completely shut down Navy after halftime. The Midshipmen managed just 56 yards in the second half, and Notre Dame walked away with a 22-point victory.
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CJ Carr
threw for 210 yards and two touchdowns, while James finished with 107 rushing yards and two scores. Jerome Bettis Jr. also found the end zone for the first time in his Notre Dame career, hauling in a 31-yard touchdown pass.
It was an important response from Marcus Freeman's
team, which improved to 7-1 and can now turn its attention to one of the biggest games of the season. Miami comes to South Bend on November 7, and there is one Notre Dame storyline that deserves plenty of attention heading into the matchup.
DJ McKinney's injury creates a major concern against Miami
One of the biggest storylines coming out of the Navy game wasn't necessarily something that happened on the field. Notre Dame continues to be without starting cornerback DJ McKinney
, who is expected to miss an extended period because of the ankle injury he suffered against BYU.
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Freeman confirmed that McKinney is expected to return at some point this season, but he will be out for quite a while. That means Notre Dame will have to figure out how to handle one of the most dangerous passing attacks in college football without one of its most experienced defensive backs.
The timing couldn't be much worse.
Miami quarterback Darian Mensah
has been outstanding this season and has firmly established himself as a Heisman Trophy contender. Through eight games, he has thrown for 2,425 yards and 27 total touchdowns, while completing passes at an exceptionally high rate.
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Then there's Malachi Toney
, who has developed into one of the most dangerous offensive weapons in the country. The sophomore receiver has already surpassed 1,000 receiving yards and has 13 touchdown receptions. He is coming off a monster performance against Pittsburgh, when he caught 16 passes for 194 yards and three touchdowns.
That was followed up by seven receptions for 75 yards and two touchdowns against UNC this past weekend.
Miami also has Cooper Barkate, who provides Mensah with another legitimate receiving threat. Barkate has 372 receiving yards and four touchdowns, giving the Hurricanes another option capable of making defenses pay when they devote too much attention to Toney.
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Toney is still the headliner, though.
He made several big plays against Notre Dame in Miami's season-opening victory last year. That was his first college game, so the Irish didn't have much of a scouting report on what he could become. That's obviously no longer the case.
Notre Dame knows exactly what it's dealing with this time around.
The good news for the Irish is that Toney hasn't faced a secondary with the combination of talent and experience that Notre Dame can put on the field. Leonard Moore
, Christian Gray, Adon Shuler and Luke Talich give defensive coordinator Chris Ash
some talented pieces to work with.
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The problem is that McKinney's absence takes away an important part of that equation.
I like Jayden Sanders. He's aggressive, physical, and scrappy, and there's plenty to like about his long-term potential as a true sophomore. He's also shown that he can get himself into trouble by being overly aggressive at times. The double-move touchdown he surrendered against Wisconsin in the season opener is a good example.
Sanders has handled an increased role, but asking him to consistently match up against a receiver like Toney is a significant challenge. The same goes for Gray if Notre Dame decides to use him outside for extended stretches.
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Notre Dame needs to find a way to make sure Toney doesn't dictate the game.
Leonard Moore needs to shadow Malachi Toney
Notre Dame has already shown that it is willing to build its secondary game plan around taking away an opponent's best receiver.
Last season against USC, the Irish made a concerted effort to have Moore follow Makai Lemon
around the field. That approach worked because Notre Dame had a cornerback it trusted to handle a high-level receiver without needing to constantly provide additional help.
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I believe the same approach is necessary against Toney.
Moore is several weeks removed from the concussion that sidelined him against Stanford and remains one of the best cornerbacks in college football. He's an elite cover player with the ability to take away an opponent's top receiving threat.
If Notre Dame wants to make life difficult for Mensah, Moore needs to be the primary answer for Toney.
This is also where the offseason decision to move Gray from field corner to nickel could become important. One of the benefits of that transition was Gray's experience playing outside. Notre Dame can use that versatility against Miami, allowing Gray to handle more outside responsibilities while Moore moves around the formation.
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Toney in the slot? Moore follows him.
Toney outside? Moore follows him there, too.
The traditional distinctions between boundary corner, field corner, and nickel become less important when you're dealing with a receiver who can hurt you from multiple alignments. Notre Dame needs to prioritize the matchup rather than worry about keeping everyone in their usual position.
That doesn't mean Moore has to take every single snap against Toney without help. There will be situations where Ash needs to provide safety assistance, particularly on third downs and in the red zone. But the overall approach should be clear: Make Toney work for everything and force someone else to beat you.
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The Navy game showed that Notre Dame's defense can respond after a difficult first half. The Irish allowed 212 rushing yards to the Midshipmen, but held them to just 56 total yards after halftime. That ability to make adjustments is encouraging heading into the Miami matchup. Naval Academy Athletics +1
However, Miami presents an entirely different challenge.
Notre Dame has the talent to compete with the Hurricanes, and the return of Moore gives the Irish an elite defensive back to build around. But losing McKinney for an extended period puts even more pressure on Ash to find the right combinations in the secondary.
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The BYU loss exposed some issues that Notre Dame needed to address. The Navy victory was an important step in getting back on track.
Now comes the real test.
Miami is undefeated, Mensah is playing some of the best football in the country, and Toney has become a nightmare matchup for opposing defenses. If Notre Dame wants to keep its College Football Playoff hopes firmly on track, figuring out how to slow down that connection will be one of the most important things it does this week.
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This article was originally published on A to Z Sports. Read the full story here: Notre Dame football's plan to stop Malachi Toney is an adjustment that Fighting Irish fans have seen very recently
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