Physical aftereffects of Notre Dame-Navy could come into play when Sun Devils host Irish
Nov 4, 2014, 10:32 PM | Updated: 10:32 pm
While No. 14 Arizona State needed overtime to turn out a 19-16 win against Utah over the weekend, their next opponent, No. 10 Notre Dame, yielded 39 points to Navy, sputtering to a 10-point win.
While the Irish avoided a tally in the loss column at FedEx Field in Maryland, the team did lose several defensive players to injury in the contest, including leading tackler Joe Schmidt.
Now, the aftermath of the game has some awarding a point in ASU’s favor as the two teams prepare for a showdown at Sun Devil Stadium this weekend.
College football writer Bruce Feldman at FoxSports.com wrote about this very factor Tuesday.
Feldman talks about a formerly-developed personal theory — the “Body Blow Theory,” in his words — which links a team’s results one week to the physicality of its opponent the week prior.
Last year, Feldman used Stanford to promote his theory. This season, a Feldman reader — and, coincidentally, a Notre Dame fan — points to the Midshipmen as the potential physical juggernaut causing the Irish posterior harm.
After playing Navy, the reader points out, Notre Dame has traditionally struggled against mediocre teams. The Irish has lost five of the last seven such contests, only beating a 6-7 Purdue team by three in 2012 and a 6-7 Wake Forest team by a touchdown in 2011.
| Season | Opponent (final record) | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Pittsburgh (7-6) | L, 28-21 |
| 2012 | Purdue (6-7) | W, 20-17 |
| 2011 | Wake Forest (6-7) | W, 24-17 |
| 2010 | Tulsa (10-3) | L, 28-27 |
| 2009 | Pittsburgh (10-3) | L, 27-22 |
| 2008 | Syracuse (3-9) | L, 24-23 |
| 2007 | Air Force (9-4) | L, 41-24 |
Of the results over the last several seasons, Feldman writes:
The loss to the 2008 Orange team came when ND was a 19-point favorite. In 2007, they were an eight-point favorite against Air Force. Worse still, the only team among the seven that was ranked at the time was that 2009 Pitt team. Everyone else was unranked.
Meanwhile, the 10-3 Tulsa team that beat Brian Kelly and the Irish in 2010 was coached by now-ASU coach Todd Graham.
Feldman later goes on to note that teams are 2-6 this season following a contest with Navy. And one of those six losses was suffered by Ohio State, who lost by 14 to Virginia Tech, who is now just 4-5 — 1-4 in the ACC. And one of the wins, Feldman points out, was had by Temple, who were facing a 2-8 FCS team in Delaware State.
ASU lost to Notre Dame, 37-34, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas last season.
