2009 Ind & ND Fearless Predictions - Week 9

Previews and Predictions for the Week 9 Independent Games

2009 Ind. Fearless Predictions

Week 9 ... Oct. 31 Games

Army | Navy | Notre Dame 

Independent Fearless Predictions
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Temple (5-2) at Navy (6-2), 3:30 EST, Saturday, October 31

Why to watch: Temple vs. Navy might not get the blood boiling, but this is the equivalent of a nice early bowl game. The Owls are taking a break from their run to the MAC East title with a 4-0 conference record and on an impressive five game winning streak after rocking over Toledo 40-24. With a win, Temple can be bowl eligible … yes, Temple can be bowl eligible. Even if the Owls lose, they’ll get a win next week against a miserable Miami University or against Akron, but they’re looking to get a 13th and 14th game; they want to be playing for the MAC title. First, their defense will have to deal with a Navy offense that’s on a five-game winning streak of its own. Beating Rice and SMU were nice, but the win over Wake Forest last week was special since it came against a BCS conference team. If nothing else, Navy plays fun games with three of the last four decided by three points and with two of the last four coming in overtime.
Why Temple might win: The Owls have the defensive front to keep the Navy game from going crazy. Temple is No. 1 in the MAC against the run, and is 15th in the nation, allowing just 97 yards per game, and it doesn’t have to worry about any threat of the pass. Navy won last week against the Demon Deacons without attempting a pass, and they’re not going to start bombing away this week. Offensively, the Owl line has been fantastic in pass protection and has done a great job of paving the way for Bernard Pierce and the ground attack.
Why Navy might win: The defense should be able to slow down Pierce. The Temple offense is averaging a mere 314 yards per game and has no passing game whatsoever. Everyone knows about Navy’s running game, but a main reason for the success has been a defense that’s been fantastic throughout the year allowing just 316 yards and 21 points per game. Navy has allowed 14 points or fewer in three of the last four games, and they’re not going to get blown up by the Temple attack. Navy doesn’t go crazy when it comes to getting into the backfield, but it’s great at reading, reacting, and swarming to the ball.
Who to watch: With Navy QB Ricky Dobbs out with a knee injury, it’ll be up to Kriss Proctor to run the offense again. Dobbs practices with the team and will dress, but he’s not expected to see any action. Proctor battled for the job this offseason, and while he’s clearly the No. 2 man in the mix, he showed good decision-making ability and nice quickness last week against Wake Forest. He ran 23 times for 89 yards and a score, and while he didn’t throw a pass, he did a great job of running the attack. A star high school point guard, he sees the field well and is able to dish the ball off consistently.
What will happen: Get to the game early; it’ll be over in under three hours with these two passing games. The Temple defense will do just enough to keep the Navy ground game from exploding, while Pierce will score late in a close, hard-fought, low scoring battle.
CFN Prediction: Temple 23 … Navy 20 ... Line: Navy -7
Must See Rating: (The Damned United 5 … Cougar Town 1) … 3
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Washington State (1-6) at Notre Dame (5-2),7:30 EST, NBC, Saturday, October 31

Why to watch: Notre Dame is bringing its brand to San Antonio for the first in an interesting series of off-site, neutral field contests. The Irish has always recruited well in Texas and have about 4,600 alums in the state, so it figures to have a decided edge in the stands. After getting to 5-2 with a hard-fought 20-16 win over Boston College, the Domers are still holding out hope of running the table and qualifying for that coveted spot in the Bowl Championship Series. For Washington State, this is a rare opportunity to play in front of a national TV audience. Considering the Cougars’ play this season, that’s probably not such a good thing for anyone except maybe the players’ friends and family. Although their games have been a tad more competitive than a year ago, they’re still losing by an average of 22 points.
Why Washington State might win: The weak link on the Irish this fall has been the defense, particularly the secondary. Notre Dame is 117th nationally in pass defense, and has allowed the last five opponents to throw for at least 275 yards. The Cougars will continue the education of true freshman QB Jeff Tuel, who was sharp a week ago, going 28-of-42 for 354 yards and two touchdowns versus Cal. He’ll look to air out, with the help of an improving corps of receivers that’s bolstered by Johnny Forzani, Jared Karstetter, Jeffrey Solomon, and Gino Simone. Wazzu is used to playing from behind and being dragged into track meets.
Why Notre Dame might win: Washington State’s Pac-10 worst defense has no chance of slowing down the Irish attack. The Cougars get no backfield pressure and are giving up 500 yards a game. For QB Jimmy Clausen, it’s an open invitation to pile up the numbers, especially since weather won’t be a factor inside the Alamodome. He’ll continue to feed TE Kyle Rudolph and WR Golden Tate, who’s having a spectacular season without a lot of help from the other receivers. This is also a great opponent for Notre Dame to work on the running game, feeding the ball 20-25 times to leading rusher Armando Allen.
Who to watch: Manti Te'o is the real deal. The blue-chip recruit from Hawaii has begun to show the Irish and the nation why he was one of the most coveted linebackers in America in February. Slow out of the gate in September, he’s really erupted in October, cracking the starting lineup and racking up at least eight tackles in each of the last three games. In the win over Boston College, he was making plays everywhere, including 2.5 behind the line of scrimmage.
What will happen: This is one of those times when the Irish will be able to name the score and only stop putting up points when it decides to pull back on the reigns. Notre Dame has too much offensive firepower for a Wazzu defense that’s Big Sky-caliber. Clausen will chuck four touchdown passes as part of 550-yard, wire-to-wire domination.
CFN Prediction: Notre Dame 45 … Washington State 14 ... Line: Notre Dame -29
Must See Rating: (The Damned United 5 … Cougar Town 1) … 2
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