Ready at the grid

IT'S THE classic match up: a struggling giant beset with self doubt is challenged by a hungry young pup who is well armed but whose inexperience might cost him dearly.

The Fighting Irish of Notre Dame meet the Midshipmen of the US Naval Academy in the Shamrock Classic at Croke Park today (kick off 1.0 p.m.) in what promises to be a genuinely explosive afternoon of American football.

Notre Dame, one of the perennial powerhouses of the game, are in the middle of what has the potential to become their worst season in over a decade. They have already lost two of their six games both at home and another loss would put paid to any chance of appearing in one of the important post season bowl games. They haven't missed a bowl game for nine years.

Navy, on the other hand are almost beside themselves with delight at their newfound success on the football field. Bursting with confidence at present, they nearly turned Notre Dame over last year (they threw that one away), and they're determined to set that right.

Navy have won their last three games, and there is some concern about that winning streak coming to an end: that three consecutive wins constitutes a "streak" at Navy is eloquent testament to the enormous turnaround in their footballing fortunes.

In any other year Notre Dame would be heavy favourites, and, if they can get their act together today, they can still see off Navy. But the Midshipmen are strong enough to take advantage of any signs of weakness from the Irish, and there have been plenty of those recently.

Navy have been waiting for this chance for a long time. This is the 70th meeting between the schools, which makes it the longest running intersectional rivalry in college football. Notre Dame lead the series 59-91, and have won for the last 32 years. The last time Navy upset the Irish was in 1963 when Roger Staubach, who went on to a famous career in the pros, led them to a 35-14 win in South Bend.

In last year's fixture Navy led 17-14 at half time, but then handed it to the Irish through turnovers and penalties: Navy had three touch downs called back because of penalties.

That sort of indiscipline seems to have been knocked out of the Midshipmen this year by head coach Charlie Weatherbie. They are 5-1 this year, and counted among their victims were Air Force who beat Notre Dame in overtime a fortnight ago.

The good news for the neutrals in the stands today is that both teams play attacking football. Navy have averaged 45 points in their last four games.

At the risk of being grossly simplistic, it's fair to say that the outcome of today's game hinges on the performances of the two quarterbacks, Ron Powlus of Notre Dame and Navy's Chris McCoy.

Powlus, a 6 ft 2 ins senior, has had a tough year. For the past two years he has been feted as one of the best in the game, a potential Heisman trophy winner. But in a handful of crucial situations things haven't gone right, and the national press (honest, Notre Dame are a national property) have placed much of the fault at the feet of Powlus.

Coach Weatherbie of Navy, however, doesn't seem to share this view. "I think he's a heck of a leader for their football team," he said this week. "He's a great football player, and he'll end up in the NFL one day I'm sure.

"He can throw the ball well, they run some option with him. He's used to people around him and he throws underneath the routes well. He's got a real strong arm, he can throw deep. I don't think there's anything that he can't do. We're gonna have to contain what he does to have an opportunity to be successful."

McCoy is a different sort of animal. At 5 ft 10 ins he's relatively small for his position, but he is ideally suited to directing the sort of offence which Navy run, the so called "triple option".

Unlike a standard offence, in which the quarterback either hands off the ball to a running back or drops back to pass, in the option, the quarter back operates almost like a running back with a good arm. As McCoy takes the snap, he has the "option" of running the ball himself (which he is built for), passing the ball, or pitching the ball to one of his backs. He's good at all three.

For his part, Notre Dame head coach Lou Holtz knows where the Navy dangers lie. "Navy's biggest improvement has been on offence, their execution of it. It's just hard to defend everything they do when they execute it well.

"You can't give them the bad play and you can't give them the turnovers cause it's very very difficult to stop.

"The main thing is they're playing with great confidence and their playing is very well coordinated. They're capable of beating anybody."It is very, very difficult to stop a triple option football team with an outstanding quarterback."

One of the pleasant differences between college football and the pros is its predisposition towards error: the kids are always fumbling the ball or throwing interceptions. The option offence has a particularly poor criminal record here. This game is likely to be decided by some poor kid making a mistake.

A couple of years ago the US Sporting News described Holtz as "simply the best big game coach in college football. Let's go even further: he also must be considered one of the top pressure situation coaches in the sport's history."

Holtz is going to need to live up to that reputation if Navy's streak isn't to reach the towering heights of four.

Notre Dame have their work cut out today. It ought to be a cracker.