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Game Notes: Notre Dame vs. Navy

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News and notes from No. 8 Notre Dame's 24-17 victory over Navy

DEFENSE COMES UP BIG

In Notre Dame’s 28-27 loss to Navy last November, the Irish allowed the Midshipmen to score touchdowns on four of its first five possessions, not including they took a knee at the end of the first half.

The final drive didn’t end in points, but Navy was able to run out the final 7:28 of the game to earn the victory.

Notre Dame was far more effective on defense this season, allowing Navy to score just two touchdowns on its eight drives.

The Midshipmen finished the game with 277 rushing yards, 92 yards below its season average. In addition, Navy’s 3.8 per carry average was 2.1 yards below its season average.

“We didn’t give up explosive plays,” head coach Brian Kelly said. “They made some key plays, obviously the third-and-16 where the guy bends back and we don’t make a tackle there.

“The wheel route to the fullback — they made some key plays, but we didn’t give up explosive plays.”

Notre Dame took an aggressive approach against the Navy triple option, something few teams are willing to do. There is risk involved, but Notre Dame went after the Midshipmen and it paid off.

“The biggest thing is not playing on their terms and playing on ours,” senior linebacker Greer Martini said. “I think we did that.”

Notre Dame threw some unorthodox looks at Navy and mixed up its personnel. Starting field cornerback Julian Love lined up at strong safety until late in the game. Love responded with a career-high 14 tackles and 10 solo stops.

The unique looks — which included snaps with linebacker Nyles Morgan lining up at nose guard — kept Navy off balance.

“Giving them different looks and kept them on their toes because they were going to run into our pressures,” Morgan said of the defensive alignments. “We kept them guessing and kept changing up the calls so they wouldn’t catch on and kept it interesting.”

Navy had two possessions in the fourth quarter, and it had a chance to tie the game with both drives. Sophomore cornerback Troy Pride Jr. intercepted a pass to end the first drive, and the Irish came up with a key fourth-down stop to end the final drive.

It was a vast improvement over its 2016 performance, when Notre Dame couldn’t get off the field when the game was on the line.

“I think guys remembered last year when we weren’t able to get a stop,” senior rover Drue Tranquill said of the final drive.

“Defensively we were sitting there like, ‘Guys, the game rests on us. We have to get this stop.’ We were going to come together and get that done.”

GREER MARTINI SHINES AGAINST THE OPTION ... AGAIN

Senior linebacker Greer Martini’s first career start came all the way back in 2014, when he was a freshman facing Navy’s triple option. It began a four-year career of excellence against that unique offense.

In his five previous starts against triple-option opponents, Martini totaled 46 tackles (three for loss) while racking up at least eight stops in each game.

He saved his best for last, leading Notre Dame and setting a new career high with 15 tackles. Navy is certainly going to be happy once Martini is no longer wearing a Notre Dame uniform.

“Ken Niumatalolo asked me if [Greer] was a senior, and he hoped that he would not be back next year,” Irish head coach Kelly said of what his Navy counterpart mentioned to him following the game. “He’s tried to block him, and he can’t block him. He was our player of the game — he got the game ball.”

Martini is a smart and disciplined player, making him an ideal fit to play the option.

“He just has a really good nose for the football, good sense,” Kelly said of his senior captain. “I think what you saw today was the physicality and bending back on the fullback.

“He was physical, he played with the top of his pads. It was a clinic in terms of the way he played the linebacker position today.”

Martini’s performance certainly didn’t come as a surprise to his teammates.

“I expected that,” senior linebacker Nyles Morgan said of Martini’s big game. “We call Greer the option guru. He just finds the ball whether he’s in the middle, he’s playing buck, playing left, playing right.

“He just finds the ball. I’m proud of him.”

TROY PRIDE JR. HAS A CAREER DAY

Senior linebacker Greer Martini wasn’t the only Irish player to have a career day. Sophomore cornerback Troy Pride Jr., who is known more for his speed than anything else, had a breakout performance against Navy.

Pride registered his first career interception in the fourth quarter, but he was active against the Navy ground game, finishing the game with a career-high six tackles.

“What Troy did today is he became more of a complete player in the sense that he had to get into the action,” head coach Brian Kelly noted. “He’s been playing wide corner, and you’re not really in the action there. He was in the action today.

“He had to get off blocks, make tackles and get his nose dirty, and I thought he did a nice job.”

Pride not only made his first career interception, he also made his first career tackle for loss.

BRANDON WIMBUSH SETTLES DOWN

Junior quarterback Brandon Wimbush completed just 1 of 5 passes in the first quarter, and heading into the final drive of the first half he was just 2 of 6.

Trailing 10-3 and with just 1:08 left in the half, Notre Dame needed something from its signal-caller, and he delivered. Wimbush completed a pair of 23-yard passes on the drive before capping it off with a two-yard run touchdown to tie the game with just eight seconds left in the half.

In the final 31:08 of the game. Wimbush completed 7 of 12 passes for 138 yards with two touchdowns, and added 41 yards and another score on the ground.

“He was just a little off,” head coach Brian Kelly said of his quarterback’s early struggles. “… He was just a little amped, and the ball came out high a couple of times, but I thought he settled down into the game.

“What we’re looking for is a guy that will take what’s happened early and reset, which he did, and refocus. He came back and made some really big plays for us.

“The conditions weren’t great to throw the football today, but I thought he was gritty, hung with it, and we went back to some tough throws that he had to make. I was really proud of the way he responded.”

KEVIN STEPHERSON STEPS UP

Sophomore wide receiver Kevin Stepherson didn’t play a snap in Notre Dame’s first four games, although the reason for that has never been fully explained. Once he returned to the lineup his playing time was limited, with just 41 snaps in his first three games in the lineup.

Over the next three games Stepherson became more of a regular in the rotation, playing at least 57 snaps in each outing. His season reached its high point in Notre Dame’s win over Navy.

With its top two receivers — junior Equanimeous St. Brown and sophomore Chase Claypool — out by halftime with injuries, the Irish offense needed someone to step up, and Stepherson did just that.

He caught five passes, he set a career high with 103 receiving yards, and his two scores marked the first multi-touchdown game of his career.

“We felt like if we could get him on some drive routes underneath, that he could run and catch,” said head coach Brian Kelly.

“As well as we run the football, let’s get those safeties down and get Kevin over the top, and we were able to do this as well.”

Stepherson’s emergence on the field only came about because of the growth he has shown off the field. It was his off-the-field actions that kept him out of the rotation early in the season, but he has worked hard to earn back the trust of his coaches.

“It’s been a journey, there’s no question about that,” Kelly said of Stepherson’s climb back into the lineup. “I’ve said this many times, I’m proud of the fact that he has shown the passion and the perseverance to be here today.

“He’s had many chances to fold under the scrutiny that he’s been under, but he’s persevered and Notre Dame’s been great for him.”

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

• Navy ran the ball 72 times against Notre Dame, the third time this season it ran that much. It averaged 564.0 yards and 7.83 yards per carry in those other two games. Notre Dame limited Navy to just 277 yards and 3.8 yards per rush.

• The Irish offense ran just 49 plays on offense, its lowest total since running just 49 plays in a 28-7 win over Wake Forest on Nov. 14, 2015.

• Notre Dame’s four scoring drives totaled 278 yards and took a combined 8:50 off the clock. By contrast, Navy’s three scoring drives totaled 160 yards and burned 20:11.

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