Notre Dame Ahead Of Time In 24-17 Win Versus Navy
Time was on Navy’s side all day — but it was No. 8 Notre Dame that emerged with a hard fought 24-17 victory Saturday in Notre Dame Stadium.
The Midshipmen controlled the ball a remarkable 42:42 while the Fighting Irish had it only 17:18 on seven possessions (one more than last season versus Navy). However, head coach Brian Kelly’s troops rallied from 10-3 and 17-10 deficits to improve to 9-2 while Navy fell to 6-4.
Junior quarterback Brandon Wimbush connected on a nine-yard score to sophomore receiver Kevin Stepherson with 11:49 left in the contest to put the Irish ahead for good. The Notre Dame defense then stopped Navy twice in Irish territory in the closing minutes to preserve the victory.
After a poor start in the first quarter in which his passes repeatedly sailed, Wimbush bounced back strong and finished 9 of 18 for 164 yards and two touchdowns to Stepherson (five catches, 103 yards). Junior running back Josh Adams contributed 106 yards on 18 carries, while Wimbush added eight carries for 41 yards and a touchdown.
On defense, senior linebacker Greer Martini recorded a career high 15 tackles and earned the game ball, while sophomore cornerback Julian Love — who started as a safety versus the triple-option scheme — had 14 stops, and junior linebacker Te'von Coney 10. Navy’s No. 1-ranked rushing attack (369.8 yards per game) was limited to 277 yards on 72 carries, or 3.8 yards per attempt.
FIRST QUARTER: Notre Dame 3, Navy 0
Top Moment: After stopping Navy on fourth down at the Notre Dame 30-yard line, the Irish drove 58 yards in 11 plays to set up a 29-yard field goal by junior kicker Justin Yoon with 4:31 left. The drive was highlighted by a 21-yard sweep by Wimbush and a 17-yard run by sophomore Tony Jones Jr., but Wimbush was 0-of-3 passing.
Top Performer: Martini was credited with six tackles (three solo), and he and sophomore end Khalid Kareem combined on a fourth-and-five stop at the Irish 30-yard line on Navy’s initial series.
Stats: Navy’s 10:40 time of possession more than doubled Notre Dame’s 4:20, but it outgained the Irish only 67-66. All of Navy’s yards came on the ground while missing one pass.
Wimbush was 1-of-5 passing for three yards during the quarter.
Items: On Navy’s opening series, it drove to Notre Dame’s 34-yard line but was stopped on fourth-and-five when a fullback dive by Anthony Gargiulo gained only four yards, returning the ball to the Irish at 7:22 .
Irish junior wideout Equanimeous St. Brown was injured when he did a full somersault on a hit off a high, incomplete pass.
SECOND QUARTER: Notre Dame 10, Navy 10
Top Moment: After Navy took its first lead, 10-3, with 1:08 remaining until halftime, the Irish drove 62 yards in seven plays and tied the game with eight seconds left on a two-yard draw by Wimbush.
Top Performers: Wimbush closed the half with 23-yard completions to sophomore wideouts Stepherson and Chase Claypool on the tying drive. His score came when the Irish were out of timeouts and after it appeared he might be stopped short of the goal line. The Irish also benefitted from a third-down pass interference on Navy against Stepherson in the end zone.
Defensively, in one half Martini already tied his career high tackle total of 11 that he had against Navy last season.
Stats: Even though Navy had a 20:27-9:33 advantage in time of possession, the Irish out-gained the Midshipmen 165-122 through the first 30 minutes. All of Navy’s yardage came on the ground, while the Irish ran for 93 and passed for 72.
Items: Navy kicker Owen White converted a 39-yard field goal — his first career attempt — at 12:21 to knot the game at 3-3. That 49-yard Navy drive took 13 plays and consumed 7:10.
Junior Chris Finke lost a fumble on a punt return that Navy recovered at the Irish 39-yard line with 6:10 left, and that led to touchdown drive that took 11 plays and 5:02 for a 10-3 lead. Quarterback Zach Abey finished it with a one-yard scoring run.
THIRD QUARTER: Notre Dame 17, Navy 17
Top Moment: Notre Dame answered Navy’s extended touchdown drive to open the second half by moving 78 yards in five plays, capped by a 30-yard touchdown pass from Wimbush to Stepherson at the 5:33 mark to tie the score. Adams had four carries for 48 yards, with a long gain of 30, prior to the score.
Top Performer: Led by Abey’s legerdemain, Navy controlled the ball 13:12 in the quarter, to Notre Dame’s 1:48. During the quarter, Abey carried the ball nine times for 31 yards, timed his pitches well and completed two of his three passes (both on third-and-long) for 33 yards, highlighted by a 12-yard touchdown to Craig Scott that put Navy ahead 17-10.
Stats: Both teams had 247 yards total offense after three quarters, Notre Dame with 145 rushing and 102 passing, while Navy had 214 yards rushing and 33 passing.
Items: Navy opened the second half with a 7:59 touchdown drive that totaled 72 yards on 15 plays and put it ahead 17-10. It converted a third-and-15 with a 19 yard run by Gargiulo, and he later made a diving 21-yard catch on fourth-and-six. The score came on third-and-goal from the 12, a strike from Abey to Scott.
With 20 seconds left, Navy’s second drive of the quarter ended with a missed 37-yard field goal attempt by White.
FOURTH QUARTER: Notre Dame 24, Navy 17
Top Moment: With 1:28 left and Notre Dame leading 24-17, Navy faced fourth-and-5 at the Irish 25. The deep pitchout to slot Darryl Bonner resulted in an incomplete pass downfield to Tyler Carmona. A strong pass rush by senior end Andrew Trumbetti forced a hurried, errant pass.
Top Performer: Notre Dame’s defense twice made crucial stands in its territory on Navy’s final two series. In addition to the fourth-down stop, the previous series saw the Midshipmen with a first down at the Irish 36-yard line. On first down, though, Abey threw into double coverage, and his overthrown pass was intercepted by sophomore cornerback Troy Pride Jr., giving Notre Dame possession at its 14 with 7:18 remaining. It was Pride’s first career interception.
Stats: Notre Dame finished with 327 yards total offense (164 passing, 163 rushing) while Navy had 318 (277 rushing and 41 passing).
Items: The Wimbush-to-Stepherson combination was lethal during the winning drive, connecting three times for 50 yards. The first play on the 80-yard drive was a 23-yard pass completion between the two. Later in the march Stepherson navigated 18 yards on a third-and-10 screen, and then snared the touchdown on third-and-8.
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