Report Card: Grading Notre Dame football in Irish’s 34-6 victory over Navy
Navy wasn’t much of a match for Notre Dame on either side of the ball. The No. 10 Fighting Irish (8-1) also made a key special teams play that sparked a 17-0 fourth-quarter scoring spurt in an eventual 34-6 victory.
Here's how the Irish graded out in every phase in their fourth win in a row over the Midshipmen.
Notre Dame Passing Offense: B+
Graduate senior quarterback Jack Coan didn’t make any mistakes and was highly efficient in completing 79.3% of his passes, but he didn’t see a few open receivers and could have had a bigger day than 269 passing yards and one touchdown if he did. Ten of Coan’s completions went to running backs Kyren Williams and Chris Tyree. Outside of senior wide receiver Kevin Austin Jr.’s six catches, Notre Dame wideouts only accounted for four catches. With senior wide receiver Avery Davis going down with an injury in the game, Notre Dame needs to find ways to get the likes of senior Braden Lenzy and freshmen Lorenzo Styles and Deion Colzie more involved if the Irish are to bump this grade up to an A.
Notre Dame Rushing Offense: A-
Williams didn’t top 100 yards, but he still had 95. Twenty of them came on another dazzling touchdown run comprised of broken tackles and a scintillating spin move. He was the first Irish player to cross the goal line on a short plunge in the second quarter. Williams did his thing, but perhaps the bigger story of the night coming out of the Notre Dame backfield was freshman Logan Diggs taking eight carries for 59 yards. He scored a touchdown for the second consecutive week, too. Diggs’ snap counts have increased as Tyree works his way back from a turf toe injury. He has made the most of his opportunities and appears primed to have a solid career in South Bend.
Notre Dame Passing Defense: B+
How does one possibly give a grade for Notre Dame’s passing defense in a game it only had to defend against three pass attempts? Navy’s quarterbacks combined to go 1 of 3 for 18 yards. The only reason we’re not signing off on an easy A for the Irish is because senior safety Houston Griffith was called for pass interference on a deep shot over the middle of the field. Navy worked the ball inside the five-yard line on the drive and connected on a short field goal. Had Notre Dame prevented Navy from completing any passes at all, that would have also warranted an A.
Notre Dame Rushing Defense: A+
This might’ve been Notre Dame’s best performance against Navy’s triple option in all the years head coach Brian Kelly has roamed the blue and gold sideline. Part of that is due to Navy not having the best group of skill players the Midshipmen have had in the last decade plus, but the Notre Dame defense played the gaps very well against the Navy rushing attack. Graduate senior Kurt Hinish was a menace on the defensive line. The Irish linebackers cleaned up most messes that got past that level of the defense too. There weren’t many of those. Navy gained 32 yards on a reverse and 18 yards on another rushing play. Those were the only two gains of 10 or more yards on the ground for the Midshipmen.
Notre Dame Special Teams: A
One of the biggest sequences in the game was Notre Dame downing a punt at the one-yard line and forcing Navy into a safety two plays later. The score pushed Notre Dame’s advantage to 19-6. The Irish scored on their next offensive possession and blew the game open with a touchdown and two-point conversion to make it 27-6. Senior kicker Jonathan Doerer made his only field goal attempt, a 24-yarder. He made all of this extra points. The Irish actually returned three kickoffs, too. Matt Salerno returned two kicks with a long of 26 yards. Williams returned one 29 yards. Williams also had a 16-yard punt return. Once again, Notre Dame didn’t make any major mistakes on special teams. And this time, the Irish made a play on special teams that arguably cemented the game.
Notre Dame Coaching: A
Kelly said it repeatedly in his postgame press conference: preparing to play Navy is an arduous task. The preparation put in by the Fighting Irish staff certainly paid off, though. Notre Dame was up for the unique challenge. The game started slow in the first quarter, and the Irish even trailed after 15 minutes. But there wasn’t any panic. And once Notre Dame got it going, it really got it going. Defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman had his group of guys ready to go from the start. Offensive coordinator Tommy Rees called a methodical game that amounted to 30-plus points and 430 total yards. It was another solid game from a coaching standpoint.
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