Notre Dame beat Navy by 17 points, the final quarter a comfortable finish in a series that doesn’t always afford one. And with victories over both the Midshipmen and Georgia Tech, the coaching staff’s work over the offseason achieved its desired result.
Yes, the game was sloppy. Notre Dame was gashed by the fullback dive, a struggle that felt a little bit like a regression, especially with everybody seemingly understanding that Job No. 1 is, and always will be, stopping the fullback.
So while Quentin Ezell awoke the ghosts of Vince Murray and Alexander Teich, the defense tightened up in the second half. And winning the turnover battle decisively helped make up for a less explosive Irish offense, with the Midshipmen able to keep Notre Dame from breaking a play of longer than 30 yards.
It’s time for USC. So let’s put the triple-option to bed with the Good, Bad and Ugly and then get ready for the Trojans.
THE GOOD
Forcing Turnovers. Navy turned the ball over three times after having just one turnover through the first four games of the season. That played a huge factor in the victory, allowing the Irish a considerable margin for error on offense as they struggled early to score points.
Elijah Shumate made an excellent interception to seal the deal. Jaylon Smith was opportunistic when an option pitch fell through the hands of Chris Swain. And a key strip by Nyles Morgan led to Devin Butler recovering the opening kickoff of the second half and turning the game on its head. (Butler had to fight through a scrum to secure the ball, after missing an easy opportunity when the ball originally popped out.)
The Irish won the turnover battle for the first time since 2012. Not surprisingly, that allowed the Irish to get Navy off-schedule, and the result was some breathing room during the fourth quarter, with the Irish controlling the football and the game clock with three consecutive drives of 10 plays or more to end the game.
Getting Out Injury Free. On Sunday’s teleconference call, Brian Kelly confirmed what we thought we saw on Saturday—the Irish survived against Navy’s offense with no major injuries. Kelly credited that to good luck, but also talked about the continual work against the SWAG team, who cut block against the starting defense the week of the Georgia Tech game as well as this week.
“We had no injuries again—knock on wood—this week to anything below the waist for any of our linemen,” Kelly said. “They’re a little sore, obviously, but no major injuries there, again, for playing two very physical teams that play the triple option.”
Jerry Tillery did sprain his elbow, though Kelly said the freshman will wear a brace and continue to play. Nick Martin tweaked his ankle, though returned to play. And Kelly talked about how nice it’s been these past few Sundays after a nightmarish start to the season.
“My 1:30 (Sunday) meeting with the doctors has been my most anxious time of the year,” Kelly quipped. “So the last couple of weeks, the last two, three weeks have been pretty good. Hopefully, that trend continues because we get USC this week, and then we get a week off. So that’s going to be helpful as we move into the back end of the season.”
Robby Regan. Notre Dame’s freshman walk-on was awarded the game ball after Saturday’s victory. That a high school athlete better known for his wrestling ability was able to play such a significant role in the first half of the Irish season without ever taking the field says something about his value to the team.
“The guys love him. He sang the fight song,” Kelly said Sunday. “That’s the first time we had a true freshman stand up, and he got the game ball and sang the fight song, and there was a huge roar from the team.”
Regan helped give Notre Dame their best practice look at the option. And while he’ll never be Keenan Reynolds or Justin Thomas, he makes decisions at game-speed, something vital to the team’s preparation.
After surviving a week of getting pounded by Notre Dame’s starting defense, Regan became the first walk-on in Kelly’s memory to ever receive a game ball.
Justin Yoon. After looking really shaky earlier in the season, Yoon jump-started the Irish with a career-long 52-yard field goal as the first half expired, and was pure on every one of his other kick attempts, too.
After drilling a big field goal at Clemson in the rain storm, Yoon seems to have regained his confidence and the momentum he had going during fall camp, something he talked about after the game.
“Trying to get my momentum as a freshman wasn’t easy. A freshman going on the football field for the first time is a big spotlight, and that’s a difficult experience,” Yoon said. “I’ve progressed through the games, my teammates have put their trust in me. That’s the biggest thing.”
Jarrett Grace. We touched on this postgame, but Grace’s role meant more to the team that just a veteran backup making some big plays when his number was called. Inserted into the game to try and add some bulk to the Irish defense, Grace played big minutes, something that Kelly couldn’t help but marvel at during the Sunday teleconference.
“It was as meaningful for him as it was for me, just to know what he’s gone through and to be called upon to come in and play a very important role for us,” Kelly said. “If you watched him last year in August and September, you’d say there’s no way he’s going to be able to play again…
“To see him get out there and play on Saturday was pretty gratifying that he could get out there and help us.”
Kelly mentioned that in Grace’s introduction before speaking at the pep rally, he only had highlights from special teams. He knew that was selling him short, perhaps a good final reminder that the Cincinnati native could help this defense play smash-mouth football.
“He was one of our speakers at the pep rally, and all they showed him was on special teams, and I was like, dang, he’s much more than that.”
Quick Hits:
* Another option opponent, another monster day by Greer Martini. Notre Dame’s sophomore linebacker has been a wonderful weapon for the Irish in triple-option games, mostly because of his ability to do his job.
“He’s got a really good understanding of his job and he’s a disciplined player, so when we ask him to do his job, he’s going to get it done,” Kelly said. “He just fits really well with the scheme that we’re employing and so it’s just a really good fit.”
* He already earned mention in our Five Things yesterday, but Sheldon Day‘s been incredibly disruptive, as we saw with nine tackles and two TFLs.
* Another game, another monster day from C.J. Prosise. While some want Prosise to get the national attention they feel like he deserves, it should be enough that he’s filling the stat sheet while also learning what he’s doing.
Prosise still isn’t the natural inside the tackles runner you might want a 220-pounder to be, but his ability to get to the edge and run through tackles is really, really impressive.
* It doesn’t seem fair when DeShone Kizer buys time rolling out and then finds Will Fuller. Not too many defenses can stop that type of scramble drill, and Kizer’s ability to keep his eyes down field is really impressive for a young kid.
* Coming into the game Navy was one of the best 3rd down teams in the country. Notre Dame’s defense held them to just 2-of-11.
THE BAD
A tough start. If you were thinking the Irish were in for a long Saturday after going three-and-out and then letting Keenan Reynolds slice and dice the defense in under 80 seconds, you weren’t alone. (I was with you.) But credit this group for showing resilience.
Kelly talked about not letting that start get in the way, especially after a good week of practice.
“I thought we responded very well offensively. And I think that response in scoring right away, kind of settled everybody down,” Kelly said.
Interior running struggles. Notre Dame attacked the perimeter yesterday, with C.J. Prosise getting to the edges via the quick pass or outside handoffs. But the Irish seemed to struggle running north and south, disappointing against a defense like Navy’s.
Alex Bars started for the first time, as Quenton Nelson’s ankle wasn’t ready to be tested. Nick Martin will need to get healthy after a tweaked ankle. But against USC, the Irish will need to be able to move the point of attack, something they didn’t necessarily do consistently against the Midshipmen.
Consistency in the secondary. It didn’t take long for Max Redfield to be replaced by Matthias Farley, especially after Redfield missed tackles while overrunning his alley. And while Elijah Shumate’s interception was a great step forward and Navy’s quarterbacks completed just three of six throws for 22 yards, the performance of the back end of the defense is still the one thing holding this defense back.
Kelly talked about what he wants to see from his secondary, and how two games against option competition might have actually been part of the problem this year.
“I still think consistency in the back end of our defense,” Kelly cited when asked where the team needs its best growth. “I think that’s the biggest thing. It’s kind of difficult. We played two option teams over the last four weeks. It makes it hard to continue to evolve defensively. I think that’s probably the area that we want to see continued growth is the back end of our defense.”
With USC’s talented skill players coming to town and the Irish just a season removed from getting absolutely demolished in coverage at the Coliseum, all eyes will be on Shumate, Redfield, KeiVarae Russell and Cole Luke next weekend.
THE UGLY
Call it a big victory or call it mutual respect, your choice. This section is staying empty after a 17-point win.
