Notre Dame Holds On To Beat Navy 35-32
The 20th-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish (7-3) won their fourth straight game with a 35-32 victory over Navy that was a tale of two halves
Notre Dame started strong, taking the opening kickoff down the field to take an early 7-0 lead. The Irish ground attack was quiet on the first drive, and it was quarterback Drew Pyne that sparked the offense early.
Pyne went to the air on the first two plays of the game, and his arm fueled the first score. He hit wideout Braden Lenzy on a post-out for a 21-yard gain and then hit running back Audric Estime over the middle, and the Irish back raced 30 yards for the games first points. The Pyne to Estime pass came on 3rd-and-8, which would be a theme for the Irish quarterback in the first half.
After the defense forced a punt the offense and Pyne went right back to work. After a roughing penalty by Navy, Pyne scrambled right and threw a deep shot to Lenzy, who made a miraculous catch by reaching around the back of the defender to haul in the pass in the end zone to put the Irish up 14-0.
Pyne went 7-7 for 105 yards and a pair of scores in those first two series.
Navy's offense went to work on the next series with a blown coverage by the Irish opening a 34-yard pass play. It was just the second completion of the season for Navy quarterback Xavier Arline. Two plays later the Irish blitzed their linebackers and missed, which opened up the middle for fullback Daba Fofana for a 36-yard touchdown.
Pyne responded with a strike over the middle to Deion Colzie for a 29-yard gain to convert a 3rd-and-12. Three plays later, Pyne went up the seam to Jayden Thomas for a 38-yard gain to convert a 3rd-and-10. Pyne found a wide open Chris Tyree on a wheel route for a 5-yard score to make it 21-7.
Navy went back to the fullback for a 50-yard gain, which was followed by a scramble by Arline for 26 yards to set up another Navy touchdown.
After failing to convert an onside kick, Navy forced a Notre Dame field goal attempt that was missed.
The game changed at that point.
Navy tried a reverse pass, but Notre Dame cornerback read it perfectly and stepped in front of the pass near the sideline to take away Navy's momentum.
Estime made a defender miss in the backfield on his way to a 28-yard gain that got the ball into the red zone. Pyne kept a bootleg on the next play and raced in for an 11-yard touchdown to make it 28-13.
Notre Dame forced its first three-and-out of the game and the Irish special teams once again stepped up. Linebacker Jack Kiser blocked the Midshipmen punt to give the Irish the ball at the Navy 37-yard line.
Pyne hit a streaking Thomas over the top for a 37-yard touchdown to break the game open and give the Irish a 35-13 lead.
That sequence proved impactful when you consider how the rest of the game played out.
Navy opened the second half with a 16-play, 72-yard drive that took over 10 minutes off the clock, but the Irish buckled down in the red zone and forced a field goal that was made to make it 35-16. Navy's drive was aided by a holding penalty by Irish safety DJ Brown on a 4th-and-1 incompletion. It was Brown's second costly holding penalty of the game.
Notre Dame's red hot offense went ice cold in the second half. The Irish punted on their first drive and Pyne was picked off on his first pass attempt of the half, which gave Navy the ball at the Notre Dame 22-yard line. One play later Arline hit Mark Walker up the seam for a 22-yard touchdown to make it a 35-24 game after the Middies converted the two-point conversion.
The Irish defense buckled down a bit after that, forcing a pair of three-and-outs, but the offense could not capitalize. That allowed Navy to turn a blowout into a nail biter.
Navy marched 88 yards on 11 plays, and the drive was culminated by a 20-yard pass from third-string quarterback Maasai Maynor to slot back Maquel Haywood. Navy converted the two-point conversion to make it 35-32.
Veteran wideout Matt Salerno recovered the onside kick and the Irish were able to seal the game, but not before almost giving the game away.
Notre Dame out-gained Navy 323-197 yards in the first half. Navy out-gained Notre Dame 166-13 in the second half. Notre Dame picked up just one first down in the second half.
Pyne went 14-16 for 234 yards in the first half, but in the final two quarters he completed just 3-5 passes for 35 yards and was sacked five times.
Notre Dame rushed for just 66 yards in the game.
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