Last Saturday, the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame squeaked out
a tough 38-34 victory over the Navy Midshipmen to improve to 7-2 on the season.
Well, that was certainly more interesting and intense than I thought it would
be. Based on how well the Irish have played against Navy and the other service academies
since losing to the Midshipmen in 2010, I thought Notre Dame would cruise to their
seventh win of the season. Boy, I was wrong. Hats off to the Naval academy,
they played a nearly flawless game and gave the Irish everything they had.
When George Atkinson III split the middle of the Navy
defense for a 41-yard touchdown run with 12:12 left in the first quarter, the
rout seemed to be underway. But instead, Navy responded with 9-play, 56 yard touchdown
drive to tie the score at 7-7. From there, a seesaw battle would begin with
nine lead changes before the game ended in a 38-34 score. Notre Dame scored the
winning touchdown with 3:47 left in the game on a 1-yard touchdown run by
Tarean Folston. Navy was driving to set up a potential game-winning score, but
their hopes ended when the Irish defense sniffed out a reverse on a 4th
and 4 from the Notre Dame 31-yard line.
The Positives
1. The Irish offense.
Against an inferior defensive opponent, the Irish offense enjoyed a very
productive and efficient day. Notre Dame tallied 506 yards of total offense
with 264 of those yards coming on the ground. The Irish ran 56 plays on the
afternoon, good for a 9.03 average yards per play. As a result, the Irish only
faced five third downs and just one fourth down situation. In addition, Notre
Dame racked up 25 first downs, meaning that 44.6% of the plays called resulted
in a first down. That is a tremendous percentage and shows how effective the
offense was when they had the ball.
2. Tarean Folston’s
breakout game. Tarean Folston officially arrived in South Bend by
accounting for 140 of the 264 rushing yards. Folston carried the ball 18 times,
and may have cemented himself as Notre Dame’s featured running back for the
remainder of the season. The true freshman was explosive by attacking his holes
and making quick-hard cuts when necessary. This was a performance that the Irish
were looking for out of one of their running backs all season, and one they
desperately needed as they look to close out the season against some tougher
defenses.
3. Another close win.
It might not be good for the hearts of Irish fans, but Notre Dame has
developed a knack for winning close games. The four-point victory on Saturday
marked the 10th straight win decided by a touchdown or less, a
streak that ties Brian Kelly with Knute Rockne
for the second-longest streak in school history. The record is currently 12,
set by Elmer Layden.
The ability to win close games proves that Brian Kelly has successfully changed
the culture of this program. Since Lou Holtz left, Notre Dame seemed to be on
the losing side of many close games, but Brian Kelly has instilled a confidence
in his players that they believe they can win every game.
The Negatives
1. Irish defense had
no answer for the Navy option. As good as the Irish offense was on
Saturday, the defense was just as bad. Maybe I shouldn’t say that, because the
Navy offense deserves a ton of credit. Navy ran 79 plays that totaled 419
yards, good for a 5.30 average yards per play. With the steady attack, Navy was
able to control the ball for 37:36, while committing no turnovers and no
penalties. It was a nearly flawless display of offense. Navy’s execution was
paramount because of their ability to get off the ball quickly. There were
numerous times where I thought either the Navy offensive line or running backs
were moving early, but they were not. That’s how fast they were getting to
their blocks and holes. As a result, the Notre Dame defense was not getting to
their assignments quickly enough. Fortunately, the Irish offense was dominant
in the second half and the defense made a play when they needed to secure the
victory.
2. Turnovers,
Penalties, and Time of Possession. As mentioned above, Notre Dame lost to
Navy in all three of these critical areas. Navy had the ball for more than 15
minutes than the Irish did, and that really had an effect on how well the Navy
offense played. The Notre Dame defense was on the field an awful lot, and they
did not have much time to recover between possessions with the Irish offense
scoring so quickly. Notre Dame also had a minus two turnover margin and
committed five penalties for 55 yards. The fact that Navy won all three of
these phases, shows how well of a game they play.
3. Early missed
opportunities. With the scored tied 7-7, Notre Dame drove 67 yards in seven
plays that led to a field goal to give them a 10-7 lead. While that is fine,
Notre Dame missed a golden opportunity to take a 14-7 lead when Tommy Rees’
throw sailed on Troy Niklas on a 3rd and 3 from the 8-yard line.
Niklas was open, but the throw had to be high in order to get it over the
underneath coverage. Rees put a little too much air under it, and the ball
bounced off of Niklas’ extended hand. It was a pass that could have been
converted, and one that both Rees and Niklas probably wish they could have
back. After taking a 10-7 lead, the Notre Dame defense forced a Navy punt and
had a chance to take a two-score lead. Once again, Notre Dame was driving, but
that drive ended on an interception when T.J. Jones slipped making his cut on a
deep-in route. If Jones doesn’t slip, the play would have likely resulted in a
reception setting up a potential field goal or touchdown. In the end, Notre
Dame was only up 10-7, when they could have been up 21-7. If that occurs, the
rest of the game may have been a much different story with Navy traveling by
two scores.
-Eric Tichelbaut
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