Instant Reaction | Notre Dame 51 Navy 14
I think most Notre Dame fans were anticipating it would be a long day with plenty of frustration provided by a Navy offense that has played at an elite level all season. I doubt anyone thought things would have started out so well for the Irish with a 14-0 lead less than 10 minutes into the game.
We hadn’t seen Navy tested by a good team all season. We hadn’t seen them forced to play from behind. We hadn’t seen them play against a team with a plethora of superior athletes.
They couldn’t handle it. A team that had played close to mistake-free all season gave Notre Dame the football three times in the first half and the game was essentially over because of that.
As expected, Navy’s offense did present some problems, but Notre Dame was the better team on 3rd down and in the red zone. That would have won them the game if it was close. Being better there and the turnovers by Navy was what led to a dominant win.
- Drew Cronic has done a heck of a job with this Navy offense and it was a beast for Notre Dame to play against with everything they do before and after the snap. Notre Dame handled it all about as well as anyone could have hoped for.
They did allow the 47-yard touchdown run by Blake Horvath and then gave up a 60-yarder later in the first half. But just like after they gave up a 60-yard play last week against Georgia Tech, the defense responded by shutting down the drive and allowing no points.
A poor pitch by Horvath that lost yards was followed up by a tackle for loss by Jaylen Sneed and Christian Gray. Xavier Watts then broke up a pass on 3rd and long to force a 40-yard field goal on a day where the wind added chaos to the kicking game.
The kick was missed and Navy ended up getting points on only one of three red zone possessions. They came into the game with 22 touchdowns on 23 red zone opportunities.
- Horvath had those two big runs, but he carried the ball 12 other times for 22 yards. Fullbacks Alex Tecza and Daba Fofana averaged 2.6 yards per carry. That passing game that had been wrecking teams all season didn’t find any kind of consistent success against Notre Dame.
Horvath came in averaging 12.3 yards per attempt. It was 6.8 YPA today and the biggest reason for that was Eli Heidenreich being a non-factor in the passing game. He recorded at least one 20+ yard reception in every game and the 12 total he had was tied for seventh in the country.
He had two catches for 10 yards on four targets.
- Every time Notre Dame had the ball on offense, it felt like they were going to score. It just felt like they could do anything they wanted all game.
They rushed for 204 yards and 7.3 yards per attempt in the first three quarters, but that could have been over 300 if that’s what Mike Denbrock chose to do. Riley Leonard has continued to look better and better throwing the football and his ability to escape the rush, make smart decisions on RPOs, and make big throws when they were needed meant that Notre Dame never got into a position where Navy could close the gap.
His 3rd down completion to Jaden Greathouse on the first drive, his touchdown to Kris Mitchell on 3rd and goal, and his 4th down and 7 completion to Jordan Faison in the 3rd quarter were huge for the Irish.
- Jeremiyah is a special back. It’s not just that he can run away from people on a 64-yard house call. It’s that he turns stuffs into positive yards all the time and he can run away from people on those types of touchdowns.
- One could say that Navy handed this game to Notre Dame on a platter with those fumbles that weren’t even forced, but some of those plays happened because Navy felt the pressure of playing in this game like they hadn’t all season. And those mistakes mean nothing if Notre Dame doesn’t capitalize on them and they did the majority of the time.
Notre Dame didn’t fall apart when they had early fumbles against Louisville. They dealt with the adversity and came out on top.
The Irish have had to deal with plenty of it with some sloppier play early in the season and several injuries that have forced them to adjust as the season has progressed. To come out of it 7-1 heading into another bye week and playing their best football on offense all season is a good spot to be in before this final stretch of games.
It’s hard not to like where things stand with them as they rest up before facing Florida State. They’ve approached things one week at a time and if they continue that formula in the final ⅓ of the regular season, things should look very good for them when December rolls around.
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