#8 Irish Hold Off Navy For Win

A big defensive stand late in the fourth quarter helped the 8th-ranked Irish of Notre Dame outlast the Navy Midshipmen 24-17 on Saturday afternoon on Senior Day at Notre Dame Stadium. 

Irish quarterback Brandon Wimbush finished the game just 9 of 18 through the air but threw two touchdown passes to Kevin Stepherson and had 164 yards overall. Running back Josh Adams had 106 yards on the ground while Stepherson was the leading receiver with five receptions for 103 and the two scores.

"We're looking for is a guy that will take what's happened early and kind of reset a little bit, which he did, and refocus, and he came back and made some really big plays for us," head coach Brian Kelly said of Wimbush. "The conditions weren't great to throw the football today, but I thought he was gritty, hung with it, and we went back to some tough throws, too, that he had to make. I was really proud of the way he responded."

For Navy, quarterback Zach Abey was just three for six for 41 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Abey and Anthony Gargiulo led the Midshipmen with 87 yards rushing, with Abey scoring a touchdown in the first half. Gargiulo was the leading receiver with the one reception for 21 yards.

The Irish improved to 9-2 with the win heading into their season finale against Stanford. The Midshipmen fell to 6-4 and will travel to take on Houston next Friday.

Per usual, Navy managed to shorten the game and dominate the time of possession with almost 43 minutes compared to the Irish’s 17.

"Good, gritty, tough football," stated Kelly. "Guys got that close win that everybody's been waiting for, so we checked that box. Just a really good football game. Our guys played well, their guys played well, and we were able to come up with a victory against a team that's really difficult to defend.

"I don't really have a lot to wow you with. Just games that require just a grittiness to them and a toughness and a resolve. This is it. If you want to go see 62-52, go to your local Big-12 network. But it's just good, tough football."

Notre Dame got on the board first in the opening quarter but was held out of the end zone on its second possession of the game and after driving 58 yards on 10 plays had to settle for a 29-yard Justin Yoon field goal.

Navy responded with a 13-play, 49-yard drive, and a 39-yard field goal to tie the game early in the second quarter.

The Irish defense forced a three-and-out on Navy’s next possession, but the Midshipmen kept possession when Chris Finke muffed a punt at Notre Dame’s own 39-yard line. Navy converted a fourth down and Abey finished the drive with a one-yard plunge. The extra point gave Navy a 10-3 lead with just a minute to go before the half.

Wimbush finally found a rhythm in a hurry-up setting, completing a pair of 23-yard passes to Stepherson and Chase Claypool to get the ball deep into Navy territory. After a pass interference penalty put the ball on the two, Wimbush scored with his feet to tie the game at intermission.

"He definitely means a lot and you see from the results that he is a huge factor now in our offense and he just adds to the already dynamic receiving core," Wimbush said of Stepherson. "He's been with us since January and in the process of rebuilding this program and we turned this thing around. So I think he did a good job of all the way through to when he was able to get back on the field of preparing himself and being ready for this opportunity."

Both teams started the second half with touchdown drives. Navy’s a 15-play, 72-yard march that was capped with a 12-yard pass from Abey to Craig Scott. The Irish came back with a five-play 78-yard drive that finished with a 30-yard scoring completion from Wimbush to Stepherson.

Navy missed a field goal on its next possession, and Notre Dame capitalized, going 80 yards on 11 plays and the go-ahead score on Wimbush’s nine-yard pass to Stepherson.

It looked like Notre Dame was in position to seal the game when Troy Pride picked off Abey in the red zone with seven minutes to go, but the Midshipmen got another chance when the Irish were forced into a three-and-out.

Navy managed to drive 42 yards to the Notre Dame 25, but halfback Darryl Bonner’s pass on a trick play fell incomplete on 4th-and-5, giving the ball back to the Irish, who ran out the clock.