Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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20 NOV. 5, 2018 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY LOU SOMOGYI C oaches and athletes regularly state it's not how you start that's important, but how you finish. Nevertheless, 8‑0 and No. 3‑ranked Notre Dame's start against Navy (2‑6) was far more telling during the 44‑22 victory versus Navy in San Diego. A dominant first half in which the Fighting Irish built a 27‑0 halftime cushion was enough to hold off an inspired second‑half effort by Navy. The vaunted Midshipmen triple op‑ tion was stymied in the first half, picking up only two first downs and totaling 72 yards. By the time it came to life in the second half while totaling 272 yards in the final 30 minutes — when the Irish oddly went to more zone de‑ fense — it was too late. "What we learned today is getting off to a great start is one thing, but if you don't play with the same physi‑ cality for four quarters, you're going to be in trouble," Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly said. "We played tough defense in the first half," Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo said, although the Irish did rack up 315 yards in the first two quarters. "If we could have got something going offensively, it could have helped out. Then when we got something going offensively, we had a hard time slowing them down. "… A lot of it had to do with them. That's a really good football team." Junior quarterback Ian Book com‑ pleted 27 of 33 passes (81.8 percent) for a career‑best 330 yards, high‑ lighted by four‑ and 22‑yard touch‑ down tosses to senior wideout Miles Boykin, plus an interception. Senior running back Dexter Wil‑ liams rushed for three touchdowns — all in the first half — and finished with 23 carries for 142 yards, but he received the game ball, according to Kelly, because of his blocking, espe‑ cially on blitz pickups. Fifth‑year senior captain and Buck linebacker Drue Tranquill suffered a high ankle sprain on Notre Dame's second defensive series when it was rolled on, and he was in a walking boot in the second half. FIRST QUARTER: NOTRE DAME 13 NAVY 0 Top Moment: Following a fourth‑ down stop by the Irish defense at its 27‑yard line, a 33‑yard run by Wil‑ liams sparked an eight‑play, 73‑yard march that was capped by a one‑yard touchdown by sophomore Jafar Arm‑ strong for a 6‑0 lead at the 9:38 mark. Top Performer: Notre Dame's short‑yardage defense, led by former Navy safety and junior Alohi Gil‑ man, stopped the Midshipmen on fourth‑and‑two on their first series, and threw them for lost yardage on third‑and‑two on the next possession. Stats: Notre Dame's 15 plays net‑ ted 168 yards, with Book completing all five passes for 88 yards and the 10 Irish rushing attempts totaling 80 yards. Navy ran 15 plays, too, miss‑ ing on its lone pass attempt while compiling 59 yards on 14 carries. Items: On the game's first play from scrimmage, Boykin fumbled af‑ ter catching a short pass from Book, and Navy cornerback Michael Mc‑ Morris recovered the ball at the Fight‑ ing Irish 36‑yard line … However, on fourth‑and‑two from the Notre Dame 28, short‑yardage specialist quarter‑ back Zach Abey's keeper was one yard short, and the Irish regained possession at the 12:46 mark … Se‑ nior kicker Justin Yoon was sidelined with a groin injury … In his place, sophomore Jonathan Doerer missed his first extra point attempt … Notre Dame expanded the lead to 13‑0 with 4:51 left on a four‑play, 80‑yard drive that featured a 38‑yard pass to fresh‑ man wide receiver Kevin Austin on a shallow cross, followed by Williams' 12‑yard scoring run. SECOND QUARTER: NOTRE DAME 27, NAVY 0 Top Moment: With 7:07 remaining, Williams scored his second touch‑ down on a nine‑yard run to extend the lead to 20‑0. Williams recovered his own fumble earlier in the drive, and the Irish converted fourth‑and‑two (14‑yard pass to junior Chase Clay‑ pool) and fourth‑and‑three (seven‑ yard completion to senior Chris Finke) situations during the 67‑yard drive. Top Performers: Once again the Irish defense dominated, with all three Navy possessions in the quar‑ ter going three‑and‑out while netting 11 yards. Meanwhile, Book finished the first half 18‑of‑21 passing (85.7 percent) for 212 yards while connect‑ ing with nine different targets. Stats: Notre Dame had more fourth‑ down conversions (three) in the first half than Navy had first downs (two). The 39 plays for the Irish amassed 315 yards, and the Midshipmen's 24 plays managed only 72 yards. Items: Navy's first series in the second quarter began at the Notre Dame 48, but it gained only one yard in three plays before punting … Wil‑ liams tallied his third touchdown on a two‑yard run with 1:04 left to cap an 83‑yard drive in 10 plays and push the score to 27‑0 at the intermission. THIRD QUARTER: NOTRE DAME 37, NAVY 14 Top Moment: After Navy gained momentum with back‑to‑back touch‑ down drives to reduce its deficit to 30‑14, the Irish responded with a four‑yard touchdown toss from Book to Boykin to build the advantage to 37‑14 at the 1:04 mark. Top Performer: Navy slot back Malcolm Perry ran for 58 yards on the first play of the second half to set up Navy's first touchdown, and began the second 75‑yard march with a 12‑yard jaunt. Stats: The yardage gained in the third quarter was pretty much even, with Navy totaling 149 (doubling its 72 the entire second half) and Notre Dame 148. From The Start Notre Dame explodes to a 27-0 halftime lead en route to a 44-22 victory versus Navy Junior quarterback Ian Book connected on 27 of 33 throws (81.8 percent) for a career-high 330 yards with a pair of scoring tosses to senior wide receiver Miles Boykin to lead the Irish past Navy. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA