Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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26 NOV. 5, 2018 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED THE IRISH OFFENSE PUTS TOGETHER AN EFFICIENT PERFORMANCE Efficiency on offense is critical when playing against Navy's triple- option attack and facing the possibil- ity of limited possessions. Even though the game started off in damaging fashion with a fumble by senior wide receiver Miles Boykin on the very first play from scrim- mage, Notre Dame did not panic. The Fighting Irish scored on six of their next seven possessions — five touchdowns and one field goal. After the Midshipmen turned the ball right back over to the Irish on downs, Notre Dame covered 73 yards on eight plays to take a 6-0 ad- vantage. Senior running back Dexter Williams rushed for 46 yards on three carries before an 11-yard reception by junior wide receiver Chase Claypool. Sophomore running back Jafar Armstrong, who returned after miss- ing the previous three games with a knee infection, finished the drive off with the final 16 yards (eight rush- ing) and a one-yard score. During a stretch from the second quarter to the beginning of the sec- ond half, Notre Dame put together three straight drives of at least 10 plays and 60 yards that resulted in 17 points. And, for the game, the Irish actually held the advantage in time of possession versus Navy, 31:57-28:03. Junior signal-caller Ian Book con- tinued his strong play since taking over at quarterback, posting his fifth straight game completing at least 70 percent of his passes. In the process, he established career highs in com- pletion percentage (81.8, 27 of 33) and passing yards (330) while tossing two scoring passes and one interception. "Just moving on," Book said of how the team was able to bounce back after the Boykins' game-open- ing fumble. "We know what we can do as on offense. We prepare every day hard. … We're confident. Just thinking back on plays that hap- pened won't help you." LETHAL ONE-TWO BACKFIELD PUNCH After racking up 339 rushing yards in wins over Stanford and Virginia Tech, senior running back Dexter Williams struggled in the 19-14 vic- tory against Pittsburgh Oct. 13. After rushing for just 31 yards on 13 carries versus the Panthers, he — and the of- fensive line — bounced back against Navy. Williams notched his second game this season with three rushing touch- downs — he also did it at Virginia Tech Oct. 6 — while amassing 142 yards on 23 carries versus the Mid- shipmen. He became the first Irish player to record multiple games with three rushing scores since C.J. Prosise in 2015 (Georgia Tech and Navy). "He adds a speed to our offense that we need," junior quarterback Ian Book said. "You know when you give the ball to Dex, he's going to do his job." In four games, Williams has car- ried the ball 74 times for 512 yards (6.9 yards per attempt) and seven touchdowns. "I don't really try to chase stats," Williams said. "I try to go out and win each and every game with my brothers. It doesn't matter if I have 10 carries, 20 yards, 10 carries, a hun- dred some yards. "I really go out and try to lay it all on the line that night, and just keep moving and just keep on winning." Williams was complemented well by sophomore running back Jafar Armstrong, who returned to action after missing three games due to a knee procedure. Armstrong finished second behind Williams with 52 yards and a touchdown on just nine carries (5.8 yards per attempt). In ad- dition, he led the Irish in receiving yards with 64 on five catches. "Having Jafar back in the backfield just allows our offense to be able to NAVY GAME NOTES BY COREY BODDEN Senior running back Dexter Williams ripped through Navy's defense for 142 yards on 23 carries, and had scoring runs of 12, nine and two yards in the first half. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA MISCELLANEOUS NOTES • Junior Ian Book became the first Football Bowl Subdivision quarterback since Wiscon- sin's Russell Wilson to win his first five starts of a season while completing at least 70.0 percent of his passes. Wilson accomplished the feat in each of his first six games in 2011. • Senior wide receiver Miles Boykin has a touchdown reception in five straight games, the first Irish player to achieve that feat since wide receiver Will Fuller in 2015. • Sophomore kicker Jonathan Doerer made his first career field goal in an Irish uniform with a 30-yarder in the second half. • Junior defensive lineman Jamir Jones made his first career fumble recovery in the fourth quarter. • The 28:03 time of possession for Navy was the lowest in the series with Irish since a 26:23 mark in a 50-10 Notre Dame win in 2012. • Navy quarterbacks rushed for just 16 yards on 17 attempts, which was also a low for the Midshipmen since 2012.