Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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24 NOV. 23, 2019 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED IRISH SHUT DOWN MALCOLM PERRY WHEN IT MATTERED MOST To start the game, quarterback Mal- colm Perry efficiently lead the Navy offense down the field. In 10 plays, the Midshipmen had gone nearly 50 yards and, if not for a fumble on the Notre Dame 27-yard line, would have likely scored on their first offensive posses- sion. A Perry fumble also ended the next Navy offensive possession, but he still finished the first quarter with 11 carries for 54 yards — which put him on pace for a 200-yard day. Despite not putting any points on the board, Navy's offense was dictat- ing much of the tempo. However, with 1:30 left in the second quarter, Perry's rushing total was just 49 yards on 20 carries and he had lost a pair of fumbles, which allowed the Irish to build a 38-0 advantage. "I thought after the first two drives, we started to shut it down and play- ers had high energy," junior line- backer Drew White said. "We were flying around." This was due, at least in part, to an- other in-game defensive adjustment by Notre Dame defensive coordina- tor Clark Lea. "We were coming off the edge, just causing havoc and not letting them dictate what we're in," White said. "We didn't want them to get into a certain formation that they knew how we were going to defend it. We were switching up ... a lot. "Coach Lea did a great job. He does a great job every week making the opposing offensive coordinator not know what to do." If not for a 46-yard quarterback run near the end of the first half to set up a 27-yard field goal, Perry might not have crossed the 100-yard mark. He finished the game with 117 yards on 25 carries and no touchdowns on the ground or through the air. Perry came into the matchup aver- aging 2.6 total touchdowns per game. NOTRE DAME TAKES ADVANTAGE OF EARLY POSSESSIONS When playing against a triple-op- tion team like Navy, it's important to make every drive count, and that's exactly what Notre Dame did. The Fighting Irish scored on each of their first seven possessions — six touchdowns and a 32-yard field goal by junior kicker Jonathan Doerer. Se- nior quarterback Ian Book led each of those drives and took a seat on the bench after the seventh score. His day was done thanks to their com- manding lead. "Our offense is starting to roll," Book said. "It's awesome. We've got 10 other guys on the field that are playing for each other, and that's when you find success. "I am definitely really confident, and this whole offense should be." In scoring seven times in a row, Notre Dame used a variety of differ- ent styles. The first drive was slow and methodical, using a two-tight- end set and eating 5:21 off of the clock while running 11 plays. The next three drives each lasted less than 1:23 and resulted in six points. One of those drives consisted of one play — a 70-yard touchdown to sophomore wide receiver Braden Lenzy. The time of possession was nine seconds. "As a quarterback, those are huge plays," Book said. "Really, it's when you get those opportunities making the most of it. We've got some guys that can really run on the outside. When Lenzy takes off it's my job to throw it and make sure I get it to him. When you hit big plays it just opens up your whole playbook, opens up a lot of things offensively for us. "It's a huge part of the game. We were able to have that work out to- night." The last three scores with Book on the field took between two and three and a half minutes. On each, the of- fense ran seven or eight plays. CHASE CLAYPOOL HAS A DAY The struggles of senior quar- terback Ian Book have been well documented, but he has used that criticism to propel himself forward, beginning with the game-winning drive against Virginia Tech. The common denominator for Book all season has been senior wide NAVY GAME NOTES BY ANDREW MENTOCK AND VINCE DEDARIO Freshman safety Kyle Hamilton brought down Navy quarterback Malcolm Perry for a loss on a fourth-and one play in the second quarter, and the Irish defense limited Perry to just 49 yards on his first 20 car- ries and kept him out of the end zone all game. PHOTO BY ANDRIS VISOCKIS MISCELLANEOUS NOTES • The 52 points marked the most Notre Dame has ever scored against a ranked Navy team. The previous high came on Nov. 1, 1958, when the Irish defeated the Mids 40-20 in Baltimore. • It was Notre Dame's 24th all-time victory over a ranked team by a margin of 25 points or more, and it marked the third time the Irish have secured such a win against Navy. • Brian Kelly became just the third head coach in Notre Dame history with three or more wins of at least 25 points over ranked teams. Lou Holtz and Frank Leahy each secured eight such victories. Ara Parseghian and Dan Devine had two such victories apiece. • For the fifth time this season, Notre Dame held its opponent scoreless in the first quarter. The Irish are giving up 3.4 points per game in the opening 15 minutes of the game. • Heading into the matchup with the Irish, the Navy defense had allowed eight passing touchdowns all season. However, senior quar- terback Ian Book threw five scoring passes against the Midshipmen.