Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1484072
18 NOV. 19, 2022 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY TYLER HORKA T he Navy Midshipmen were pres- ent and accounted for at M&T Stadium, but their game vs. Notre Dame was anything but smooth sailing. For either team. The Fighting Irish jumped out to a 35-13 halftime lead. All systems were go. But then head coach Marcus Freeman's group turned into a sinking ship. It was as if Navy torpedoed every ounce of momentum Notre Dame brought with it into the locker room. The Irish held on to win 35-32, but they let the game get much closer than anyone in blue and gold wanted. Free- man said it's much easier to learn les- sons in wins than it is in losses. Notre Dame dealt with the latter enough in the first half of the season. This was something entirely differ- ent to take away from. None of Notre Dame's previous six triumphs were se- cured in the fashion with which they claimed the win over Navy. A case can be made for taking the foot off the pedal at North Carolina, but that was still a 13-point victory. This was losing complete control of the wheel while hoping and praying that somehow the boat still docked safely. It did. And Freeman is thankful for that. "As I told the team, first and fore- most, no victory should be taken for granted," Freeman said. "Congratula- tions on a hard-fought win." Freeman said he knew Navy would never quit. He was right. The Midshipmen mustered 3 points on a 16-play, 72-yard drive that con- sumed the first 10:01 of the third quar- ter. At the time, it didn't feel like a field goal was worth much considering the way the Irish offense played in the first half; junior quarterback Drew Pyne passed for 234 yards and accounted for 5 touchdowns. In the second half, Notre Dame had 12 yards — as an entire team. The Midshipmen connected on a touchdown one play after a Pyne pass was batted at the line and intercepted. That made it 35-24. Navy orchestrated an 88-yard drive in 11 plays to creep within 35-32 with 1:21 left. The ensuing onside kick was unsuc- cessful, and with no Navy timeouts in hand the game was over. Notre Dame might have hit an iceberg, but the ship did not go all the way down. A win is a win. "We are going to be better because of it," Freeman said. "Somehow, someway we have to be better because of what happened in the second half." FIRST QUARTER NOTRE DAME 14, NAVY 6 Top Moment: Notre Dame gradu- ate student wide receiver Braden Lenzy made one of the catches of the year in college football, pinning the ball to the back of a Navy defender while simul- taneously giving him a bear hug, all to whip the ball into his clear possession with one hand. The 38-yard score from Pyne put the Irish ahead 14-0 with 4:28 left in the first quarter. Feature Performer: Pyne threw 2 of his 4 touchdown passes in the first frame, while completing 9 of 9 throws for 134 yards. Stats: Notre Dame outgained Navy 166 to 98 in total yards. The Irish were 3 of 4 on third down and possessed the ball for 9:25. Navy averaged 9.8 yards per play to Notre Dame's 8.7. Items: Sophomore running back Au- dric Estime opened the scoring with a 30-yard catch and run against an all- out Navy blitz … The Midshipmen got on the board with a 36-yard touchdown on a fullback dive; the Midshipmen gained 34 yards on a passing play two plays prior … Sophomore wide receiver Deion Colzie gained 29 yards on third- and-12 on the penultimate play of the quarter. SECOND QUARTER NOTRE DAME 35, NAVY 13 Top Moment: Notre Dame senior linebacker Jack Kiser blocked a punt. It was the Irish's seventh blocked punt of the season. They've blocked at least one punt in five consecutive games. The Irish scored on a 37-yard pass from Pyne to sophomore wide receiver Jayden Thomas on the next play. Disaster Averted Notre Dame nearly saw a 22-point lead completely evaporate, but held on to beat Navy 35-32 Junior quarterback Drew Pyne accounted for 251 yards of total offense and 5 touchdowns in the first half to help stake the Irish to a 35-13 halftime lead. PHOTO BY TAVAN SMITH