Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM SEPT. 2, 2023 25 0 Sacks allowed by Notre Dame against Navy, a stark difference from last year's matchup between the two schools when the Midshipmen registered 5 sacks for minus-30 yards in the second half alone. 4 Touchdown passes for graduate student Sam Hartman, which tied for the most by a quar- terback in his Fighting Irish debut. He joined Ron Powlus, who did it in a 42-15 win over Northwest- ern on Sept. 3, 1994, and Jack Coan, who achieved it in a 41-38 overtime victory at Florida State on Sept. 5, 2021. Hartman also had only 4 incompletions while throwing for 251 yards. 6 Straight wins — and 11 in its last 12 meetings — for Notre Dame against Navy. The Irish's last loss to the Midshipmen was a 28-27 defeat in Jacksonville, Fla., on Nov. 5, 2016. The average margin of victory for the Irish during their current six-game winning streak is 21.8 points. 7.8 Yards per play (444 yards on 57 plays) for the Fighting Irish offense against Navy. For comparison's sake, last year's national leaders in that category (Ohio State and Georgia) averaged 7.2 yards per play for the season. Meanwhile, Navy averaged only 3.1 yards per play (169 on 55) against the Irish. 18 Quarterbacks in NCAA history have thrown for at least 13,000 yards, with Hartman becoming the latest to join that exclusive club. He entered the contest with 12,967 career yards and eclipsed that mark with completions of 19 yards to junior wide receiver Jayden Thomas and 22 yards to junior running back Audric Estimé during the Irish's opening drive of the game. 28-0 Halftime lead for Notre Dame against Navy represented its largest in a sea- son opener since a 28-0 advantage versus Nevada on Sept. 5, 2009. The Irish went on to defeat the Wolf Pack 35-0. 31 Straight games with a touchdown pass for Hartman, dating back to his time at Wake Forest. That's the longest active streak in the FBS, per TruMedia. 35.3 Points is Notre Dame's average margin of victory against Navy in the three contests played in Ireland. The Irish are 3-0 and have outscored the Midshipmen 146-40, winning 54-27 in 1996, 50-10 in 2012 and 42-3 this year. 39 Points is the Fighting Irish's largest margin of victory in a season opener since their 50-10 victory over Navy the last time the two teams met at Aviva Stadium in Dublin. 82.6 Completion percentage (19 of 23) for Hartman against the Midshipmen. That ranks as the 11th-best single-game comple- tion percentage by a Fighting Irish passer in school history. 88 Rushing yards for Notre Dame in the first quarter against a Navy defense that al- lowed only 88.9 per game in 2022. Last year, the Irish were officially credited with just 66 rushing yards on 34 carries. If you removed the 5 sacks that lost 30 yards, they still had just 96 yards on 29 carries (3.3 per rush). This year, the Irish finished with 191 yards on 32 carries (6.0 per rush). 126 Rushing yards for Navy against Notre Dame, the second time in three meet- ings the Irish held them below 200 (166 in a 34-6 win 2021). Even if you remove the 19 yards lost on 2 sacks and a bad snap that resulted in a 26-yard loss, the Midshipmen still only would have had "just" 175 yards on the ground, well below last year's season average of 241.2 and the 255 they racked up against the Irish in 2022. Junior fullback Daba Fofana, who had 15 carries for 133 yards against the Irish last year, was limited to 32 yards on 16 attempts (thanks in part to him being credited for a 26-yard loss after picking up the bad snap). BY THE NUMBERS BY STEVE DOWNEY 2 Fighting Irish players scored a touchdown on their first career touch at the colle- giate level in the season opener ver- sus Navy: sophomore running back JADARIAN PRICE and freshman wide receiver Jaden Greathouse. Price burst up the middle for a 19- yard touchdown run to stake the Fighting Irish to a 14-0 lead with 1:03 remaining in the first quarter. On the Notre Dame's next posses- sion, Greathouse hauled in a 35-yard touchdown reception five minutes into the second quarter to push Notre Dame's advantage to 21-0. PHOTO BY JOHN CROTHERS