Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1541184
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM NOV. 15, 2025 21 NOTRE DAME PASSING OFFENSE: A As crazy as it sounds, Notre Dame's passing game actually left a few plays on the table. Redshirt freshman quarterback CJ Carr missed an open junior wideout Jordan Faison for what would have been a third-down conversion and underthrew redshirt senior Malachi Fields for what would have been a touchdown (but did draw a pass interfer- ence). Plus, Fields dropped a pass. Nitpicking? Absolutely. That's the difference be- tween an A and an A+ against a bottom-third pass defense, but this was obviously a successful night for Carr. He finished 13-of-16 passing for 218 yards with 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. Navy made it clear that it was going to stop the run at any cost, and the Irish took full advantage. Fields often found himself without safety help over the top, and Carr found him 4 times for 97 yards. Redshirt sophomore wide receiver KK Smith caught a 34-yard touchdown as well, again beating single coverage with no safety help. We should also note that Notre Dame's pass protec- tion was outstanding, giving Carr time to take those shots. Faison and redshirt junior tight end Ty Washing- ton both reached the end zone on short passes, with the latter scoring his first touchdown in a Notre Dame uniform. He and Irish head coach Marcus Freeman appeared to share a heartfelt moment as he jogged off the field. NOTRE DAME RUSHING OFFENSE: A- It's fair to be slightly concerned about Notre Dame's injury-plagued interior offensive line, which didn't move the line of scrimmage enough. There were also some missed assignments on the edges that let free runners take shots at junior running back Jeremiyah Love and redshirt junior running back Jadarian Price. But again, we have to account for Navy selling out to stop the run. Plus, one of those missed assignments on the edges led to arguably Notre Dame's play of the year so far. Love is unbelievable, but as the game went on, you started to notice the Irish wearing down the Midshipmen at the line of scrimmage. Lanes started opening up for Price, who got going in the second half. An enormous lane opened up for sophomore running back Aneyas Williams, who actually had Notre Dame's longest run of the night for a 54-yard score. This was a step forward for the Notre Dame run game, which compiled 252 yards on 35 attempts (7.2 yards per carry, not including kneel downs). NOTRE DAME PASSING DEFENSE: A Navy quarterback Braxton Woodson's 41-yard scramble dings this grade slightly, and the Mid- shipmen aren't nearly as dangerous through the air without QB1 Blake Horvath. But in general, the Irish did what they needed to do. Notre Dame had 2 sacks, courtesy of senior defensive end Junior Tuihalamaka and redshirt sophomore linebacker Jaiden Ausberry, on 12 Navy drop backs. The Irish gave up only 1 completion of over 3 yards. Woodson and third-stringer Jackson Gutierrez went a combined 3 of 10 passing for 22 yards. NOTRE DAME RUSHING DEFENSE: A This was good, old-fashioned triple-option foot- ball from Navy, and Notre Dame put on a clinic for how to stop it. The Midshipmen ran 45 times, including 30 car- ries by quarterbacks, for 206 yards (4.6 yards per carry). They engineered one touchdown drive, but the Irish slammed the door the rest of the game. By now, Notre Dame fans have come to expect fundamentally sound yet aggressive and violent option defenses from Marcus Freeman-coached teams. That is certainly what they got. Ausberry led the way with 8 tackles, including 2 for loss (the Irish had 5 total), but everyone got involved. Notre Dame prevented the big play — Navy's longest run besides that scramble was 15 yards — and forced the Midshipmen into just enough third-and-long situations to stall most of their drives. To have any shot in this game, Navy had to create explosive plays for points and control the ball for long enough to limit Notre Dame's offensive op- portunities. The Midshipmen did neither because the Irish didn't let them. NOTRE DAME SPECIAL TEAMS: A+++ True freshman kicker Erik Schmidt went 7 of 7 on extra points. The parade is scheduled for Tuesday. In all seriousness, Schmidt badly needed a night like this to get his — and everyone else's — con- fidence back. NOTRE DAME COACHING: A+ Freeman deserves credit for Notre Dame's ap- proach to the option, but so does defensive co- ordinator Chris Ash. Irish defensive coordinators typically struggle in their first time against Navy, and he certainly did not. Offensively, coordinator Mike Denbrock realized early what Navy was trying to do and responded ac- cordingly, drawing up shots downfield and creating advantageous situations for Carr and the receivers. He also deserves credit for sticking with the run game when others might have abandoned it. Notre Dame has outscored Navy 142-27 since 2023, because Freeman knows this game is a death trap for teams who are not coached well. The Irish over-prepare for the Midshipmen every year, and as a result, they massacre them. REPORT CARD BY JACK SOBLE The Midshipmen entered the contest averaging a nation-best 317.3 rushing yards per game and 6.61 yards per carry, but mustered just 206 yards and 4.6 yards per carry against the Irish. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER