Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM NOV. 7, 2026 19 BY TYLER JAMES AND KYLE KELLY T he Notre Dame defense needed rescuing in the first half against Navy. The Fighting Irish offense provided a lifeline. Navy scored on its first three posses- sions and finished the first half with 41 offensive plays, 189 yards and 13 points. But Notre Dame led 14-13 despite run- ning just 19 plays. The Irish offense made sure to secure the momentum with a touchdown drive to open the second half in an eventual 35-13 victory at Gillette Stadium in Fox- borough, Mass. "It's like, 'Come on now,'" Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman said. "Right now, our defense is reeling. We need our offense to kinda keep things calm. "I thought the drive right before half was huge, and then to come back in the second half, and I don't know how many plays it was, but to go out and execute, and now all of a sudden you're up [eight] points." The Midshipmen shortened the game in the first half with 23:33 of possession, which set a season high across the FBS level. Navy kept the Irish defense on its heels with quarterback Jackson Gutier- rez leading the option attack with 24 carries for 96 yards and 1 touchdown in the first 30 minutes of play. The saving grace for Notre Dame's defense was its ability to hold Navy to field goals on its first two drives. The Midshipmen took a 13-7 lead over the Irish on a 2-yard touchdown run with 1:52 remaining in the first half. That's when Notre Dame's offense sal- vaged an unfortunate half with an impor- tant two-minute drill. Sophomore run- ning back Nolan James Jr. broke free for a 52-yard touchdown run to regain the lead for Notre Dame. Navy opted to let the clock expire on its final drive of the first half, which may have been a mistake given the way the second half unfolded. "We're not getting them off track right now," Freeman told ABC sideline reporter Stormy Buonantony before heading to the locker room at halftime. "They're doing a couple new things, but it's just the execution. "We can't panic. You can't start call- ing things that your guys don't know how to execute, so we gotta make sure we clean up what they have to do, and then they gotta play physical. We gotta play on their side of the line of scrim- mage, but you can't be out of control." Notre Dame's defense responded well after the offense handed it the eight- point lead following a 3-yard touchdown run by freshman running back Jonaz Walton to open the second half. Notre Dame forced Navy's first three-and-out with the help of a Navy holding penalty. The Irish continued to extend the lead with a 23-yard touchdown run by James on the ensuing possession. A dominant third quarter for the Irish ended with a 14-0 scoring advantage and a 129-35 yardage advantage. Sophomore wide receiver Jerome Bet- tis Jr. replaced banged-up starter Mi- cah Gilbert early in the third quarter and took advantage of his opportunity. Bet- tis caught 4 passes for 35 yards in the third quarter. Then he opened the fourth quarter with a 31-yard touchdown re- ception from junior quarterback CJ Carr. Bettis spun open on a double move to set up an easy throw and catch for the duo. Bettis, who entered the game with 5 catches and 98 yards in his career, racked up 6 catches for 78 yards and his first career touchdown reception against Navy. Carr finished 19-of-29 passing for 210 yards and 2 touchdowns before freshman Noah Grubbs replaced him late in the fourth quarter. Notre Dame's offense ran efficiently outside of a three-and-out in the second quarter. The Irish scored touchdowns on five of their first six drives. Notre Dame rushed for 7.0 yards per carry — led by James (9 for 107 and 2 touchdowns) and Walton (12 for 51 and 1 touchdown) — and averaged 11.1 yards per completion. "This is what we need to do to be effi- cient on offense," Freeman said. "We're having success running the ball, run the ball. If they give us a look where we can throw it over the top of their head, then let's do that. But continue to be effi- cient. Don't try to get outside of what we do to have success." Navy managed to gain just 56 yards and 1 first down against a rejuvenated Irish defense in the second half. The Midshipmen punted three times after not punting at all in the first half. "It's a great win," Freeman said. "It's a challenge to play those guys every year, especially defensively. I told their coach after the game, they just keep enhancing what they do offensively. It's a challenge. "I was really pleased with the way our coaches and players adjusted to the new things they were doing and really did a great job in the second half of executing at a higher level." FIRST QUARTER NOTRE DAME 7, NAVY 3 Top Moment: On the opening drive, defensive lineman Boubacar Traore broke up a pass downfield to put Navy in third-and-13 from the Notre Dame 21-yard line. The stop helped limit the Midshipmen to a field goal on their 14- play, 44-yard opening drive. Feature Performer: Junior quarter- back CJ Carr started sharply on the first Irish offensive series, completing 5 of 7 passes for 60 yards with 1 touchdown. Carr moved the chains twice and con- nected with junior wide receiver Micah Gilbert for an 11-yard touchdown. Stats: Navy chewed up 10:04 and was 1 of 3 on third down but converted on fourth down … The Mids outrushed Notre Dame 65-15. Items: Notre Dame junior cornerback Leonard Moore was available but did not play because of a lower back injury. Se- nior Christian Gray started in his place. OFFENSE TO THE RESCUE Notre Dame survives shaky defensive start against Navy en route to 35-13 victory