Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/204831
three observations Turning Point In a game that the lead changed nine times, it's virtually impossible to select one turning point. However, the one possession that turned the contest into a back-and-forth barnburner came when Notre Dame held a 10-7 lead early in the second quarter and had first down at the Navy 16. Junior running back Cam McDaniel raced for a 16-yard touchdown to potentially make it 17-7, but junior tight end Troy Niklas was called for holding on the play. Then on second down, senior wideout TJ Jones slipped on a pass attempt that Navy free safety Parrish Gaines intercepted. The Midshipmen then proceeded to march 77 yards to take a 14-10 lead. Notre Dame was on the cusp of a coveted two-score cushion at 17-7 — but Navy went ahead minutes later. The events in those few minutes defined the game's complexion thereafter. Stat Of The Game No Notre Dame game in history had more lead changes than the nine versus Navy. The previous highest lead change totals dating back to 1900 include seven in Notre Dame's 34-30 loss at Penn State on Nov. 12, 1983. There were also seven lead changes in Notre Dame's epic 24-23 Sugar Bowl victory over No. 1 Alabama on Dec. By lou somogyi 31, 1973 to clinch the national title. The nine lead changes against Navy were as follows: Notre Dame 7-0 (1), Navy 14-10 (2), Notre Dame 17-14 (3), Navy 20-17 (4), Notre Dame 24-20 (5), Navy 27-24 (6), Notre Dame 31-27 (7), Navy 34-31 (8) and finally Notre Dame 38-34 (9). Neither team led by more than seven points, and neither went ahead by more than four points over the final 52:32. Almost Perfect There is only one game in Notre Dame history in which the Fighting Irish neither committed a turnover nor a penalty: the 24-6 upset of No. 11 LSU in "Death Valley" on Nov. 15, 1997. Navy had neither a turnover nor a penalty in this game at Notre Dame, while the Irish turned it over twice on interceptions and also had five penalties for 55 yards. Furthermore, Navy held a huge 37:36 to 22:24 advantage in time of possession and converted 10 of 16 third downs, a robust .625 percentage. Every pregame formula to pull a huge upset was there for the Midshipmen — other than maybe a missed extra point — but Notre Dame still managed to eke out the victory. It's likely to be criticized as "ugly" or "underwhelming" nationally, but credit has to be given to Navy also for being virtually flawless.