Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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felt the contest was comfortably in hand. Against Navy, Folston got started early, carrying twice on the second drive of the game for a total of 15 yards. The majority of his work still came in the second half, when he had 15 carries for 112 yards. Prior to the Navy game, he had a career total of 116 yards on 22 carries. "He was running well, and we just felt like we'd stick with him in terms of the way he was running," Kelly said. "We're looking for guys to go north and south and make people miss, and I think if you look at all his runs, he by and large did that." The coach said there was only one play he was disappointed in Folston's inability to get upfield, and he still did enough then to pick up a first down on a second-and-one conversion. He highlighted a showcase game in the fourth quarter with a 14-yard run that started by hurdling a lineman at the line of scrimmage and then shaking a linebacker to get to the defense's next level. He had three carries on that drive and all went for at least 14 yards. Kelly said Folston's conditioning has steadily improved throughout his first fall in college football. He would not have been strong enough to carry a heavy load late in the fourth quarter in September. The Irish will likely return to their equal opportunity running game to begin the Pittsburgh game, but the freshman gave Notre Dame a glimpse of what its future might hold at the position. "Everybody's time comes," Folston said. "And I feel like my time came today." The Irish Defense Struggles In the two games leading up to the matchup with Navy, the Irish defense surrendered a total of six points after the opening touchdown drives of USC and Air Force, respectively. Facing the Midshipmen, however, provided a much stiffer challenge for Notre Dame. Outside of Navy's 331 rushing yards, two defining statistics emerged in the close call. Navy Miscellaneous Notes • Senior wide receiver TJ Jones' second-quarter touchdown reception extended his streak to six straight games with a score. He has caught a touchdown in each game dating back to a 17-13 win over Michigan State in September. He is two games away from tying the program record of eight games, held by former All-Americans Jeff Samardzija and Golden Tate. • Navy played a mistake-free game against Notre Dame, leaving South Bend without committing a penalty or a turnover. The Irish did a good job of staying consistently positive, too. They didn't have a play go for negative yards until the final three snaps of the game when they were lined up in victory formation. • A sextet of naval fighter jets buzzed the upper deck of Notre Dame Stadium prior to kickoff. The Blue Angels crew included a 2002 Notre Dame graduate, Lieutenant Commander John Hiltz. • The Irish averaged nine yards per play on offense against Navy, their highest total since the 1998 season when the school started tracking that stat. Three times since then Notre Dame averaged 8.8 yards a play: this season against Temple, 2012 against Wake Forest and 2009 against Washington.