Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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turnover on downs. "The biggest thing in for me in college is it's hard to win," freshman Dog linebacker Jaylon Smith said. "I'm actually starting to realize that. So any victory, we'll take it. I'm sure Coach [Kelly] has mentioned that we get 24 hours to enjoy this victory, and then it's on to the next one." notre dame Suffers Multiple Injuries With senior nose guard Louis Nix III in street clothes for the second straight game, Notre Dame saw its injury woes continue to pile up against Navy. "He was playing well," Kelly said. "He was playing a lot of snaps certainly. … We're really thin. He had a lot of work, a lot of time that he had spent on the field, and then he went down with an ankle too." Also lost to injuries were junior linebacker Ben Councell, who was carted off the field after the game with a bag of ice on his knee, and senior safety Austin Collinsworth, who was replaced by junior Eilar Hardy after suffering an apparent upper-body injury. "They're all banged up," Kelly said. "They all will require some attention. I tried to talk to Rob Hunt, our head trainer, but it was a triage in there. So I'll have to get further information." Slick Turf Slows Irish Junior outside linebacker Ben Councell was among the many Notre Dame defenders who suffered injuries against Navy. photo by Bill panzica Fellow starting defensive lineman Sheldon Day left the game with a leg injury, marking the second consecutive week that the sophomore seemed to tweak the ankle that has been plaguing him all season. Senior defensive lineman Kona Schwenke exited the game in the fourth quarter and hobbled around after the win. He led the Irish with 11 tackles. Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly has never been shy about making his case for FieldTurf to be installed at Notre Dame Stadium instead of the traditional natural grass. The field conditions versus Navy might be exhibit No. 1 as he continues to make his case in the future. While most of the precipitation fell in the last couple of hours leading up to the game, the Notre Dame Stadium sod — most recently replaced two days before the Oct. 12 USC game — caused some issues in the 38-34 Notre Dame win. "The conditions weren't great," Kelly said. "Our field people work their butts off, though, to try to get it the best they could. This is not the first day of this problem with the rain today. This is something that has been inherited in a large degree over a long period of time.