Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/408565
for six touchdowns, becoming the first player in program history to tally three rushing and three passing scores in the same game. His first score came on the second play of scrimmage, when he found junior slot receiver C.J. Prosise in stride for a 78-yard touchdown. Junior wide receiver Chris Brown would still lead the Irish with 82 yards on two catches, while senior tight end Ben Koyack's five receptions (for 54 yards) were the most. After the Midshipmen quickly tied the game on junior quarterback Keenan Reynolds' 26-yard touch- down pass to junior wide receiver Thomas Wilson on the ensuing pos- session, Golson led the way for three straight Notre Dame touchdowns, sandwiching scoring passes to Koy- ack (two yards) and sophomore wide- out Will Fuller (four yards) around a five-yard scoring run of his own. Golson finished with 315 yards on 18- of-25 passing and added 33 rushing yards on nine attempts. "Everything was really quick," said Golson, who guided the Irish to 342 total yards in the first half alone. "Our receivers did a great job getting to their spots. Our offensive line did a tremendous job tonight, and I did a decent job of working through my progressions and trying to anticipate and throw on time." The Irish did not hold on to the lead to which Golson staked them, though, giving up 24 unanswered Midship- men points during the second and third quarters. After junior slot back Demond Brown capped a 10-play, 78- yard drive with an 18-yard scoring run at the 2:30 mark prior to half- time, Golson nearly stymied that onslaught. He drove Notre Dame to the Navy 33-yard line with less than 30 seconds left before halftime and a two-touchdown lead still in hand. He fired a pass intended for senior slot receiver Amir Carlisle cutting toward the end zone, but Carlisle had run a slightly different route and Midship- men senior defensive back George Jamison sliced in and picked off the pass. "We turned the darn ball over right before the half," Kelly said of what sparked the distinct shift in momen- tum. "I'm mad at myself. We ran a play that is maybe a little too technical for our guy to read the right way — not the quarterback. We should have had an adjustment with the route. Everett was anticipating a break, and he didn't get the break." Golson defended his coach and Carlisle, putting the onus of the turn- over upon himself. "I actually thought the call was pretty good," he said. "It's just com- munication. I've got to be better on communicating with my receivers and helping them get to the right spots. There's a lot we had to clean up on that play, and I think the big- gest thing was miscommunication." Navy took the turnover and used a 42-yard completion on a wheel route to set up a 44-yard field goal as time expired. It headed into the locker room down just 28-17, and then re- ceived the second half kickoff. That possession turned into a touchdown as well, with senior slot back Geoffrey Whiteside's 13-yard touchdown run