Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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TURNING POINT There were huge ebbs and flows on both sides, starting with a 28-7 lead by Notre Dame, followed by 24 unanswered points by Navy to move ahead 31-28. Particularly cru- cial was with Notre Dame ahead 35-31, Navy's halfback throwback third-down pass from fullback Noah Copeland to quarterback Keenan Reynolds was dropped in Irish ter- ritory. On the next play, Irish senior return man Cody Riggs recovered his own fumbled punt at his 14. Two plays later, Notre Dame had a two- score lead (42-31) with 12:22 left. Also notable was the final se- quence of the game. First, the Irish recovered a Navy onside kick while leading 42-39. Then a check-down 30-yard dump off pass to sophomore Tarean Folston on third-and-six set up senior quarterback Everett Gol- son's eight-yard score off a broken play with 1:27 left to seal the verdict. STAT OF THE GAME Notre Dame entered the red zone five times against Navy (not includ- ing two kneel downs at the 19 to end the game) and scored a touchdown each time. Field goals were not go- ing to be enough against the Mid- shipmen once the Irish penetrated the Navy 20, and they capitalized with seven points each time. As a corollary to that data, Notre Dame also finished 7 of 10 on third- down conversions, highlighted by a 5-of-5 effort to start while build- ing a 28-7 lead. It converted all four third downs on its second and third touchdown marches, with a two- yard scoring pass to senior tight end Ben Koyack to end one drive and quarterback Everett Golson impro- vising on a five-yard tally on an- other. The combination of red-zone pro- duction and third-down efficiency provided the Irish the points needed. GETTING THE RIGHT BOUNCE There were three bounces in the fourth quarter that fell Notre Dame's way during its 49-39 victory. The first came when fifth-year se- nior Cody Riggs fumbled Navy's punt with 12:45 remaining and the Irish clinging to a 35-31 lead. With Midshipmen all around him, Riggs managed to get his bearings to- gether and recover his own fumble at the 14. Two plays later, the Irish were ahead 42-31. After the Midshipmen cut the def- icit to 42-39, Irish junior slot receiver C.J. Prosise was belted on the onside kick and temporarily lost the ball, but he too recovered to pounce on it at the Navy 48. On that ensuing drive, senior quarterback Everett Golson fum- bled the ball at the 8-yard line, but scooped it up and scored with 1:27 left for the clinching score. In 2011, it would have been returned for a TD (as USF and USC did in their wins). THREE OBSERVATIONS BY LOU SOMOGYI