BY ANDREW OWENS
A
fter being unable to overcome a
14-0 deficit in its loss at Clem-
son Oct. 3, Notre Dame empha-
sized the importance of start-
ing quickly in a rebound effort against
Navy.
The Irish again failed to do so, but
this time it didn't matter in a 41-24 win
against the Midshipmen at Notre Dame
Stadium.
Notre Dame (5-1) took the opening
kickoff but was forced to punt after
three plays, while Navy scored on its
third play for an early 7-0 lead. The
Irish led just 24-21 at halftime, but a
quick pair of scores in the third quarter
put Navy away for Notre Dame's fifth
consecutive win in the series.
"We knew we had quite a few plays
and we only had one three-and-out,
and never did any of the offense at
any time put their head down," sopho-
more quarterback DeShone Kizer said.
"We knew that our defense was going
to get themselves going, and we were
going to get ourselves going in the
next couple drives."
After falling behind, Notre Dame
scored touchdowns on three of its next
four drives to take a 21-7 lead before
the Midshipmen made a comeback bid.
Prior to a string of plays late in the first
half and early in the second, the contest
looked like it might take the path of
close Irish victories in 2013 (38-34) and
2014 (49-39).
Irish starting freshman nose guard
Jerry Tillery left the game midway
through the second quarter with what
appeared to be an arm injury. Navy
senior fullback Quentin Ezell then rum-
bled 45 yards for a touchdown to cut
