Blue and Gold Illustrated

56 yards) just to get him on the perimeter a little better in an effort to utilize his speed. When Prosise and Co. needed the tough yards in the first half and played more ball control in the second, they were effective. ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame NOTRE DAME PASSING GAME VS. NAVY PASS DEFENSE Kizer had yet another efficient performance, com- pleting 22 of 30 passes (73.3 percent) for 281 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Whether improvising with an exceptional scramble on his 30-yard TD pass to junior wide receiver Will Fuller, or having huge amounts of time in the pocket on several other crucial throws, such as the 28-yard crossing route to junior wide receiver Torii Hunter Jr. to set up a field goal right before halftime, Kizer and the Irish attack had too many weapons for Navy to counter, especially with so much concentration on trying to stop Prosise and the run. ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame SPECIAL TEAMS Freshman kicker Justin Yoon's 52-yard field goal as time expired in the first half provided an emotional lift. Sophomore punter Tyler Newsome's 38-yard kick that was caught by Farley, the Irish special teams captain, at the Navy 3-yard line set the wheels in mo- tion for a Midshipmen turnover at their 7-yard line and a subsequent Notre Dame touchdown. The second half began with Navy junior Dishan Ro- mine fumbling the kickoff and Irish junior cornerback Devin Butler recovering at the Mids' 26-yard line. Two plays later, Prosise scored on a 22-yard run to give the Irish a 31-21 advantage. The woes for Navy continued on the next series when Austin Grebe had his first miss (44 yards) in 11 career field goal attempts. The main negative for the Irish was kick coverage, including yielding a 58-yard return by Romine on the ensuing kickoff after his fumble. ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame THIRD-DOWN CONVERSIONS Both teams were 2 of 6 (33.3 percent) in the first half, but both for Notre Dame's conversions were huge. An 18-yard completion to senior wide receiver Chris Brown on third-and-15 led to its first touch- down, and then Fuller snared a 30-yard touchdown from a scrambling Kizer on third-and-eight to give the Irish a 21-7 lead. On the 73-yard TD march to make it 38-21, Kizer connected with junior wide receiver Corey Robinson for 16 yards on third-and-11 and also snuck for a first down on third-and-one. Overall, the Irish were 7 of 12 (58.3 percent) and Navy 2 of 11 (18.2 percent), but the Midshipmen did convert all four of their short fourth-down attempts to keep the chains moving. Notre Dame's long con- versions were more damaging. ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame TURNOVERS Each team committed a turnover in the first half that set up a short field for a touchdown. Notre Dame's came off a fumble recovery at the Navy 7-yard line that led to a 14-7 lead, while a Navy interception at the Irish 41 enabled it to knot the game at 21 six plays later. Navy's second turnover, on the kickoff to begin the second half, set up a 26-yard Irish touchdown drive that proved to be a crucial difference. A late Midshipmen turnover gave the Irish an overall 3-1 advantage in that category. ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame ANALYSIS Typical of the Midshipmen, they remained within striking distance most of the contest and forced Notre Dame to play all four quarters. Atypical of Navy was its turnovers (three after having only one in the first four games), a 15-yard personal foul on Notre Dame's second scoring drive and numerous missed assignments. The Irish already were the stronger team, but com- pounding its advantage were Navy's own mistakes, often induced by Notre Dame. ✦ ON PAPER REVISITED BY LOU SOMOGYI

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