Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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TURNING POINT For the second week in a row, the second-half kickoff resulted in a lost fumble. Last week at Clemson, Notre Dame freshman CJ Sanders' miscue was recovered by the Tigers at the Irish 29, and three plays they scored to up their advantage to 21-3. This time, with the Irish cling- ing to a 24-21 lead and having to kick off to open the second half, sophomore linebacker Nyles Mor- gan forced a fumble by Navy ju- nior Dishan Romine that junior cornerback Devin Butler recov- ered at the Midshipmen 26. Two plays later, senior running back C.J. Prosise's 22-yard tally gave the Irish a 31-21 cushion. Navy was never able to close within two scores the rest of the game. The Midshipmen won the coin toss and specifically wanted to start the second half with the ball. STAT OF THE GAME Senior running back C.J. Pro- s i s e b e c a m e t h e t h i rd N o t re Dame player ever to have more than one game in a season where he scored at least three rushing touchdowns. He accomplished it in the 30-22 victory versus Geor- gia Tech Sept. 19, and achieved the same versus Navy with scores from seven, 22 and 11 yards. Reggie Brooks had most re- cently achieved the feat in 1992 (versus Purdue and USC), the year he finished fifth in the Heis- man Trophy balloting. The other was Frank Lonergan way back in 1902. Lonergan had four rushing touchdowns against both DePauw (Oct. 17) and Chi- cago Physicians and Surgeons (Oct. 29), a time when strength of schedule was less relevant. WILL USC REPEAT TEXAS' ACT? As USC prepares to enter Notre Dame for the Oct. 17 contest, it is likely that much of the conversa- tion during the week will center on how much second-year Tro- jans head coach Steve Sarkisian is on the hot seat and could end up getting fired after losing each of his last two home games as a double-digit favorite (first to Stanford and then Washington). This is a dangerous situation for Notre Dame because that has a way of galvanizing a team, es- pecially when it goes on the road. This was the same situation sec- ond-year Texas head coach Char- lie Strong faced after the 50-7 loss to TCU — and then the next week his Longhorns upset No. 10 Okla- homa 24-17. Expect USC to play with the same conviction and desire for redemption at Notre Dame. THREE OBSERVATIONS BY LOU SOMOGYI