Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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22 NOV. 14, 2016 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY MATT JONES U nlike most of its matchups with the service academies, Notre Dame was not the bet- ter team against Navy. Seventh-year Irish head coach Brian Kelly admitted that fact after he watched his team squander a second- half lead against the Midshipmen in Jacksonville, Fla., and wind up on the losing side of a 28-27 final score. In front of 50,867 spectators at Ev- erBank Field, Notre Dame's defense couldn't get enough stops against Navy's triple-option attack. A tired Greg Hudson-led unit allowed the Midshipmen to score on their first two possessions of the second half to take the lead and run out the clock while the Irish desperately tried to get the ball back. Junior quarterback DeShone Kizer and the Irish offense had just two second-half possessions and six in the entire game. "Any time you're limited to six pos- sessions, you have to be extremely efficient," Kelly said. "Other than the three-and-out where we had a re- ceiver that we couldn't hook up with, there's not much I can really pick at from a head coach's perspective. "I love the way my team battled. Navy was just a little bit better today, by one point." Navy ran for 320 yards and con- verted clutch first downs when it needed to against a still-growing Irish defense. Senior quarterback Will Worth — in his seventh career game as a starter — showed his effec- tiveness on the ground, tallying 175 yards and two touchdowns. It was the fourth straight game Worth eclipsed 100 rushing yards. "The pressure is always on the quarterback here," ninth-year Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo said. "The ball is always in his hands. The kid played phenomenal. We're where we're at right now because of Will Worth. "He's given our team belief, the way he plays, tough, hard-nosed. He's cre- ated an edge on our football team. We're a scrappy team and are not go- ing to back down from anybody. A lot of that edge comes from the way he plays." The Midshipmen (6-2) trailed 17-14 at the half and drove 75 yards on seven plays on their first possession of the second half to take a 21-17 lead. Notre Dame responded with its own 75-yard drive, taking five minutes and 17 sec- onds to re-grab the lead on a 13-yard touchdown catch by sophomore wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown. With the Irish leading 24-21, its in- ability to get off the field on the ensu- ing Navy drive determined the out- come of the game. "They threw a lot different things at us," senior linebacker James Onwualu said. "They really brought out a lot of their different plays. Just getting those stops is tough when they're getting the fourth down and they're going for it. "You get a third down stop, now you have to get another stop. It's tough for a defense, and we needed to make a couple more plays." Navy's go-ahead drive went 75 yards on 16 plays and drained nine minutes off the clock. The Midship- men converted four times on third or fourth down, including a crucial fourth-and-one after Notre Dame was flagged for having 12 players on the field while Navy punted. The five-yard penalty on fourth-and-six made it fourth-and-one, and Navy converted. Worth ended the drive with a one- yard touchdown run to take a 28-24 lead. WORTHY OPPONENT Senior quarterback Will Worth leads Navy to 28-27 win over Notre Dame Worth accounted for 175 of Navy's 320 rushing yards and scored two of its four touchdowns, and also was 5-of-8 passing for 48 yards. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA