Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com NOV. 14, 2016 27 TAKING A CLOSER LOOK What Worked • Third-Down Success Fuels Offense. Notre Dame's offense had a strong performance against Navy, con- verting 9 of 13 third-down opportunities, a 69.2 per- cent conversion rate. It was the team's best since converting 70.0 percent of its third downs in a 49-39 win over Navy on Nov. 1, 2014. It found success in many ways, with three conver- sions through the air, three quarterback scrambles and three conversions off inside zone runs. In addition, Notre Dame converted all three of its third-and-one opportunities. • Irish Receivers Shine. The Irish wideouts com- bined for 17 catches, 214 receiving yards and two touchdown grabs in limited opportunities. Senior Torii Hunter Jr. did his damage from the inside, hauling in eight passes for 104 yards. Sophomore Equanimeous St. Brown and freshman Kevin Stepherson did their work outside, and after the catch. Stepherson turned a quick hitch route into a 20-yard gain, and St. Brown scored from 13 yards out on a crossing route and ripped off a 26-yard gain on a screen pass. What Didn't Work • Erratic Passing Attack. Junior quarterback De- Shone Kizer completed 70.4 percent of his passes en route to a 223-yard, three-touchdown outing. But those numbers do not really tell the story of his performance. With Notre Dame leading 10-7 in the second quarter, the defense stopped Navy on fourth down, and the Irish took possession at their own 42-yard line. Kizer had Stepherson wide open up the seam, with a Navy linebacker several yards behind, but overthrew him. Two plays later, Kizer sailed the ball several feet over the head of a wide-open St. Brown and Notre Dame was forced to punt. On Notre Dame's final drive, Kizer had a poor read, forcing a pass into the end zone with three defenders surrounding Hunter Jr. on a corner route. Had Kizer thrown the ball to the flat, he had Stepherson open for at least six yards. On the next play, Kizer again sailed the ball over Stepherson's head, bringing up a third-and-10 that Notre Dame could not convert, forcing the Irish to settle for a field goal to make it 28-27. • Irish Lose The Chess Match. The Notre Dame de- fense lost the chess match against the triple option. No matter what the defense tried, Navy had an answer. Early in the game, the Midshipmen were able to out-leverage the Irish, getting the ball outside for gains of six, 11, five and 16 yards. The final gain went for a touchdown to tie the game at 7-7. Notre Dame countered against the pitch, which then opened up the cut back runs for senior quarterback Will Worth, who finished with 175 rushing yards. Notre Dame's counters to that left the perimeter pass game open, which Navy then used to convert a third-and-10 on Navy's go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter, and to draw a pass interference penalty on its final drive of the game. Notre Dame simply could not find any permanent answers against the Navy triple option. — Bryan Driskell Brian Kelly became the fifth Notre Dame head coach to lose two games to Navy during his career, with the first coming in his debut season in 2010. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA 2 Losses to Navy by Notre Dame seventh- year head coach BRIAN KELLY, with the first coming in his first season (2010). In the 90- game history of the series, he now joins Elmer Layden, Terry Brennan, Joe Kuharich and Charlie Weis as Fighting Irish coaches who lost twice to the Midshipmen. None has ever lost three. 3 Victories by Navy head coach Ken Niu- matalolo against Notre Dame (2009, 2010 and 2016). That ties him with Wayne Hardin for most wins by a Navy coach against the Fighting Irish. Hardin defeated the Irish in 1960, 1961 and 1963. Notre Dame now also has lost three consecutive outings in Jacksonville, Fla., going back to Gator Bowl defeats on New Year's Day to North Carolina State (2003) and Georgia Tech (1999). 9-0 All nine games during Notre Dame's 3-6 start this year were won by the team with more rushing yards. Navy outgained Notre Dame on the ground 320-147. Don't look now, but the next opponent, Army, entered the weekend of Nov. 5 ranked second nationally in rushing yards per game (342.6 yards). 9 Minutes milked off the clock by Navy on its 16-play, 75-yard drive that put it ahead for good with 11:51 left in the fourth quarter. 12 Games that have passed since Notre Dame has recorded back-to-back vic- tories. That came last November against Wake Forest (28-7) on Senior Day and then Boston College (19-16) the next week in the Shamrock Series. The Irish are 3-8 in their last 11 contests. 19-2 Record under Kelly when the Irish don't commit a turnover, which they didn't against Navy. Both defeats occurred this season, with the first in the 50-47 double- overtime loss at Texas in the opener. Just as important was Navy also did not commit a turnover. 23 Navy wins against Power Five schools since 2003, with four of them against Notre Dame. That ties the Midshipmen with Brigham Young over that 14-year time span for the most by a "Group of Five" school. A distant third is Boise State with 15. 27 Points tallied by Notre Dame after av- eraging 46.8 the previous five years in victories against Navy, and never scoring lower than 38. It was the lowest output versus the Midshipmen since losing 35-17 in Kelly's first season (2010) as head coach. 104 Receiving yards by Irish senior wideout Torii Hunter Jr. on eight catches, both career highs. Four of his recep- tions, for 69 yards, came on the opening se- ries touchdown drive, capped by a 26-yard touchdown. His previous career highs were six catches versus Duke this season and 95 yards a week earlier against Michigan State. 412 Rushing yards by South Florida, a non-triple-option team, in a 52-45 victory against Navy eight days prior to the game in Jacksonville. Notre Dame finished with 147, in great part because it had only six pos- sessions on offense. BY THE NUMBERS BY LOU SOMOGYI