Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com NOV. 27, 2017 21 BY LOU SOMOGYI T ime was on Navy's side all day — but No. 8 Notre Dame emerged with a hard-fought, 24-17 victory on Senior Day. The Midshipmen controlled the ball a remarkable 42:42, while the Fighting Irish had it only 17:18 on seven possessions (one more than last season versus Navy). However, head coach Brian Kelly's troops ral- lied from 10-3 and 17-10 deficits to improve to 9-2, while Navy fell to 6-4. "I don't really have a lot to wow you with," Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly said after the ground- oriented game that was "throwback" football to match the Knute Rockne jerseys the Irish players donned. "Some games require a grittiness to them and a toughness and a resolve. If you want to go see 62-52, go to your local Big 12 network. This was just good, tough football. "… Talent does not win out in a game like this. Your assignments, the way you tackle the ball carrier, bending him back, was so important today, because you're fighting for ev- ery yard." Junior quarterback Brandon Wim- bush connected on a nine-yard score to sophomore wide receiver Kevin Stepherson with 11:49 left in the contest to put the Irish ahead for good. The Notre Dame defense then stopped Navy twice in Irish territory in the closing minutes to preserve the victory. After a poor start in the first quar- ter in which his passes repeatedly sailed, Wimbush bounced back strongly and finished 9-of-18 passing for 164 yards with two touchdown throws to Stepherson (five catches for 103 yards). Junior running back Josh Adams contributed 106 yards on 18 carries, while Wimbush added eight rushes for 41 yards and a touchdown. On defense, senior linebacker Greer Martini recorded a career-high 15 tackles and earned the game ball, while sophomore Julian Love — who started at safety instead of cornerback — had 14 stops, and junior linebacker Te'von Coney 10. Navy's No. 1-ranked rushing attack (369.8 yards per game) was limited to 277 yards on 72 carries (3.8 yards per attempt). FIRST QUARTER: NOTRE DAME 3, NAVY 0 Top Moment: After stopping Navy on fourth down at the Notre Dame 30-yard line, the Irish drove 58 yards in 11 plays to set up a 29-yard field goal by junior kicker Justin Yoon with 4:31 left. The drive was highlighted by Wimbush's 21-yard sweep and a 17-yard run by sophomore running back Tony Jones Jr. Wimbush, though, was 0-of-3 passing on the drive. Top Performer: Martini was cred- ited with six tackles (three solo), and he and sophomore defensive end Khalid Kareem combined on a fourth-and-five stop at the Irish 30- yard line on Navy's initial series. Stats: Navy's 10:40 time of pos- session more than doubled Notre Dame's 4:20, but it outgained the Irish only 67-66. All of Navy's yards came on the ground while missing one pass. Wimbush was 1-of-5 passing for three yards during the quarter. Items: On Navy's opening series, it drove to Notre Dame's 34-yard line, but was stopped on fourth-and-five when a fullback dive by Anthony Gargiulo gained only four yards, re- turning the ball to the Irish at 7:22. Irish junior wideout Equanimeous St. Brown was injured when he did a full somersault on a hit off a high, incomplete pass. SECOND QUARTER: NOTRE DAME 10, NAVY 10 Top Moment: After Navy took its first lead, 10-3, with 1:08 remain- ing until halftime, the Irish drove 62 yards in seven plays and tied the game with eight seconds left on a two-yard draw by Wimbush. Top Performers: Wimbush closed the half with 23-yard completions to sophomore wideouts Stepherson and Chase Claypool on the tying drive. Wimbush's score came when the Irish were out of timeouts and after it appeared he might be stopped short of the goal line. The Irish also benefitted from a third-down pass interference penalty on Navy against Stepherson in the end zone. Defensively, in one half Martini al- ready tied his career-high tackle total of 11 that he had against Navy last season. Stats: Even though Navy had a 20:27-9:33 advantage in time of pos- session, the Irish outgained the Mid- shipmen 165-122 through the first 30 minutes. All of Navy's yardage came on the ground, while the Irish ran for 93 and passed for 72. Items: Navy kicker Owen White converted a 39-yard field goal — his first career attempt — at 12:21 to knot the game at 3-3. That 49-yard Navy drive took 13 plays and consumed 7:10. Junior Chris Finke lost a fumble on a punt return that Navy recovered at the Irish 39-yard line with 6:10 left, and that led to a touchdown drive that took 11 plays and 5:02 for a 10-3 lead. Quarterback Zach Abey fin- ished it with a one-yard scoring run. THIRD QUARTER: NOTRE DAME 17, NAVY 17 Top Moment: Notre Dame an- swered Navy's extended touch- down drive to open the second half by moving 78 yards in five plays, capped by a 30-yard touchdown pass from Wimbush to Stepherson at the 5:33 mark to tie the score. Adams had four carries for 48 yards, with a long gain of 30, prior to the score. Top Performer: Led by Abey's leg- erdemain, Navy controlled the ball 13:12 in the quarter, to Notre Dame's 1:48. During the quarter, Abey car- ried the ball nine times for 31 yards, Ahead Of Their Time Navy dominates time of possession, but Notre Dame rallies to a 24-17 victory In his final game at Notre Dame Stadium, senior linebacker Greer Martini — always a standout versus the triple option — recorded a career-high 15 tackles. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA