Story by
Pharos-Tribune, Logansport, Ind.
Notre Dame suffers bad breaks in win against Navy
- Story byPharos-Tribune, Logansport, Ind.
- Notre Dame suffers bad breaks in win against Navy
On paper, Navy should have been a tune-up game for a Notre Dame team coming out of its bye week, with the memory of the BYU loss fresh in its mind. Navy didn't enter as a great team, holding just a 2-5 record, but the service academy program always puts up a tough fight.
With top-ranked Miami looming on the schedule, the Fighting Irish just had to not get caught looking ahead and take care of business against the Midshipmen to set up a major showdown with the Hurricanes.
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Instead, Notre Dame only enters Saturday night's game against Miami with more concerns after beating Navy 35-13, mainly due to an influx of defensive injuries.
While the Fighting Irish eventually pulled away to win by multiple touchdowns, the first half against Navy was not pretty. The Midshipmen had solid success running the ball in the first half, in part due to showing Notre Dame some offensive looks it wasn't expecting.
Navy scored on each of its first three drives and it did what it does best: use up the clock. Both teams only had one offensive drive in the first quarter, which was a field goal for Navy and a touchdown for Notre Dame.
The Midshipmen's offense continued to find success in the second quarter. They routinely picked up chunk gains on the ground while incorporating the passing game to try and catch the Fighting Irish off guard. Navy kicked another field goal and then scored a touchdown on the 63-yard drive with just more than five minutes left in the first half.
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That score put the Midshipmen up 13-7 as Notre Dame continued to look flat on both sides of the ball. The Fighting Irish scored on a 52-yard touchdown run by running back Nolan James Jr. with 55 seconds left in the first half to put them back on top. Notre Dame did not look back from there and made the necessary adjustments to shut out Navy in the second half.
Notre Dame ultimately pulled away and was clearly the better team in the second half, but the first half was still mighty concerning. On top of struggling through the first half against Navy, the Fighting Irish were dealt multiple significant injury blows.
The Midshipmen's physical, run-heavy playstyle lives in the trenches and it took some Notre Dame defenders with it.
The biggest loss is senior captain and green-dot linebacker, Drayk Bowen. He left early against Navy and was ruled out for Miami on Monday's injury report with a right ankle injury. Bowen led the team with 45 tackles, but is now expected to miss a significant amount of time.
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Jaiden Ausberry took over the defensive communications duties in Bowen's absence against Navy and is now in the starting spot on the depth chart. Marcus Freeman also said on Monday that Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa could get some green-dot responsibility. Viliamu-Asa has been on and off the injury report this season, but is not listed with any injury designation for this week, meaning he should be a full go.
The Fighting Irish also took some hits along the defensive line. Francis Brewu and Jason Onye are both questionable for Saturday night after sustaining injuries against Navy. Brewu is listed with a left knee injury, while it is a right knee injury for Onye. They are the top two defensive tackles on the depth chart and each would be an incredibly damaging loss against an explosive Miami offense.
The latest crop of injuries continues what has been a tough year health-wise for the defense.
Onye was hurt in Week 1 against Wisconsin and did not return until the BYU game two weeks ago. That same week against the Badgers, starting safety Braunte Johnson went down with a left foot injury. He has remained out and will not play against Miami. Luke Talich has filled in for Johnson admirably, but that's still a leader missing on the back end.
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Cornerback Leonard Moore was banged up for the last couple of weeks after suffering a concussion against North Carolina on Oct. 3. He carries no injury designation for Saturday, but the corner opposite him, DJ McKinney, will remain out with a right ankle injury he suffered against BYU.
Notre Dame's display of defensive depth has been nothing short of incredible, and it continues to allow only 13.4 points per game. But against Navy, there were definitely some holes on the defensive side of the ball.
There is certainly some cause for concern with the rising injuries and success Navy had in the first half. Those concerns only become magnified when the next opponent boasts one of the most electric offenses in the country with two Heisman candidates.
