Drayk Bowen suffers 'significant' injury, dealing Notre Dame major blow

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Drayk Bowen suffers 'significant' injury, dealing Notre Dame major blow

Drayk Bowen suffers 'significant' injury, dealing Notre Dame major blow

John Brice, USA TODAY · USA TODAY Sports

Sat, October 31, 2026 at 7:36 PM UTC ·

2 min read

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Notre Dame rallied from behind and pulled away from Navy on Saturday, Oct. 31, but the 35-13 victory came at a significant cost for the Fighting Irish .

Senior linebacker Drayk Bowen, a team captain and the "green dot" of Notre Dame's defense as its coach-to-player designee, suffered what multiple individuals with direct knowledge of the situation described to USA TODAY Sports as a "significant" ankle injury during a first-half scrum.

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Salesi Moa #12 of the Michigan Wolverines runs with the ball against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights during the first half at SHI Stadium on October 31, 2026 in Piscataway, New Jersey.
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Running back L.J. Phillips Jr. #21 of the Iowa Hawkeyes goes up the field in the second half against linebacker Cooper Catalano #44 of the Wisconsin Badgers at Kinnick Stadium on October 31, 2026 in Madison, WI.
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Mekhi Mason #4 of the Kansas State Wildcats attempts to recover a ball that was fumbled into the end zone for a touchback in favor of the Kansas State Wildcats in the first half against the Colorado Buffaloes at Folsom Field on October 31, 2026 in Boulder, Colorado.
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Joseph Williams #8 of the Colorado Buffaloes runs after a catch in the first half of the game against the Kansas State Wildcats at Folsom Field on October 31, 2026 in Boulder, Colorado.
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Steve Angeli #9 of the Syracuse Orange throws the ball during the fourth quarter against the SMU Mustangs at JMA Wireless Dome on October 31, 2026 in Syracuse, New York.
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Brenden Jordan #7 and Brice Pollock #14 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders tackle Quincy Craig #24 of the Arizona Wildcats during the second half of the game at Galaxy Stadium on October 31, 2026 in Lubbock, Texas.
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Adon Shuler #8 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish breaks up a pass intended for Truman Brasfield #83 of the Navy Midshipmen during the first half at Gillette Stadium on October 31, 2026 in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
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Bear Bachmeier #47 of the Brigham Young Cougars is stopped on the goal line by Owen Long #22 of the Arizona State Sun Devils during the first half of their game at LaVell Edwards Stadium on October 31, 2026 in Provo Utah.
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Wayshawn Parker #1 of the Utah Utes runs with the ball during the second quarter of the game against the Cincinnati Bearcats at Nippert Stadium on October 31, 2026 in Cincinnati, Ohio.
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Bowen is expected to miss an extended period of time.

"He's likely done for the rest of the regular season, at least," one individual said.

Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman wouldn't provide any more information on Bowen after the game, only saying: "We will get an injury report on Sunday."

TOPPMEYER: Strip away Notre Dame brand, and shaky CFP resume is impossible to ignore

The injury came during Bowen's 48th appearance in a Notre Dame uniform, including his 36th consecutive start.

A former Indiana Mr. Football and Gatorade Player of the Year in the state, Bowen entered Saturday with 197 career tackles and quickly blew past the 200-tackle milestone. He finished with seven tackles, including two solo stops, before exiting.

Notre Dame's defense responded without him, shutting out Navy in the second half as the No. 6 Irish turned a one-point halftime lead into a comfortable victory.

But replacing Bowen becomes an immediate problem, and the timing couldn't be worse.

Notre Dame hosts No. 1 Miami on Saturday, Nov. 7, at Notre Dame Stadium in a game with enormous College Football Playoff implications . A victory could strengthen the Irish's case for a home playoff game or potentially a top-four seed and first-round bye.

Beyond Miami, Notre Dame's most significant remaining test also comes at home, against No. 16 SMU on Nov. 21.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Drayk Bowen suffers 'significant' injury, dealing Notre Dame major blow

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