Your Notre Dame Fighting Irish are now 7-2 and will continue to rise in the College Football Playoff rankings after a 49-10 win over Navy. Let’s talk about three things that came together to make that result
happen.
Big-Play Catchup
This was an interesting night for Notre Dame running the ball as the Irish were actually stuffed at the line a surprising number of times (11 times on only 23 carries), and Notre Dame’s inexperience on the interior offensive line showed against a Navy front that, while undersized, knew how to leverage alignment and quickness to gain penetration. But the big-play potential of the Irish offense, both through the air and on the ground, made up for that lack of early-down efficiency. The Irish had gains of 48 and 54 on the ground, both of which went for touchdowns, as well as four other carries of greater than 10; through the air, they had gains of 52, 34, 27 (x2), and 20.
These plays allowed the Irish offense to make the most of their possessions and keep Navy from playing the grind-it-out, shortened game they wanted, always a crucial component of defeating the Middies especially on a day when the straight-ahead offense struggled to find efficiency. The Irish also showcased a variety of weapons in achieving these plays – not only did Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price both contribute chunk plays, but Notre Dame’s big gains through the air were caught by four different receivers. This combination of dynamism and versatility was what ultimately proved too much for Navy to handle as the Irish took control of the game around halftime.
A Flawless Carr
After some visible growing pains in the last few games, Notre Dame’s sophomore quarterback truly shined in this game even as both the opponent and the weather limited his opportunities. Carr went 13 of 16 for 218 yards, and as mentioned above was both able and willing to attack downfield despite being in objectively terrible conditions to throw the football.
Granted, the opponent here made things a little easier – Navy never stood a chance of getting pressure on Carr or covering Notre Dame’s receivers – but having a clean game like this on a memorable night can be huge for a young quarterback’s confidence. Carr has never seemed to lack in that department, but it can’t hurt to get a boost headed into Notre Dame’s stretch run.
Sideline Wisdom
College Gameday yesterday morning featured some interesting data points on past first-year Notre Dame defensive coordinators and their success against Navy. While I can’t reproduce the exact figures here, the thrust of it was it was mostly a bloodbath. Marcus Freeman fared relatively well in 2021 but Clark Lea, Mike Elko, Brian VanGorder and Bob Diaco had all struggled in their first outing against the Mids, and anxiety about Chris Ash taking on that same challenge was probably the biggest reason for worry on the part of Irish fans, including myself, heading into this one.
So how did Ash fare? The Irish allowed only 220 sack-adjusted rushing yards, with nearly a quarter of those coming on scrambles rather than designed runs. Navy only gained 228 total yards, and the ability of the defense to get stops combined with the offense’s success to tilt the all-important time of possession in favor of the Irish, about 31 minutes to 29. Ash no doubt benefited from help along the sideline from a head coach and position coaches who had had several cracks at Navy in the past, but he still had to have the wisdom and tactical know-how to leverage that knowledge into winning decisions and clearly did so. An excellent showing in a rite of passage for every first-year DC at Notre Dame, and it bears mentioning considering all the grief we gave Ash in the early part of the season.
A bonus fourth thing for this week – let’s all give a shoutout to Navy head coach Brian Newberry, who is doing the job God made his face and beard to do. Truly a man born to play the role of a weathered, formidable old sea captain leading his crew against all odds and enemies. “Steel ye yer nerves and gird your loins lads, there be great danger in these icy waters.”
God bless. On to next week!
