What they’re saying about Notre Dame’s 35-32 win against Navy
It was a tale of two halves on Saturday afternoon, as No. 20 Notre Dame won its fourth game in a row to improve to 7-3 on the season, although Marcus Freeman‘s squad was unimpressive in the second half against a Navy team that dropped to 3-7.
In this article, we’ll take a look around at what the media is saying about Notre Dame’s triumph against the Midshipmen, including Blue & Gold’s Mike Singer and Tim Hyde giving their instant reaction in a postgame YouTube live show.
Make sure to subscribe to the Blue & Gold YouTube channel here and tune in to The Mike Goolsby Show, which will be live on the page at 7 p.m. ET Sunday.
Patrick Engel, Blue & Gold: Notre Dame win over Navy sends Marcus Freeman and the Irish to the land of mixed emotions
As far as oxymoron-inducing Notre Dame games go, this one will be hard to top. Disappointing win? Seems applicable. Mad despite a victory? Understandable. Can you collapse and still succeed? Apparently.
Welcome to Notre Dame 35, Navy 32, where confusion, angst and the euphoria of victory got together for an awkward group hug Saturday afternoon at M&T Bank Stadium. The Irish escaped Baltimore with a win played to a second-half soundtrack of nervous laughter.
“I’m in there saying it’s hard to get these wins, we have to celebrate, we have to feel good,” head coach Marcus Freeman said, “They don’t feel great.”
Notre Dame is 7-3, winners of four straight and in the top 20 of the College Football Playoff rankings. It dominated a top-10 team and posted 17-point road victory in its prior two outings. It hung 35 points and 234 passing yards on Navy in the first half alone. Junior quarterback Drew Pyne, he of just 18 completions in the last two games, threw 4 touchdowns and completed 14 passes in 30 minutes.
Yet the result left open for debate if this game was a step forward or another sign of playing down to the competition. Navy, as hard as it plays and as feisty as it is, dropped to 3-7 this season. On paper, the Midshipmen are not a team Notre Dame should need to beat by clinging for dear life like wide receiver Braden Lenzy hanging onto his acrobatic first-half touchdown catch.
Tyler Horka, Blue & Gold: Grading Notre Dame football in Irish win over Navy
Notre Dame Passing Offense: B-
What’s the average between an A+ and an F? Let’s meet somewhere in the middle.
The passing game was nearly flawless in the first half. Irish junior quarterback Drew Pyne was 14-of-16 for 234 yards with four touchdown passes in the first half. He was 3-of-5 for 35 yards with 0 TDs and 1 INT in the second. He also took 5 sacks in the second half, which was the major issue.
Were some of those sacks on Pyne not having a feel for Navy’s all-out, cover-0 blitz? Perhaps. But the blame has to be rationed around. Some of it is on offensive coordinator Tommy Rees. Some of it is on the offensive line, running backs and tight ends for not holding up in protection.
It was a tale of two halves for the Notre Dame passing game.
Pete Sampson, The Athletic: Notre Dame’s too-close-for-comfort Navy win has Marcus Freeman questioning everything, again
BALTIMORE — Marcus Freeman jogged from one end zone to the other, trying to catch his breath. In the first end zone, he wrapped his left arm around quarterback Drew Pyne as “Notre Dame, Our Mother” played over the M&T Bank Stadium speakers. Winners sing first. Then Notre Dame’s first-year head coach served tradition by reversing field and standing behind Navy as it sang “Navy Blue And Gold” in front of the Midshipmen who packed the west end zone.
Freeman stood at attention with his right hand over his heart. It was a moment of respect after Notre Dame’s 35-32 survival against Navy. It was also a moment of self-diagnosis, after it might have felt like the program’s heart had stopped during a second-half near-collapse that threatened much of the work done a week earlier in the cathartic blowout of Clemson.
Freeman accepted the entire scene for what it was, Notre Dame flying dangerously close to the sun but not quite melting. The first-year head coach didn’t try to explain away the close call with a cliche, even though he referenced the process of Notre Dame learning to win tight games…
Douglas Farmer, NBC Sports: Early Notre Dame barrage sinks Navy despite sluggish Irish second half
A punt block, an interception leading to a touchdown, a dominant offensive performance. No, Notre Dame was not beating up on Clemson again. That was just the Irish second quarter in a 35-32 defeat of Navy on Saturday, the Midshipmen winning the second half after No. 20 Notre Dame eased off the gas pedal thanks to a 35-13 halftime lead.
For a moment late in the second quarter, Navy (3-7) looked like it might make the Irish (7-3) sweat all afternoon. Pulling within one possession and then regaining possession — the only time the Midshipmen would have the ball within one possession after falling behind 14-0 in the first 11 minutes — Navy could conceivably tie the game before halftime and then receive the kickoff to start the second half. Instead, a reverse pass ended up in the hands of Notre Dame junior cornerback Clarence Lewis, Midshipmen head coach Ken Niumatalolo getting a bit too tricky for his team’s own good.
Three plays later, Irish junior quarterback Drew Pyne scampered 11 yards into the end zone for his fourth touchdown of the day, the previous three all being through the air. The 28-13 lead would likely have been enough for the day, with just a touch of second-half urgency, but one part of Notre Dame’s weekly game plan had not yet reared its head.
Enter the Irish punt block unit, again. For the fifth week in a row. And the seventh time this season.
“[Special teams coordinator Brian Mason] does a really good job of scheming up what the opponent does,” sophomore linebacker Prince Kollie said, one week removed form touting a blocked punt into the end zone. “I’m stoked to be on that unit.”
