Report card: Grading Notre Dame football in Irish win over Navy

BALTIMORE — Well, that was a topsy-turvy ride surely to make even the most well-trained and unfazed sailors seasick. Notre Dame once led Navy by 22 points at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, but the Fighting Irish hung on to win by just three points. They did not score in the second half of a 35-32 triumph.

Here’s how No. 20 Notre Dame (7-3) graded in the win per BlueandGold.com.

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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.

Notre Dame Rushing Offense: C

Adjusting for sacks, Notre Dame ran 29 times for 96 yards. This was after three-straight games of 200-plus yards. The Navy front seven swarmed the Irish tailbacks and made life hard on them.

The Notre Dame offensive line wasn’t generating the push that helped those backs get loose over and over again vs. Syracuse and Clemson. This was a step back for the Irish ground game, no doubt about it. The only major highlights were a 28-yard rush from sophomore running back Audric Estime and an 11-yard rushing score from Pyne.

It was all crickets outside of those two plays.

Notre Dame Passing Defense: C-

Navy beat its season-long passing yards per game average of 99.7. And the Midshipmen did it in spite of losing starting quarterback Xavier Arline to an injury with 10 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.

Arline and senior Maasai Maynor, the No. 2 and No. 3 QBs on the depth chart entering the season, combined to complete 6-of-13 attempts for 108 yards with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception. A 34-yard yard throw and catch from Arline to senior wide receiver Mark Walker set up Navy’s first touchdown of the game. Arline also had a 20-yard passing touchdown, and Maynor had one of 23 yards that pulled the Midshipmen within three points after a two-point conversion.

Notre Dame knew Navy was going to run, run, run with its triple-option offense. The least the Irish could do was be ready for the pass and completely eliminate that from being a factor in the game. They did not. Maynor’s pass-happy attack is what led to the game coming down to a recovered onside kick, in fact.

Notre Dame Rushing Defense: F

Navy’s triple-option is hard to stop. But this is not Navy’s best version of it. Not in 2022. The Midshipmen went into the game averaging 3.93 yards per carry. They averaged 5.7 yards per rush excluding Notre Dame’s 1 sack for a loss of 4 yards.

Sophomore fullback Daba Fofana had gains of 36 and 50 yards – both of which came on simple fullback dives. He didn’t gain more than 9 yards on any of his 12 carries thereafter, though, which was a good adjustment for the Irish.

But 255 rushing yards was what Notre Dame was supposed to have. Navy only had 166 against the Irish last year. To improve by almost 100 yards year over year was a failure on the Irish’s part. Fullback dives cannot spring for 50-yard gains. They just can’t.

Notre Dame Special Teams: A

How about a seventh blocked punt of the season, including one in five-straight games? It was senior linebacker Jack Kiser’s turn this time.

The block led to a 37-yard touchdown from Pyne to sophomore wide receiver Jayden Thomas on a beautiful throw, route and catch over the middle of the field. Special teams matter.

Arkansas State graduate transfer kicker Blake Grupe missed a field goal for the third game in a row, meanwhile. He was wide right from the left hash on a 45-yard attempt. The Irish didn’t have any semblance of a punt return game with senior safety Brandon Joseph sitting out, and the kick return was what it has been all year – nonexistent.

Those punt blocks make up for a lot, though. That’s why this is an A.  

Notre Dame Coaching: C

It wasn’t a failure. A 35-13 halftime lead does not qualify as one. And hanging on to win in any game is not a failure, either. But somewhere along the way, Notre Dame lost itself in that second half.

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting different results, right? Well, call the Notre Dame offense insane because it did not adjust to Navy’s cover-0 blitzes one iota in the second half. And that was the main reason why the game ended with a three-point margin when it had no business being that way.

Navy exposed Notre Dame in a way nobody was expecting. That’s a cause for concern. But as long as the Irish learn from it like head coach Marcus Freeman said in the postgame press conference they would, it’s a lot easier to cope with a collapse in a victory.