Notre Dame starts fast, holds on in a 35-32 win over Navy
In the third straight game where Notre Dame received good work in all three phases of the game, the Irish started fast in the first half, then limped through a sloppy second half on its way to a 35-32 win over Navy at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.
An almost perfect first half that included five touchdowns on six Notre Dame offensive drives provided the Irish a commanding 35-13 halftime lead that was never seriously threatened. But it certainly didn’t bring much of a comfort level with the way fortunes flipped in the second half.
Notre Dame (7-3) was outscored 19-0 by Navy (3-7) in the second half.
“Not what you want, we didn’t finish the way we wanted,” said Irish head coach Marcus Freeman. “But we’ll take the victory that’s what’s most important. It was a tale of two halves.”
This was the fourth straight game in which the Irish never trailed, and its sixth victory in the last seven outings since the Marshall loss on Sept. 10.
Irish junior quarterback Drew Pyne finished with 17-of-21 passing for 269 yards with 4 touchdowns and 1 interception in the best game of his career, or at least the best half of his career.
Pyne’s performance included 4 touchdown passes and 1 rushing touchdown in the first half alone.
And led by graduate wide receiver Braden Lenzy with a team-high 5 receptions for 67 yards and 1 touchdown, Pyne connected with seven different Irish ball catchers, of which four had a receiving touchdown.
Making things interesting
Navy parlayed a Pyne interception early in the fourth quarterback into a touchdown and a two-point conversion that pulled the Midshipmen within 35-24.
The score held there until with 1:21 left in the game, Navy scored another touchdown and added a two-point conversion to pull within 35-32.
The ensuing on-side kick failed on a solid recovery from Irish graduate wide receiver Matt Salerno, and Notre Dame could finally breathe after its 17th straight November win, the longest such streak in the country.
Notre Dame drew first blood in the first quarter on a nifty play call on a 3rd-and-8 that caught Navy in an all-out blitz that allowed Pyne to hit tailback Audric Estime with a short pass that the sophomore took 30 yards to give Notre Dame a 7-0 lead early in the first quarter.
The Irish extended the lead to 14-0 with 4:28 left in the first quarter when Lenzy made a 38-yard reach-around circus catch for a touchdown.
The touchdown reception — Lenzy’s second of the season — will rate as one of the best catches of the season by any wide receiver in the country.
Just about when Navy was left for dead early in this one, Midshipmen sophomore fullback Daba Fofana went 36 yards untouched for a touchdown that pulled Navy to within 14-6 after a failed extra point.
The Irish answered with a 10-play, 83-yard drive that ended with a 5-yard touchdown pass from Pyne to junior tailback Chris Tyree for a 21-6 Notre Dame lead.
Navy pulled to within eight points again at 21-13 before the Irish scored two touchdowns in less than two minutes before halftime — the first off of an interception by junior cornerback Clarence Lewis, the second off of a blocked punt by Jack Kiser — for the 22-point halftime lead.
Navy dominated the second half but the Notre Dame defense did enough down the stretch to secure its fifth straight win in this series and its 10th in the last 11 games.
Notre Dame and Navy will open the 2023 season next August at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland.
