Irish Ride Strong First Half to Victory Over Navy

BALTIMORE, Md. – The University of Notre Dame football team rode a strong first half performance to a 35-32 victory over the Navy Midshipmen at M&T Bank Stadium Saturday afternoon. The win is the Irish’s fifth consecutive over Navy as Notre Dame improves to 7-3 this season.

Drew Pyne led the offensive attack, completing 17 passes on 21 attempts and recorded 269 yards through the air and four touchdowns. He also ran for a score in the victory. The 269 yards is his second-most in a game this season, following a 289 yard performance at North Carolina. 

The rushing offense was limited to 66 yards, led by an eight carry, 49 yard effort from Audric Estime. Logan Diggs added 31 yards on 13 attempts. 

Braden Lenzy led the receiving corps with five catches, totaling 67 yards and a touchdown. Jayden Thomas added three catches for 80 yards and a score. Estime added a 30-yard reception for a score and Chris Tyree caught a five-yard touchdown pass. 

The Irish defense saw Marist Liufau, Jack Kiser and Xavier Watts finish with eight tackles apiece. Prince Kollie added seven tackles, three solo and a half tackle for loss in the victory. 

How It Happened

Notre Dame didn’t waste any time, taking the lead on the game’s opening possession. The Irish marched 67 yards on nine plays, connecting through the air and picking up a key fourth down on the ground. On its first fourth down of the day, the Irish had tight end Mitchell Evans take the snap and push forward for two yards for the conversion. Later in the drive, Pyne connected with Lenzy for a gain of 21 before hitting Estime out of the backfield for a 30-yard score. Grupe was true on the extra point and the Irish led 7-0 just over four minutes into the game. 

The Irish found the end zone on its next possession to take a 14-0 lead. After a roughing the passer call moved Notre Dame into Navy territory, Pyne found Lenzy one-on-one on the outside. Lenzy pinned the pass on the defenders back with his left hand and secured possession with his right to complete the 38-yard touchdown with 4:28 remaining in the first quarter. 

Navy rallied to get on the board on its next possession. The Midshipmen went to the air to move into Notre Dame territory, connecting on a 34-yard pass to move to the Irish 36. Just two plays later, Navy handed to the fullback who found a hole on the left side to run 36 yards to the end zone to cut the Irish lead to 14-6 after the PAT was wide left. 

Pyne and the offense responded, putting together a 10-play, 83-yard scoring drive after the Navy touchdown. On third and 12 from its own 15, Pyne found Deion Colzie over the middle for a gain of 29 to move the chains. Again, it was Pyne through the air providing the spark as he found Thomas over the middle for a gain of 38 to move into the red zone. After Navy stuffed an Estime run, Pyne floated a swing pass to Tyree who walked into the end zone to extend the lead to 21-6 after the Grupe PAT with 12:27 left in the first half. 

Navy stormed right back, using a 50-yard run from fullback Daba Fofana to move into Irish territory. A defensive holding call in the end zone gave the Midshipmen a first and goal. After a stop on first down, quarterback Xavier Arline faked a toss and dove across the goal line for the score. The PAT was true and Navy cut the lead to 21-13 midway through the second quarter. 

A Clarence Lewis interception set up the Irish in Navy territory with less than three minutes to go in the half. The Irish needed just three plays to capitalize on the turnover. Pyne handed to Estime who broke a tackle in the backfield and ran up the middle for 28 yards to move the Irish to the Navy 11. On the next play, Pyne faked the toss to Estime, he bootlegged out to his right before turning upfield and diving into the end zone for the score. Grupe was true on the extra point and the Irish led 28-13 with 2:18 remaining in the half. 

The Irish defense held strong, forcing a Navy punt. The Notre Dame punt block team took the field and did exactly what its name implies. For the seventh time this season, and in the fifth consecutive game, the Irish blocked the opponent’s punt attempt, with Kiser doing the honors. The offense continued the momentum as Pyne hit Thomas on its first play of the next possession for a 37-yard touchdown pass to extend the lead to 35-13 going into halftime. The punt block sets a new season record for blocked punts in a season in the modern era (since 1937). 

Navy opened the second half with points, driving 72 yards to finish with a 26-yard field goal. The Midshipmen chewed up 10:01 of clock in the drive, converting a pair of fourth down conversions. 

After an Irish turnover started the fourth quarter, Navy immediately went to the air. The Midshipmen hit on a 23-yard touchdown pass and converted the two-point conversion to cut the score to 35-24, Irish. 

Navy’s defense was equal to the task in the fourth quarter, stopping the Irish offense on four-straight possessions. The Midshipmen took over with 5:50 remaining and marched 88 yards on 11 plays for a touchdown. After converting a two-point conversion, Navy had cut the Notre Dame lead to 35-32 with 1:21 on the clock. 

The Midshipmen set up for the onside kick, punching it straight ahead as Matt Salerno jumped on it to give the Irish possession and seal the victory as Pyne would take two knees to close the contest out. 

Up Next

The Irish are back in Notre Dame Stadium for the final time of the 2022 season next weekend as Notre Dame hosts the Boston College Eagles. Kick is set for 2:30 p.m. on NBC.