Rocking the Rocknes, Irish rally
Wimbush throws two TD passes, runs for another score vs. Navy
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — With their slim College Football Playoff hopes fading, Brandon Wimbush and Notre Dame finally found a rhythm and put Navy away.
Wimbush threw for 164 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a score as No. 8 Notre Dame rallied in the rain and wind to beat Navy 24- 17 on Saturday.
Wearing throwback uniforms with the name Rockne on the back of every player’s jersey and helmets designed to evoke the leather lids from the era of Knute Rockne, one of the Irish’s most famous names, Notre Dame ( 9- 2) kept its slight shot at a spot in the national championship playoffs alive heading into the regular- season finale next Saturday at Stanford.
Wimbush, who threw two interceptions and lost a fumble in Notre Dame’s 41- 8 loss at Miami last Saturday, started slowly before connecting with Kevin Stepherson twice and added his 14th rushing TD of the year as the Irish scored on three consecutive possessions late in the longest- running matchup between teams from different regions of the country, dating to 1927.
“I started seeing things a little more clear and adjusted to the tempo Navy was playing at,” Wimbush said.
He threw a 30- yard touchdown to Stepherson in the third quarter and a nine- yarder for the eventual winning touchdown with 11: 49 to go in the fourth quarter.
“I thought he was gritty and hung with it,” Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said of Wimbush’s play in the wet and windy ( gusts of 20 mph or more) conditions during the game. “I was proud of the way he responded.”
Stepherson, who missed the Irish’s first four games as he worked through some issues with Kelly, caught five passes for 103 yards.
“He means a lot to our offense, and you can see the results,” Wimbush said. “He’s become such a huge factor.”
Running back Josh Adams, who was limited to 62 rushing yards by injuries in Notre Dame’s previous two games against Wake Forest and Miami, topped the century mark for the seventh time, finishing with 106 yards on 18 carries.
The Irish outgained the Midshipmen 327- 318, but Navy ( 6- 4) outrushed Notre Dame 277- 163 and had a huge advantage in time of possession, 42: 42 to 17: 18.
“They’re a four- down team,” Notre Dame linebacker Greer Martini said after leading the defense with 15 tackles in his last home game. “They get fourth- and- short, [ and] they have a high percentage of getting those two to three yards.”
Notre Dame didn’t secure the victory until there was 1: 28 left in the game. After a timeout on a fourth- and- five at Notre Dame’s 25, Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo opted for some trickery.
Quarterback Zach Abey pitched the ball to slotback Darryl Bonner, who passed downfield to wide receiver Tyler Carmona, who was open for a moment.
But Carmona slipped on the wet Notre Dame Stadium turf, the pass fell incomplete and Notre Dame twice took a knee to run the clock out.
“He was open,” Niumatalolo said. “We missed the block on the edge. If we get the block on the edge, we had a shot. Our kids fought to the end; our kids didn’t show any quit.”
Abey, who sat out Navy’s 43- 40 victory against SMU with an injury, returned to direct the tripleoption attack and finished with 87 yards rushing, matching fullback Anthony Gargiulo. Abey scored on a one- yard run and only threw the ball six times for 41 yards, including a 12- yard touchdown to Craig Scott.