Midshipmen hoping to improve on history
Navy almost pulled off rally vs. Irish last time at M&T Bank Stadium
Navy and Notre Dame will meet at M&T Bank Stadium for the fifth time this Saturday. The last time the Midshipmen and Fighting Irish got together at the facility located off Russell Street, the game went pretty much as expected — until it suddenly didn’t.
Trailing by three touchdowns late in the fourth quarter, Navy mounted a miraculous comeback that almost produced an improbable victory.
“I remember we had a chance at the end. We had the ball with a chance to go ahead,” Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo said this week when asked about that 2008 contest.
Just one season prior, Navy snapped its ignominious 43-game losing streak to Notre Dame. Heroes abounded as the Mids outlasted the Irish, 46-44, in triple overtime to snap the longest losing streak in the history of college football.
That monumental victory, the capstone to an impressive six-year run at Navy, helped coach Paul Johnson get hired away by Georgia Tech. Niumatalolo was promoted to head coach and 2008 marked his first time facing Notre Dame in that role.
Navy entered the game in Baltimore with a 6-3 record after rallying to beat Temple on Homecoming the previous Saturday.
Just one week later, Navy nearly pulled off another comeback. Trailing 27-7 with 2:30 remaining, Ricky Dobbs directed a furious rally that had the Midshipmen on the brink of shocking the college football world.
With starting quarterback Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada sidelined, Navy went with experience by starting senior captain Jarod Bryant at quarterback, despite Dobbs leading the comeback against Temple.
Bryant and the Navy offense did not do much against a typically stout Notre Dame defense, managing only 134 total yards and one touchdown through almost 58 minutes of play. Contacted by The Capital this week, Dobbs expressed disappointment that his performance the previous week was not rewarded with the start against Notre Dame.
“I really wish that game had been my first career start,” said Dobbs.
In hindsight, Dobbs definitely believes Niumatalolo and quarterbacks coach Ivin Jasper made a mistake by waiting until late in the third quarter to have him relieve Bryant.
“If they had put me in the game earlier, that would have become the greatest comeback in Navy history because it would have been against Notre Dame,” he said.
Total dominance
No doubt wanting to atone for the stunning 2007 upset loss to Navy, Notre Dame came out focused and determined. The Fighting Irish were also a much better team, coming in with a 6-4 record after finishing 3-9 the year before.
Things went south early for the Midshipmen with Kyle Delahooke getting a punt blocked deep in his own territory. Toryan Smith returned it 14 yards for a quick touchdown.
“That early blocked punt was a killer and the kind of thing you cannot have happen if you want to beat Notre Dame,” said Eric Kettani, Navy’s standout senior fullback in 2008.
Navy tied the score on a 22-yard run by slotback Cory Finnerty, but Kettani fumbled near midfield with 1:09 remaining in the second quarter and a Brandon Walker field goal gave Notre Dame a 10-7 halftime lead.
Notre Dame totally dominated the third quarter with quarterback Jimmy Clausen directing long drives that ended with touchdown runs by Armando Allen and Robert Hughes. Another Walker field goal gave the Irish a seemingly comfortable 27-7 lead at the 11:17 mark of the third quarter.
It was an off day for the triple-option. Navy came into the contest leading the country in rushing average and wound up being held to a season-low total of 178. Kettani, who rushed for 70 yards and two touchdowns in the 2007 game against Notre Dame, was keyed on.
“They definitely targeted me. They did not want the fullback running at all,” said Kettani, who now hosts a podcast about Navy football along with record-setting former quarterback Keenan Reynolds. “We just did not click on offense that day. We weren’t moving the ball well at all.”
That didn’t change after Dobbs replaced Bryant under center and it appeared academic after Notre Dame regained possession with less than five minutes left. However, a major turning point came when coach Charlie Weis went for it on fourthand-3 from the Navy 44-yard line with time winding down.
The defense made the stop and the Midshipmen got the ball back with 2:30 remaining in the game.
Crazy comeback
Dobbs led Navy on a four-play, 57-yard touchdown drive capped by a 24-yard touchdown run by speedy slotback Shun White with 1:39 left. White, who had opened the season by setting a school record with 348 rushing yards versus Towson, had been completely shut down up to that point.
Niumatalolo called for an onside kick and that is when things got strange. A member of the Notre Dame hands team, instead of catching the ball, tried to knock the ball out of bounds. The Fighting Irish were flagged for illegally batting the ball forward and that moved the ball up 15 yards for a rekick.
Matt Harmon delivered a much better onside kick the second time around. Travis Simmons took out the Notre Dame player trying to field the ball, enabling Corey Johnson to recover the ball at the Notre Dame 41-yard line.
On the first play from scrimmage, Dobbs delivered a bomb that dropped right into the arms of wide receiver Tyree Barnes, who backpedaled out of bounds at the 1-yard line. Dobbs dove over the goal line two plays later and suddenly the Notre Dame lead had been reduced to 27-21 with 1:39 to go.
“That was a stutter-and-go route on which Ricky made a tremendous throw and Tyree did a great job of keeping his feet inbounds,” Niumatalolo recalled.
Notre Dame was whistled for roughing the kicker on the extra point, enabling Navy to kickoff from the 45-yard line.
Naturally, Niumalolo called for another onside kick and this one was perfect with
Harmon getting the ball to bounce almost 10 feet into the air. Johnson, who had been the starting point guard for the Navy basketball team for two seasons, leaped high to grab the ball.
“You want to get the ball bouncing and give your guys a chance to make a play,” said Harmon, who is close to retiring from active duty after reaching the rank of lieutenant commander. “It’s almost impossible to make the ball jump up, but I was able to do it that time. I was really proud of myself because that third onside kick was the best one I had ever done.”
Anticlimactic closing
Navy began the game’s final drive at the Notre Dame 41-yard line and Dobbs gained seven yards on first down. On second down, Dobbs dropped back to throw and spotted White wide-open along the sideline. He threw the pass on target, but the ball went in and out of the hands of the senior slotback.
“Shun was backpedaling and jumped to catch the ball. I’ve watched that replay a bunch of times and I still think if Shun had stayed on his feet he would have made the catch,” Dobbs said.
Dobbs ran for three yards on the next play to give the Mids a first down. However, he admits the decision to keep the ball was a mistake. In film study the following week, Jasper showed the youngster that he should have handed off to the fullback.
“I missed that read because Eric had a huge hole and probably would have run for a touchdown,” Dobbs said.
On fourth down, Dobbs threw a pass that was way over the head of Finnerty and the clock ran out on the Navy comeback. Harmon and many other Midshipmen remember that a Notre Dame defender impeded the path of Finnerty while he was running the route.
“I still believe it was pass interference on the last play of the game and we should have gotten another shot,” he said.
Senior safety Jeff Deliz recorded a careerhigh 17 tackles to lead a Navy defense that kept the score within striking distance. Inside linebacker Ross Pospisil made 10 tackles, while Johnson had a huge day with six tackles, a sack, a forced fumble and an interception in addition to the two onsides kick recoveries.
“Navy has always been known for playing hard until the very end and that mindset was on display that day,” said Anthony Gaskins, a senior offensive lineman in 2008. “We never gave up and managed to make some amazing plays down the stretch to get back into it. It’s kind of crazy that we recovered two onsides kicks. I really thought we were destined to win after we got the second one.”*