Book commands high-octane offense as Irish move to 8-0
SAN DIEGO — Ian Book threw for 330 yards and two touchdowns, Dexter Williams ran for 142 yards and three scores and No. 3 Notre Dame overwhelmed Navy 44-22 on Saturday night to remain undefeated and in the playoff picture.
Jafar Armstrong added a rushing touchdown for the Fighting Irish. They are 8-0 for the first time since 2012, when they remained undefeated until Alabama routed them in the BCS national title game.
Notre Dame had 584 yards of offense and extended its dominance in the oldest continual intersectional rivalry to 78-13-1.
The Irish put their undefeated record on the line Saturday night against Northwestern in Evanston.
Playing in San Diego for the first time, Notre Dame used its superior size and talent to take a 27-0 lead just before halftime. While the defense kept Navy’s triple option in check, Book was remarkably efficient as he kept the Midshipmen off-balance with lots of play-action. He completed 27 of 33 passes to 10 receivers. He threw one interception.
Book, from El Dorado Hills near Sacramento, Calif., improved to 5-0 since replacing Brandon Wimbush as the starter. Book threw touchdown passes of 4 and 22 yards to top receiver Miles Boykin in the second half.
Navy (2-6), which lost its fifth straight, finally broke through when Zach Abey had two 1-yard touchdown runs in the third quarter.
Book was intercepted early in the fourth quarter, setting up a 33-yard touchdown run by Mike Martin.
The Fighting Irish got off to an inauspicious start when Boykin fumbled at the end of a 12-yard gain on the first play from scrimmage.
Navy failed to capitalize, and Notre Dame scored on four of its next five possessions. Armstrong had a 1-yard scoring run, and Williams then had touchdown runs of 12, 9 and 2 yards. Williams carried 23 times.
Navy came in ranked third in the nation, averaging 309.4 rushing yards, and had 292 against Notre Dame. Malcolm Perry had 133 yards on 12 carries.
The game, which drew a crowd of 63,626 to SDCCU Stadium, was promoted by the San Diego Bowl Game Association.
The Irish return to the Midwest and will face Northwestern in primetime next Saturday at Ryan Field in Evansville, Illinois. The game will kick off at either 6 or 6:30 p.m. on ABC-7 or ESPN.
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Nick Scott intercepted a pass to thwart Iowa at the Penn State 2 with 3 minutes, 18 seconds left and the No. 17 Nittany Lions held on to avoid a third straight home loss with a 30-24 win Saturday over the No. 18 Hawkeyes.
Penn State (6-2, 3-2 Big Ten) needed one last defensive stand to hold off Iowa (6-2, 3-2), which got to the Nittany Lions 44 with less than a minute left.
On fourth-and-10 with 7 seconds left, Penn State’s pass rush swarmed Nate Stanley, who flipped backward to offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs. The 300pounder rumbled 15 yards before being dragged down with no time left.
It was a fitting end to an odd game with little sustained offense. Iowa scored on two safeties and a touchdown pass by punter Colten Rastetter to defensive tackle Sam Brincks on a faked field goal in the first half. Penn State played three series in the second quarter without starting quarterback Trace McSorley.
McSorley was sandwiched by two Hawkeyes defenders as he tried to scramble and stayed down, grabbing his right leg. The Beaver Stadium crowd fell silent as athletic trainers attended to the senior. He got up with assistance and had help to take a few steps before walking off on his own with a limp. The 6-foot, 202-pound McSorley has started 35 straight games for Penn State since the start of the 2016 season.
McSorley began the second half and broke free for a 51-yard touchdown run to give Penn State its first lead, 24-17, with 12:10 left in the third quarter.
Penn State turnovers in the fourth quarter kept Iowa in the game, despite a poor day from Stanley, who was 18 for 49 for 205 yards and two interceptions.
Geno Stone intercepted McSorley’s pass and returned it 24 yards for a touchdown to make it 27-24 with 10 minutes left in the fourth.
Trailing 30-24, Iowa and Stanley converted two third-andlongs to get to first-and-goal at the 3 with 3:30 left. But Stanley’s next throw was a quick pass toward star tight end Noah Fant, who was not looking. Scott jumped up and made the interception.