Defense nearly leads Mids to win

Notre Dame limited to just 12 yards in the second half

Some thoughts and observations about Saturday’s Navy-Notre Dame football game at M&T Bank Stadium.

The Fighting Irish were firing on all cylinders offensively in building a 22-point halftime lead, but were totally shut down by the Navy defense in the second half and the heavily favored visitors held on for dear life to escape Baltimore with a 35-32 victory.

What Navy did defensively in the second half was nothing short of remarkable as Notre Dame was limited to 12 total yards. That is not a typo.

It was stunning to watch, especially since quarterback Drew Pyne and the Fighting Irish had been unstoppable in the first half. Pyne completed 14 of 16 passes for 300 yards and four touchdowns as Notre Dame drove the field with impunity.

Navy elected to play coverage during the first half and the Notre Dame offensive line manhandled the three-man rush, giving Pyne all day to find open receivers. Defensive coordinator Brian Newberry completely changed strategy during intermission as Navy came out much more aggressively in the second half. Basically, Newberry threw caution to the wind and blitzed with total abandon, often bringing the house.

It worked better than anyone could have reasonably expected as the Midshipmen recorded a season-high five sacks and otherwise harassed Pyne. Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman said Navy was playing cover zero (one-on-one with every receiver) and was disappointed Pyne did not take advantage.

The Fighting Irish wanted to run the ball and try to take time off the clock, but were unable to do so. Navy’s rushing defense has been outstanding all season and Saturday brought validation that it is absolutely legit. The Midshipmen limited the Irish to 66 rushing yards, their fewest in the series since 2009.

It started up front where tackle Clay Cromwell, nose guard Donald Berniard Jr. and end Jacob Busic not only held the point of attack but also teamed to make 15

tackles.

Inside linebacker Colin Ramos was stout with seven tackles, while safety Rayuan Lane pushed up in run support and also had seven stops. Outside linebacker John Marshall turned in another tremendous effort with six tackles (two for loss), 1 ½ sacks and an interception.

Cornerback Dashaun Peele, a sophomore making his first career start, contributed six tackles and was responsible for deflecting the Pyne pass that Marshall picked off.

Arline on point

It appears from this vantage point that Navy’s offense has operated at a higher level with Xavier Arline under center. The Midshipmen amassed 32 points and 363 total yards against a Fighting Irish defense that came into the contest highly ranked nationally in all categories.

North Carolina was the only opponent this season that put up more points and yards against Notre Dame.

What Arline brings to the table that Tai Lavatai did not is a dangerous running threat. The 5-foot-9, 176-pound junior possesses speed, quickness and elusiveness along with breakaway ability. Lavatai was strictly a between-the-tackles runner and not a threat to break long runs.

Arline’s presence enables the coaching staff to reimplement a play that worked so well with Malcom Perry: the delayed quarterback draw. Arline is also a dynamic scrambler, which he showed Saturday by breaking out of the pocket and racing 26 yards to set up first-andgoal.

Arline has averaged 6 yards per carry over the last two games, which completely changes the dynamic for the Navy offense. It helps the fullbacks and slotbacks because at least one defender must be assigned to the quarterback keeper.

Lavatai has always been a better passer than Arline, which is a big part of why he won the starting job last season. However, Arline has improved dramatically in that department and the coaching staff has wisely used rollout or moved the pocket to compensate for his lack of height.

Arline threw a perfect strike to wide receiver Mark Walker for a 23-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter, cutting the Notre Dame lead to 35-24. That completion was a significant sign of growth for Arline.

Circus catch

A big topic of conversation following the game was the amazing catch by Notre Dame wide receiver Braden Lenzy that produced a 38-yard touchdown late in the first quarter.

Pyne lofted a bomb into the end zone that was basically a 50-50 ball between Lenzy and cornerback Mbiti Williams.

Lenzy somehow managed to reach around Williams to catch the ball after it dropped over the cornerback’s head. Lenzy then pinned the ball against the back of Williams before gaining control and using his right hand to bring the ball in.

Marshall called it a miracle catch and said if Pyne threw the same ball up 10 times that Lenzy would come down with it once. Meanwhile, Pyne was not surprised that his top target would make a spectacular grab that was highlighted on the SportsCenter Top 10 plays later that night.

“Braden is a guy that, all season, has been open a ton of times. I felt like I had to give him a shot,” Pyne said. “I threw it up and it was an unbelievable catch. I haven’t seen anything like it before in my life.”

Disastrous sequence

With Notre Dame scoring at will during the first half and the deficit growing, head coach Ken Niumatalolo felt Navy needed to do whatever possible to keep pace. He attempted a surprise onside kick that did not work and gave the Fighting Irish the ball at midfield.

However, the Navy defense held and forced a missed field goal. The Midshipmen had already mounted touchdown drives of 75 and 80 yards, so it would seem to make sense to run the offense and try to mount another time-consuming march.

Instead, on first down, Niumatalolo called for a trick play that went awry. Slotback Kai Puailoa-Rojas took a handoff for what appeared to be a reverse, but suddenly stopped and set up to pass.

Puailoa-Rojas made a bad decision by trying to throw to Arline along the right sideline. Cornerback Clarence Lewis scoped out the deception and easily stepped in front of Arline to intercept an underthrown pass.

Speaking to the media Monday, Niumatalolo admitted he would not have been pulled out all the stops in the first half if he had known the Navy defense would shut down Notre Dame in the second half.