Offense, Defense Click on All Cylinders for Irish in Win over Midshipmen

Notre Dame fans have long been waiting for their football team to look impressive against the Midshipmen from the Naval Academy and the Irish were exactly that in their 56-14 blowout victory on Saturday afternoon from a soldout Notre Dame Stadium.

The Irish got off to a fast start right out of the gates. After Navy missed a field goal on their first possession, ND drove the ball down the field on a five play, 70-yard drive that ended with a Jonas Gray four-yard touchdown run.

Things would only get worse for the Midshipmen from that point on.

Navy had a three and out on their next possession, gaining a total of only eight yards. The Irish took advantage of the decent field position and had another easy drive scoring a touchdown on six plays when Cierre Wood capped the drive off on a one-yard score.

Of course, after getting off to a 14-0 lead, the Golden Domers made it interesting in the second quarter. After another three and out from Navy late in the first half, Notre Dame would give the ball right back because of a backwards pass from Tommy Rees to Theo Riddick. The Midshipmen took advantage and drew within a touchdown on a nine-yard TD pass by Trey Miller.

Luckily for the Irish though, they bounced back from a mistake that could have easily switched the momentum in the game. After the fumble, the Irish scored three touchdowns on three consecutive possessions to head into the half up 35-7. It was a lead that Navy would never get close to shrinking.

Notre Dame would add three more touchdowns during the second half. Michael Floyd rushed for a 10-yard score late in the third quarter and Gray and George Atkinson III would have a pair of scores on runs during the fourth quarter. Navy’s lone score came in the fourth thanks to a interception from Rees.

After closing out their three-game homestand in impressive fashion with a blowout victory over Navy, the Irish will travel to Wake Forest next week for a primetime matchup against the Demon Deacons. Wake has an identical record as Notre Dame, but have been blown out in two of their past three games.