Some might have thought Notre Dame would just cruise to victory over Navy. If that’s going to happen, we haven’t seen it yet. In fact, the Midshipmen are showing they won’t just be pushed around at Notre Dame Stadium. Consequently, they have a 3-0 lead after the first quarter.
Neither team picked up a first down on the game’s first three possessions. On the fourth possession, the Midshipmen showed the first signs of life when they converted on a fourth-and-1, which was followed by a 32-yard gain from Jayden Umbarger on a reverse pitch. Four plays later, Tai Lavatai was successful at converting a fourth-and-1 in the red zone, but he then was sacked on back-to-back plays by Kurt Hinish and Jordan Botelho. Even after that disaster for the Midshipmen, who burned all three of their first-half timeouts on the drive, Bijan Nichols kicked a 49-yard field goal to open the game’s scoring.
The Irish sent their offense back onto the field, and things finally got moving, at least for a bit. After a couple of runs from Kyren Williams, Coan hit Deion Colzie for a 31-yard completion to the Navy 25-yard line. Though the Irish got into the red zone over the next three plays, they opted to go for it on fourth down. Coan was sacked by John Marshall, and the Irish turned it over on downs.
Hopefully, this is just a slow start.