Most of the 62,124 fans in attendance at Baltimore’s M&T Bank Stadium seemed to stick around until the game’s end despite the 22-point halftime differential.
The furious Navy comeback and unexpected suspenseful finish validated their commitment.
Navy eventually fell, 35-32, to No. 20 Notre Dame on Nov. 12, though the Midshipmen dominated the second half, outscoring the visiting Fighting Irish, 19-0, in the third and fourth quarters.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever been more proud of a football team after a game — win or loss — as I was this game,” Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo said. “I just thought our kids battled until the very end. Great testament to who they are, their character, their fortitude, their resolve, their resiliency.”
Third-string quarterback Maasai Maynor led an 88-yard touchdown drive that culminated with a 20-yard touchdown pass to slotback Maquel Haywood with 1:21 to play. Vincent Terrell Jr. ran in the two-point conversion and pull within a field goal margin, but Notre Dame recovered Navy’s last-ditch onside kick attempt to thwart the rally.
Senior kicker Bijan Nichols — in his first action of the season — hit a 26-yard field goal 10 minutes into the third quarter to get the rally started. Quarterback Xavier Arline threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Mark Walker early in the fourth that was followed by an Arline two-point conversion, pushing Navy to within 11 points. Senior striker John Marshall intercepted Notre Dame quarterback Drew Pyne the previous play to start the Midshipmen in strong field position.
The Fighting Irish embarked upon Baltimore as one of college football’s hottest teams. Their three-game win streak included a dominant 41-24 road victory against then-No. 16 Syracuse and a 35-14 thumping of then-No. 5 Clemson.
They appeared poised to roll another opponent as Pyne threw four touchdown passes and ran for another, all before halftime.
Pyne threw his third touchdown pass of the first half less than three minutes into the second quarter, hitting running back Chris Tyree out of the backfield for a 5-yard score. The fourth came one play after the Fighting Irish blocked a Midshipmen punt with a little more than two minutes to play in the half. Notre Dame has blocked a remarkable seven punts this season, including one in each of the past five games.
Pyne ran for an 11-yard score in between his third and fourth passing touchdowns.
Notre Dame’s early lead grew to 14-0 as wide receiver Braden Lenzy made a jaw-dropping, 38-yard touchdown catch around cornerback Mbiti Williams Jr. Williams appeared in good position as the pass was slightly underthrown, though Lenzy managed to extend his arms around the sophomore defender and pin the ball against his back before pulling it away with one hand.
Notre Dame opened the game with a nine-play, 67-yard drive ending with a 30-yard strike from Pyne to Audric Estime on third-and-8. Navy nearly forced a three-and-out to begin the series, but the Fighting Irish set an early tone by keeping the offense on the field in their own territory. Pyne kept it up the middle for a 3-yard gain on fourth-and-1.
Navy managed drives of 75 and 80 yards in the first half. The former — needing only five plays — finished with a 36-yard touchdown run by fullback Daba Fofana. The Midshipmen scored again midway though the second quarter on a 2-yard keeper from Arline. Fofana broke loose for a 50-yard rumble to key the drive.
The sophomore fullback led the Midshipmen with 133 yards rushing on 15 carries.
Arline, playing in place of injured starter Tai Lavatai, left the game with an apparent left leg injury in the fourth quarter and did not return.
Here are five takeaways from Navy’s 35-32 loss:
1. Pyne appeared invincible in the first half, but his remarkable start was barely enough for Notre Dame to hang on.
Pyne would have had an impressive stat line even had he sat the entire second half out. At the break, the sophomore quarterback had completed 14 of 16 pass attempts for 234 yards and four touchdowns.
He continually had all the time he needed to throw and did not have a pass fall incomplete until the second quarter. Pyne scrambled three times for 17 yards in the first half.
Notre Dame went 5-of-7 on third down and 1-for-1 on fourth in the first half.
“In the first half we had some opportunities to get them off the field and we didn’t,” Niumatalolo said of Notre Dame’s ability to convert on third down. “We’ve got to continue to work that — it’s kind of been our Achilles heel. We do a great job on first and second to get people into third-and-long, but we’ve got to find a way to get them off the field.”
2. Navy got after Pyne in the second half and became a different team defensively.
The Irish quarterback completed 17 of 21 passes on the afternoon for 269 yards, four touchdowns, and an interception. It’s a solid stat line, but take away his 14 completions, 234 yards and all four touchdowns from the first half and it paints a clearer picture of just how much the Midshipmen flipped the script after halftime.
After allowing 323 yards of offense in the first half, Navy gave up just 12 in the second, including minus-23 on the ground. Notre Dame managed a single first down after halftime.
“I just thought our guys played with greater urgency and made some big-time stops,” Niumatalolo said.
Navy tied its season high with five sacks — all of which came in the second half.
“I think we were just playing more aggressively and had more aggressive play calling. We were bringing the house on a lot of plays,” Marshall, who intercepted Pyne in the fourth quarter, said. “We had a much aggressive game plan going into the second half down by a little bit. It paid dividends.”
Safety Rayuan Lane and linebacker Colin Ramos led the defense with seven tackles apiece.
3. Navy isn’t built to come from behind, and its first drive of the second half was a clear example of why, though it nearly did so today.
Teams generally try to score quickly when trailing by three scores in the second half. But that’s just not in Navy’s triple-option DNA.
The Midshipmen received to begin the third quarter before sustaining a 16-play, 72-yard drive that wiped more than 10 minutes off the clock. It included a pair of fourth-down conversions, but ultimately ended with Nichols’ one field goal of the day.
“It took 10 minutes to get three points. It basically took the whole [third quarter],” a somewhat exasperated Niumatalolo said. “You need to come away with seven points when you take that much time off.”
Marshall’s interception at the Notre Dame 23 on the first play of the fourth quarter put Navy in position to strike more quickly. Arline did so, finding Walker on the following play for a touchdown.
4. Navy got too desperate too early with an onside kick and slotback pass in what was only a one-possession game.
Even after a missed extra point following Arline’s 2-yard touchdown run midway through the second quarter, the Midshipmen only trailed by eight points.
They unsuccessfully tried to catch Notre Dame off guard with an onside kick on the ensuing kickoff, giving the Fighting Irish possession at midfield.
Navy caught a break as Notre Dame kicker missed a 45-yard attempt seven plays later, but the Midshipmen called an over-aggressive trick play on the first play of the ensuing possession. Slotback Kai Puailoa-Rojas threw an interception to Notre Dame’s Clarence Lewis while trying to hit Arline out of the backfield.
Pyne ran for an 11-yard touchdown three plays later.
“Very bad sequence. I probably got a little too greedy myself calling that play — that trick play. I was going to come out swinging, but in hindsight, I probably should’ve just ran the ball,” Niumatalolo said. “We were struggling in the first half, so I probably got a little more aggressive than I normally would. It just seemed in the flow of the game that we were having a hard time stopping them, so I probably took some chances that I normally wouldn’t take.”
The Midshipmen have had mixed results with slotback passes this season. Puailoa-Rojas threw a touchdown pass to Lavatai during a win against Temple, and Haywood threw an ill-advised interception in a loss to Memphis earlier this year. To his credit, Niumatalolo deflected the kudos toward his players’ execution when the call worked and has absorbed the blame upon himself each time his gamble resulted in a turnover.
5. Niumatalolo did not immediately know the status of Arline’s injury.
The head coach said he was hopeful Arline’s injury would not sideline him long-term. The junior needed help leaving the field early in the fourth quarter before limping along the sideline on his own.
“I thought he was playing awesome. These last two games, the kid’s been playing really, really well. He’s given us a chance,” Niumatalolo said. “I’m really proud of him. I know he was crushed to not be able to finish.”
Arline completed 2 of 4 pass attempts for 57 yards and a touchdown before exiting. He also ran 12 times for 59 yards and a score.
Maynor completed 4 of 7 passes for 51 yards and a touchdown while nearly completing the comeback. He scrambled four times for 11 yards.
“Obviously, Maasai hasn’t played much, but he comes to work every day and knows his role,” Niumatalolo said. “Put in tough spots, he’s performed admirably.”
Lavatai suffered a season-ending knee injury against Temple on Oct. 29.
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