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Irish Sink Navy...Just
UHND.com - Ryan P. Prong
11/19/2001
Watching Notre Dame struggle against the Midshipmen of the Naval
Academy in yesterday's senior appreciation game one is reminded that, sadly, the Irish
will rarely dominate a team in Division I-A football, be they a top-ten school or a
winless and beat-up service academy.
Now the explanations are certainly there; after all, the Irish had
seven starters injured, bad news for any team. As well, there's the curse of the service
academies: the eerie fact that, regardless of talent, Air Force, Navy and Army always find
a way to either beat Notre Dame or at least look more than respectable in defeat.
Nevertheless, Notre Dame managed to pull off a 34-16 victory, extending
an NCAA record for most consecutive wins against one opponent in college football history.
The Irish opened the game with a 10-0 lead in the first six minutes
thanks to a Nick Setta field goal from 41 yards out, and a 39 yard fumble recovery
returned for touchdown by the underrated strong-safety Gerome Sapp. Setta was solid all
day, going 4-for-4 in extra points and 2-for-2 in field goal attempts, tying the school
record for most consecutive games with at least one three-pointer.
Two possessions later, senior Navy quarterback Brian Madden not only
reminded us why he is the most dynamic Middie QB since Roger Staubach, but also managed to
sink any hope Irish fans would have for an easy game, calling his own number for a
leisurely 38 yard jaunt into the Irish end zone.
On the next Notre Dame possession Julius Jones would give Navy the
chance to even the game, fumbling inside the Irish 20, which resulted in a 24 yard
game-tying Navy field goal by the Middie's senior place kicker David Hills.
The Irish would try to score before the first quarter ended, only to
have Holiday's play-action pass picked off deep by Navy's quick sophomore corner back
Shalimar Brazier.
The next Notre Dame possession would see two more underrated and
surprisingly underutilized Irish players restore the lead, with tight end
John Owens taking a 16-yard pass to the Navy four-yard line and tailback Terence Howard
punching the ball through with a four-yard run.
The rest of the half can only be described as encapsulating the entire
season in a span of ten minutes. A Navy fumble, recovered by senior linebacker Tyreo
Harrison, was squandered by an Irish red-zone offense that turned the ball over on downs.
This was followed by an Irish interception as game MVP senior cornerback Shane Walton
seemingly came from nowhere to snatch a Brian Madden offering from the sky. Again,
however, the Notre Dame offense would turn the ball over on downs failing to capitalize on
golden opportunities. Another Shane Walton interception, this one called back for a
defensive holding penalty, and a Navy field goal would close out the half, the Irish up by
an unremarkable 17-13 score.
Notre Dame wouldn't get anything going until late in the third when
they put on an impressive show with a 10-play 80 yard drive capped off with Howard's
second touchdown of the game on an 8-yard option run, putting the Irish up 24-13.
Julius Jones would more than make up for his earlier fumble with a
44-yard TD run in the fourth quarter, part of 117 yard, 24 carry performance, now standard
numbers for this junior running back. Setta's field goal late in the quarter would
complete the Irish score at 34-16.
Considering that Navy came into this game winless and having been
outscored 284-150, which includes embarrassing losses at Temple, Rutgers, Toledo and a
devastating 70-7 pummeling by Georgia Tech, the Irish should have rolled over the Middies,
no questions asked. They didn't. And while blame can be assigned liberally to all aspects
of the team, ultimately, I hate to say it, Davie must be held accountable.
With two must-win games remaining at Stanford and Purdue, the Irish
must impress in order to ensure late December play. As of yet, they seem unwilling or
unable to do so.