Notre Dame Avoids Halloween Upset Scare
Via Eric Canha-Imagn Images
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- After a weary first half, the No. 5 Notre Dame Fighting Irish snapped into shape to defeat the Navy Midshipmen 35-13.
Notre Dame took a one-point lead into the halftime break after losing the time of possession battle 23:33-6:27.
The second half was a different story. The Irish outscored Navy 21-0 while out gaining the Midshipmen by 223 yards (279-56).
CJ Carr finished the day 19-29 with two touchdowns, including a 22-yard touchdown pitch-and-catch to Jerome Bettis Jr, the first of his career.
Bettis led the receiver room with six catches for 78 yards, while Jordan Faison added 46 yards on four catches.
On the ground, Nolan James Jr. led the way for the Notre Dame running backs as he finished the day with 107 yards on nine carries with two touchdowns, and averaged 11.9 yards per carry. True freshman Jonaz Walton also logged a touchdown run for the Fighting Irish and finished the day with 51 rushing yards.
As in typical fashion against the physical, clop-blocking Navy identity, the Fighting Irish got a bit banged up in this contest.
Drayk Bowen, Francis Brewu, and Micah Gilbert all left the game due to injury, with their status unknown for next week's big matchup.
The Irish were already without Leonard Moore, Brauntae Johnson, Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, and DJ McKinney, as the injuries are piling up for Notre Dame as the schedule flips to November.
It will be interesting to see how healthy Notre Dame will be in their matchup against Miami next week, but in terms of this week's test, the Irish were still able to grind out a 22-point victory against a clock-chewing Navy team.
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