Oct. 11--DeShone Kizer wasn't comfortable in his own shoes Saturday.
But Notre Dame's redshirt freshman quarterback wasn't about to walk in anyone else's.
So at halftime of the Irish's 41-24 victory against Navy, Kizer ditched the "mutual respect" cleats donned by both teams in favor of more familiar footwear.
"The other ones just hurt my feet," Kizer said after throwing for 281 yards on 22-for-30 passing. "I didn't get them going as fast as I needed to get them going, so I just put on last week's."
And helped turn last week's soaking-wet, two-point loss to Clemson in Death Valley into a distant memory.
Running back C.J. Prosise -- or is that receiver C.J. Prosise? -- didn't hurt either. The senior danced his way to 129 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. He also managed to corral four Kizer passes for 56 yards a week after going for 100 and a touchdown on four more.
So is Prosise, a safety-turned-receiver-turned-running back, ready to go back to receiver?
Not so fast. No. 15 Notre Dame (5-1) is too thin in the backfield and too deep at receiver for that to happen.
"He's our running back," receiver Will Fuller said. "He's versatile. It's great to have him out there catching passes for us."
Not to mention running the ball, which Notre Dame didn't do much of in the first half -- just 15 times for 60 yards.
Navy, meanwhile, was off and running when quarterback Keenan Reynolds, on his team's first play from scrimmage, topped by 4 yards his rushing total against Notre Dame last season with a 51-yard gallop.
That set up Toneo Gulley's 13-yard touchdown run and put the Irish in an early 7-0 hole, the second week in a row they gave up a touchdown on the opening drive.
Notre Dame answered right back when Kizer capped a 12-play, 75-yard drive with a 1-yard dive. Prosise added a 7-yard scoring run after Jaylon Smith recovered a fumbled Navy pitch for a 14-7 lead before Fuller caught a 30-yard touchdown pass from Kizer with 7 minutes, 10 seconds left in the half.
"Everyone hates losing, especially when our goal is to be in the playoffs at the end of the year," Fuller said. "But it motivated us, and we were ready to get after it, itching and crawling for game day all week."
Quentin Ezell, a 253-pound fullback, twice tried to squash that motivation -- first when he traveled 45 yards with 4:56 left in the half to cut it to 21-14 and again when he scored from 22 yards after Brendon Clements intercepted Kizer less than a minute before halftime.
Then came a lift off the foot of freshman kicker Justin Yoon, who had just enough liftoff on a 52-yard field-goal attempt as time expired in the first half to make it 24-21 Irish.
Just as quickly as the first half began for Navy (4-1), the second half ended.
Devin Butler forced Navy's second fumble of the game and third of the season on the opening kickoff. Nyles Morgan recovered and Prosise did the rest, running 22 yards for a 31-21 lead. Prosise followed with his third rushing TD, this one from 11 yards and off of seven tacklers, with 7:04 left in the third.
"That's how I am. I bounce off tackles, get low and make people miss," Prosise said. "I hate it when just one guy tackles me. I always want to make it to three or four guys trying to make the tackle."
In other words, make them uncomfortable in their own shoes.
pskrbina@tribpub.com
2-minute drill
Eight is enough: Eight times Notre Dame's game against Navy was delayed, including six times in the first half, for an official's review. Irish coach Brian Kelly couldn't recall a similar circumstance, but he wasn't a big fan. "Some of them seemed appropriate, I guess," Kelly said. "It would be hard for me to comment ... but boy it seemed like a lot of them. ... It just seemed hard to get into a rhythm."
Eight is enough II: Losses to Notre Dame sandwiched Navy's eight consecutive victories, which was the fifth-longest streak in the nation coming into Saturday, the 89th consecutive season the teams have met. The last time the Midshipmen started 5-0 was 2004. The Irish stopped that streak with a 27-9 victory at the Meadowlands.
Zeroes on the clock: Justin Yoon's 52-yard field goal as time expired in the first half gave Notre Dame a 24-21 lead and momentum. The boot was tied for third longest in program history. "It feels like I'm in my own bubble," Yoon said. "I just feel like I'm right there with my teammates. That's where I think all the focus comes from."
Up next: Notre Dame plays host to USC at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend.
.png?w=600)
