Nov. 02--LANDOVER, Md. -- Lately, Navy has not been good for Notre Dame's health, both cardiac and otherwise.
Once considered an automatic win for decades, the Midshipmen have turned into the Irish's peskiest opponent -- and one that inflicts a significant toll.
In keeping with the frenzied recent history, this year was no different.
The Irish won 49-39 at FedEx Field but not before Navy delivered some nervous moments and Notre Dame suffered injuries to several defensive players, including middle linebacker Joe Schmidt.
"I told our guys in our talk before the game (that) playing Navy was going to be a challenge," coach Brian Kelly said. "We played a lot of young guys on defense and we were going to have to outscore them.
The severity of Schmidt's left ankle injury was undetermined and he will need an X-ray.
It was not the clean, convincing effort the Irish were hoping for after receiving a disappointing No. 10 ranking from the College Football Playoff committee, but the Irish kept Navy from sinking their hopes. It was, perhaps, Notre Dame's most unique victory of the season.
Quarterback Everett Golson played one of his best games of the season, running for three touchdowns and throwing for three. He was 18-for-25 for 315 yards.
But the Irish (7-1) managed to piece together a defensive effort, albeit shaky, that featured significant contributions from several seldom-used, inexperienced players. Some played because of the scheme change against Navy -- the Irish employed a 4-4 look at times -- while some played because of injuries to other starters.
Freshmen Greer Martini and Drue Tranquill picked up their first starts, as did fifth-year defensive end Justin Utupo. Freshman Nyles Morgan, a graduate of Crete-Monee, filled in for the ailing Schmidt. Utupo caught his first-career interception in the fourth quarter.
Kelly joked after the game that his sophomores were the veterans for the defense.
"They're running around, they came off from the sideline and we were asking them about what they saw and they were talking about their biology homework," Kelly said. "So it was difficult. But they persevered, hung in there and fought their butts off."
The Irish were humming along 28-7 in the second quarter, but the Midshipmen (4-5) weren't finished. Demond Brown scored on an 18-yard run, igniting a stretch of 24 unanswered points from Navy.
Navy's biggest blow came in the third quarter when Chris Swain cleaned up the effort with a 4-yard run to give Navy a 31-28 lead and send the Navy student section -- equipped with yellow foam destroyers on their heads -- hopping.
The Irish regained the lead 35-31 early in the fourth quarter on Golson's 3-yard run and followed that with a 25-yard touchdown run from Tarean Folston, who finished with 149 yards rushing.
"We tried to score every possession we had because we knew when (Navy) got the ball they were going to try and take the air out of it," Folston said.
Part of Notre Dame's struggles could be attributed to injuries. Defensive lineman Jarron Jones went down twice because of an ankle injury, and Schmidt left the game in the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Sheldon Day and linebacker James Onwualu collided, leaving both shaken up. Day, perhaps Notre Dame's most important presence along the defensive line, returned to the game with a shoulder injury, but Onwualu didn't pass concussion protocols.
Schmidt's loss especially hurt because he makes the calls for the defense along with linebacker Jaylon Smith. Morgan, a promising athlete, has not seen much action as he struggles to grasp the intricacies of coordinator Brian VanGorder's defense.
But Notre Dame had to lean on Morgan against one of the most different offenses it faces all season while trailing in the third quarter.
"He's extremely athletic and as you can see, he gets to the football," Kelly said. "But it's hard for me to really determine whether he was on all his assignments but he's an extremely, kids love him and he loves to play the game."
It didn't look like much fun at times for Notre Dame on Saturday night. And there weren't a lot of fuzzy feelings after this victory.
Even though it wasn't the cakewalk many expected, the Irish held serve headed into their toughest matchup the rest of the season at No. 14 Arizona State.
"Any time the defense sees that many points on the board," safety Max Redfield said, "It's not really a huge victory for us."
But it will have to do.
