JACKSONVILLE, Fla. _ Notre Dame's defense celebrated a timeout Saturday.
Navy celebrated a 28-27 victory.
After the Midshipmen tried their darndest to draw the Irish offside on a fourth-and-1 play with 4 minutes, 32 seconds left, they took a timeout, prompting Notre Dame freshman safety Devin Studstill to raise him arms in faux triumph as he raced toward the sideline.
The problem for the Irish was they trailed by one at the time and Navy quarterback Will Worth was about to make their day longer before a crowd of 50,867 at EverBank Field.
Worth took two steps forward for a first down, and the Midshipmen sent the Irish's season another step back. It was the fourth time in five tries Navy (6-2) made good on fourth down.
The Midshipmen then played keep-away like they had all afternoon, running out the clock after limiting the Irish (3-6) to six possessions overall, including just two in the second half.
Notre Dame's postseason bowl hopes all but vanished with its sixth defeat, all of which have been by eight points or fewer.
"It's definitely frustrating," said Notre Dame receiver Torii Hunter Jr., who had eight catches for 104 yards and a touchdown. "We were asking a lot of ourselves, trying to put up touchdowns every time we got the ball because we knew it would be that type of game."
The Irish scored on five possessions, including their only one of the fourth quarter when Justin Yoon made a 31-yard field goal that left them a point short of tying the score and many wondering whether Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly had made the right decision.
Kelly said he considered going for it on fourth-and-4, given the score and the lack of time his team spent with the football. But time, it turned out, wasn't on his team's side.
"But 28-27 made sense to me at the time," he said of the score. "Even if they score a touchdown, we still have the opportunity to score and get the two-point conversion. It ... was the right call at fourth-and-4. I think if it's fourth-and-1 or 2, maybe."
It wasn't, so the Irish didn't go for it.
"Those are the decisions you have to make," he said. "I don't question (it) other than the fact we couldn't get the ball back."
That's because Worth wouldn't let them have it as he simultaneously let them have it. He seared Notre Dame for 175 yards and two scores rushing on 28 carries. He completed 5 of 8 passes for 48 more yards.
Notre Dame would have had seven possessions if not for a third-quarter punt that was erased when Studstill was too late getting off the field.
The ball had been kicked and the play was flagless until a review revealed Studstill was the Irish's 12 man on the field. The 5-yard penalty gave Navy the ball and a fourth-and-1.
Worth gained 2 yards and Navy made the best of its second chance when it scored nine plays later on his 1-yard run with about 12 minutes remaining for a 24-21 lead.
"They were standing with me," Kelly said of the officials. "I asked them both, 'What did you see?' I saw him step off the sideline. They concurred that they felt they saw the same thing that I saw. They were clearly overruled.
"Listen, Navy won the game. I'm not here to cry over that call."
Notre Dame quarterback DeShone Kizer threw for 223 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 52 yards.
But he blamed himself for the loss.
"I didn't make the throws I needed to," he said, referring to one in particular when he overthrew Hunter in the end zone.
But Navy didn't give Kizer many opportunities to make throws, thus giving itself plenty of reason to celebrate.
