2003 Notre Dame vs Navy Full Game

as the irish take the field prior to their game today against the midshipmen of navy hello everyone and welcome to the allstate update coming to you from notre dame stadium today tom hammond and pat hayden the navy midshipmen come in with a 6-3 record thinking this is their chance to erase 40 years of frustration against notre dame they lead the nation in yards rushing per game pat they run the option and they dare you to stop it you know craig candido the quarterback who triggers his offense has been sensational this year and you know they have so many different ways of hurting you with this option off that's very difficult to defend at least four ways they can hurt you let's take a look at some of those first options always that fullback and kyle eckles rushed for almost 800 yards this year then you had the quarterback keeper candido scored 11 touchdowns this year 28 in his career and then when they pitched the ball out in the perimeter this is where they're really dangerous 10 yards per carry when they pitch it and just when you figure figure you have it all figured out boom they throw the ball down the field he has averaged 16 yards per completion in his career which is astounding to me tom so so this is a very improved navy team but this notre dame team knows how good they are and they will not be surprised today of course the defending the option gives a coach's nightmares what sort of approaches notre dame taking in limited time well you know vontez duff who's played really very well at the corner for them over the last three years really has a new position today he's going to play a lot of free safety not just every down but you're going to see him make a lot of tackles running the alleys as they talk about in the wishbone offense he's going to tackle the quarterback and the pitch man that'll be his responsibility now for the irish on offense well julius jones the last three years has played particularly well against navy 123 yards a game and this is a game time i think he needs to touch the ball 30 times and have one of those another big running game for himself notre dame has defeated navy 39 straight times the longest string in current ncaa football the navy midshipmen and the irish of notre dame we're back for the opening kickoff in just a moment this has been the allstate nbc sports update you're in good hands with allstate blue skies but the temperature down to 34 degrees now even colder than that considering the windchill nine mile an hour winds it'll be down below 30 by the time the game is over in the shadows and bell up the field you know and tyrone willingham is going to possess the ball first here and we talked to him yesterday they have really been playing catch-up the entire year outscored terribly in the first quarter he wanted the ball first he gets it first and paul johnson the coach of the midshipmen of navy they won the toss and deferred to the second half was he done a good job in his second year as the head coach they really turned around that program and of course with that great ball control they have notre dame didn't want them to take it and hold it for most of the first quarter notre dame with a commanding lead 1963 40 years ago navy had their last victory rolfes will kick it off for navy with shelton and duff deep porno today kick fontes duff from about the 14 yard line duff collared at the 30 and taken down by the navy special teams and costello gets credit for the tackle let's take a look at our adidas starting lineups now first for brady quinn quinn uh struggling in the passing game hitting only 44 of his passes and uh protecting him up front will be bolinaro morton ryan and paris powers kneel the fullback julius jones starts at tailback with jenkins mcknight and palmer the tight end anthony fasano has been playing a lot of tight end is out for this game and hand off to julius jones turns the corner jones getting a block down field and crosses the 40 to the 43-yard line tackled by josh smith josh smith that's going to be hard to say on a cold day you're going to say 12 yard gain he's going to make a lot of tackles but the start of this game and the start of the rest of the season of each game for notre dame is critical i mean they have to they've been outscored in the in the first quarter 84 to 27 by 57 points so tyrone says that we've been forced to play catch-up we want to get on the board first in this ball game again the i formation from the irish after a 12-yard gain on the first play from scrimmage delayed handoff to julius jones shook the tackler in the backfield and again had a good run out to midfield tackled by vaughn kelly there he got about seven yards on first down yeah what notre dame is going to try to do is out navy navy in terms of you know time of possession ordinarily navy who said played pretty good defensively this year as we look at our navy starting defensive lineups they play a 3-4 uh defensive set and the linebackers are the ones to watch especially bobby mclaren and eddie carthand with fraser smith sanders and kelly in the secondary quinn looks to be changing the play and a flag down will haul that one off well you know they're in a down and distance now second and three which notre dame hasn't seen much this year make that second and eight but uh you know two first down rushing plays you know tyrone willingham expected to see this year a lot of second and three but he's not seen much of it false start against notre dame the officiating crew headed by joe ryder it's a crew from the atlantic post conference with two independents playing there aren't many independents left but matched up here today double tight end said notre dame trying to take advantage of their size jones cut back another cut down the field and julius jones with the first down to the 35 of navy kelly and smith have to track him down but it's a 20 yard jaunt by julius jones who once again is off to a great start against the midshipman you know he's got great breakaway speed does julius jones but he's a good inside runner the two tight ends kind of force you to play a balanced defense even though it's a 34 and then julius jones one cut and he goes you know the offensive line for notre dame outweighs the defensive front by about 40 pounds and already today julius jones three carries for 40 yards ryan grant in there now and quinn fell down after faking the ball to grant he's down at the 45 yard line way back there lost his footing a 10-yard loss jared clark number one his tight end was wide open just didn't quite as he pushed planted his left foot as his actually right foot just kind of slipped underneath him but he had both tight ends uh palmer in the flat and jared clark behind you so that sets up a second down and 19. yeah and he he's the second and the two tight end said he was wide open play action fake quinn's pass on target and caught for a good game by omar jenkins then surrounded by the navy defenders tackle made by carthage smith that's a gain of 11. well there's a guy that that navy is going to watch omar jenkins last year had four catches 166 yards against the midshipmen including the game winner with a couple of minutes left a 67 yarder that's what notre dame needs is some balance in their game tom they really haven't had one game where they've had bounce they've had games where they've run it well and they've had games where that's good passing numbers but they really have not put it all together yet this season from the navy 33 trying to convert a third down on third and eight quinn plenty of time goes for the end zone and overshoots his intended receiver stovall eli sanders was back there too but that quinn pass never had a chance it was way overthrown so fourth down for willingham and the irish is the penalty too that really maybe they had a you know second and short ended up a penalty and then they had a problem with the brady quinn falling nicolasetta still out injured so a 50-yard field goal attempt by dj fitzpatrick 50-yarder [Applause] snap fitzpatrick gets it away but it will be no good [Applause] so a 50-yard field goal attempt by fitzpatrick goes awry on the first possession by the fighting irish they marched down the field but came up short fitzpatrick got the foot into it but missed it wide right navy's first possession when we come back north score navy and notre dame first possession for the midshipmen as they begin from their own 33-yard line after the missed field goal this is the spread option and the pitch on the option to eric roberts and roberts gets a first down on the candido pitch candido against notre dame last year left the game with a sprained ankle on the first drive as navy nearly beats notre dame behind aaron polanco the backup quarterback here's the adidas starting lineup for the midshipmen an undersized offensive line and watch them to do a lot of cut blocking today robert's lane echo the leading rusher he's the fullback lane's in motion here's the option to the other side candido keeps and gets a couple of yards brandon hoyt makes the tackle for the notre dame defense our adidas notre dame starting lineups with tuck campbell hilliard and abby amiri the freshman from maryland getting the starts you look at the linebackers floyd watson and curry tom but the frank candido you know he just he's not necessarily the the fastest guy he didn't throw the prettiest pass but but he is so smart and he's so tough and he's so determined and he's so on the ground here as he stopped at the line of spit hoyt and tuck made the tackle and there's brandon hoyt number 39 and we saw courtney watson's name go by what a season he's having the senior from sarasota florida who's had double figure tackles in all but one game this season well you know he missed the first game and still has 29 more tackles than anybody on the entire defense 80 on the year well those guys just don't over coach he always seems to be around the ball third down and eight for navy this is an uncomfortable down and distance they're generally in third and two and third and three [Applause] like candido's changing the play just did get it off nope maybe he didn't flags fly as the whistle stops the play [Music] the later game on the offense five yards third down you know they're really tough the key for for navy today is first down rushing and there's not in this offense you can't be in those third nights so first down russia is important and penalised you can't have those five yard penalties to set you in those those downs and distances which you're just not particularly good at shot of paul johnson who won a couple of one double a national championships at georgia southern before returning to navy where he had been an assistant coach candido quarterback draw he's got some room candido slides down short of the first down covered by brandon hoyt a gain of 10 but not quite enough you know and he's upset candido is generally not the type of guy who slides i mean he's really a running back playing quarterback generally he's going to try to make this guy miss on third and well the third about 14 yeah or sometimes run over the guy but they're going to go for they go for it more than most teams on fourth down so just barely into irish territory they'll go for it on fourth and two [Music] as they set lane in motion and then candido raises up and calls timeout i think from this field position you've got to punt it yeah you would think just too short of feel for notre dame so candido to the sidelines after the midshipmen take their first timeout and craig candido an interesting story he's rushed for 1600 yards in his career passed for 2000 and you see where he ranks all time and he is he's just sort of the all-american boy he's like a poster boy for the u.s naval academy he had an uncle a lieutenant colonel randall sanborn who was a harrier pilot in the u.s marine corps who was the first gulf war spent 26 days as a prisoner of war then went back to the gulf in the current conflict and candido wants to follow in his uncle's footsteps and be a pilot in his case i guess a navy pilot although you could go into the marine corps too and um his parents were not military oriented as his uncle was but he's also pat an outstanding baseball player yeah bennett went 370 last year tom they're going for about fourth i think they should punt this ball but this is the 23rd time this year they're going for it on fourth down they convert about 50 but i think she's punted instead they pitch it the pitch to roberts and roberts has the first down so paul johnson rolls the dice early and comes up with a seven darrell campbell makes the tackle you know it wasn't an option play a that's kind of an old pitch we saw him uh working on that in the pre-game warm-ups you know they said the real home runs come out in that perimeter and they're slot backs of which eric roberts is one of four or five that play a remarkable year every time they touch the ball they average over 12 yards a carry so first down navy after converting on fourth down here's a mix up as candido collides with eccle and manages to fall forward for a yard trying to make something out of a it looked like an option but the echo slip it looked the field apparently is early brady quinn slipped right there actually slips so that could be a factor today kyle eckel the fullback right here he slips nobody to uh that's the fifth option yeah you hit the fullback in the back with the ball then you dive for two yard gain 77 nothing oklahoma texas a m you have anything for those broadcasters any advice good luck i hope the saddlebags are full second down to nine triple option and the pitch to roberts [Applause] almost to the 35-yard line tripped up by justin tuck kyle eckel number 32 is really a good all-around football player the fullback even when he doesn't get the ball he's not sure at that point he may be a ball care may not but if he doesn't get it he's going to get down field and cut somebody you're going to see more irish defenders on their on on the ground than you generally see and for notre dame they've got to get up off the ground and make the play nice block by echo [Applause] one of the notre dame's priorities was to shut off the full back echo he hasn't carried yet on the option lane's in motion and they pitch it to it couldn't get a block on the corner and he manages to fight forward for a yard at most courtney watson out there in a hurry and you know it was garen bible i think number 26 who fought off a lead blocked by one of the the slot men to make attack they tried to get a block had a blocker on him but he was able to fight him off and make the tackle so once again we have a fourth down fourth and four for navy and they are going to go for it again of the year four different options types of options they can run last time at fourth then he just ran a pitch this is the option and a pitch to roberts who fumbled it got a fortuitous bounce and stopped short of the first down at about the 32-yard line he might have made it had to be able to handle the pitch because he had a little lane there [Applause] so navy with that ball control offense twice go for it on fourth down but the second time right here after the fumbled pitch they come up short and notre dame takes over in a scoreless game four seven minutes to go first quarter scoreless game let's go down to lewis johnson on the sideline all right tom thanks so much well i talked to ty willingham before this game started and asked him what did he see this week that told him that the execution that he'll need against navy today will be there willingham said that the team has shown in practice that they still have the desire to excel striving for that perfect execution against this offense and you know it's tradition here at notre dame that the entire football team goes to mass for the game and you know they're given small charms or medallions of different saints to wear on their necklaces or their shoestrings now ty willingham usually has a medallion on his shoestrings but today he said there's no saint there today he said it's jesus himself tom all right lewis on all saints day last week last week the irish lost for the first time overwhelmed by florida state ryan grant was able to uh duck away from a couple of would-be tacklers in the backfield to get three yards on first down at second and seven brady quinn chased got away and tucks it under run quinn takes a hit as he dives across the 40-yard line it kind of looks like fred candido run over a linebacker smith go in-depth on the fighting irish at nbcsports.com click on the special section notre dame central for analysis by pat and vote for the best running back in notre dame history it's all at nbcsports.com it'll be third down coming up for the irish third and two from their own 40-yard line ball just across the 40. fast-moving first quarter even though maybe he didn't get any points they had their typical ball control drive of five minutes or so and off to julius jones breaking free across midfield with a first down you know against pittsburgh when julius jones had that fantastic day we ran for 262 yards he broke two long ones just in situations like that tom remember those short yardage plays and that was the third in one watch the left guard pull and trap here number 73. he just kind of eats up his guy in there and then julius hugs that block and picks up an easy first down but oftentimes on those short yardage defensive plays if you get through that first wave you have a chance for a very long run look at the start for julius jones that one covered nine yards vaughn kelly the tackle for navy first down in navy territory for notre dame against jones hit in the backfield he got free and now he has an open field race to the end zone julius jones touchdown [Applause] 48 yards after he was hit in the backfield and when he got to the outside it was all over [Applause] well tom usually long runs are a combination of things the first thing the combo here for julius jones was the strength he broke a tackle and the second part of the combination was outstanding speed just got you know all the defenders really crushed inside he just jumped out 158 yards but it started with a broken tag fitzpatrick with the extra point attempt and it's good [Applause] so julius jones who has had career days almost against navy in the first three times he has faced them with a 48-yard touchdown run to put notre dame ahead 7-0 [Music] okay seven nothing notre dame after julius jones goes 48 yards he's carried five times now for 99 yards pretty good start by my reckoning that's nearly 20 yards of carry hampton and mcgowan are deep as fitzpatrick sends it on its way short kickoff bounces out of bounds hampton watched it go across the sideline out of bounds let's take a look first had a missed tackle jeremy chase number 49 just does not wrap up against julius jones tough to do because he's just so strong but watch where all the other defenders are watch what happens in here with these they all get sucked over here and julius just bounces outside everybody feels the play coming over here right there here here no one taking the back side of the play and julius jones is just too dynamic of a player 48-yard touchdown run you know the irish haven't seen enough of that tom and he is certainly capable of doing it all five rushing touchdowns this season by julius over 19 yards every single one of them as a matter of fact he scored all the irish rushing touchdowns this year they only had five he scored all five of them so for only the third time this season the irish in front in the first quarter as the ball went out of bounds navy will take over at its own 35. the option and the pitch lane laying down the sideline tony lane in a foot race for the end zone touchdown 65 yards for tony lane the senior for brands georgia i thought we were going to see ball control today well really an unbelievable dynamic play that time for navy i mean they notre dame seemed so focused on taking away the fullback which they've done but in football the real big plays come on the perimeter come on the outside we talked about these slot backs this year for for navy they've been unbelievable 22 yards per catch and 10 yards per carry once they pitch that ball fourth touchdown of the season for tony lane his previous longest run had been 38 yards eric ross for the extra point attempt to 20 of 21 this season [Applause] [Music] [Applause] and it's we talked good to greg madison the defensive line coach of of notre dame who says this is the worst week of my life trying to defend this option there's just so he takes away the pitch he got the fullback you got the pitch but a good downfield block i think was by amir jenkins number 17 the wide receiver you get a good block with a wide receiver that allows tony lane to go 65 yards to tie this game in the first quarter [Music] [Applause] touchdown run gave notre dame only its third first quarter lead this year it lasted uh 12 seconds yeah garen bible kind of gets caught inside now no name takes away the fullback they take away the quarterback good block up here and then this lane and a broken tackle the lane for tony lane so this is what makes it so tough to defend you take away the fullback you take away the quarterback but then the third option is to pitch i haven't seen him throw the ball yet either rolfs will kick off for navy shelton and duff deep for notre dame montez duff from the three [Applause] enough had a little seam for a moment to the 27-yard line and after navy scored the touchdown listen to what paul johnson told his offensive unit he's also the offensive coordinator remember not the first guy not the first guy we didn't block the safety we didn't block the linebacker we pitched off the linebacker got lucky because the outside guy was inside come on we can do better than that now yeah that was after i scored a touchdown i mean it was after a good play well his players told us this week we visited annapolis that you know he's uh he's a no-nonsense guy he'll tell you exactly what he said they like that they do like the uh kickoff had a penalty flag it's an illegal block in the back by notre dame so the home field disadvantage that touchdown by julius jones was their first touchdown in a long while and is still 75 7 in favor of the opponents of course two of those opponents were southern california and florida [Music] offense they have to play against the navy get in the backfield and dropped parthen and mahoney hit julius jones when he got the handoff but never let him get away that time the thing when julius jones he just hasn't had enough time this year to get run started because we've seen what he can do but mahoney and carton on the two outside linebackers right out here and right here they come from both sides mahoney on the left side and carthage on the other and you know and julius jones sandwiched in between senior and freshman meet at jones yeah the 34 defense is really a good defense for navy it's easier to recruit linebackers than defensive lineman from the nine-yard line second and 15 julius jones [Applause] three or four yards and another penalty marker is down david mahoney made the tackle for the middies excuse me tom buddy green the defensive coordinator navy uh from north carolina state where he played and coached for a long long time really been a big turnaround defensively as well as offensively 151 against notre dame holding on the offense hilde is declined third down sounds like jill ryder our referee is one of those hall's food breezers already i just knew you were gonna squeeze it in some some that's what i love about you shoehorn talk about this 34 defense again just you know it's hard to get those big old defensive linemen anywhere but you can recruit you know high school quarterbacks and safeties and make them linebackers and that's what navy's done from the shotgun brady quinn with plenty of time goes downfield for stovall and off his hands and helmet it appeared he had beaten von kelly could not hang on you know i know it's frustrating for notre dame fans because so many wide receivers have come in here to this place this year and jumped up among the defenders and them down with the ball that one just got away from maurice stovall has the height advantage at 6'5 at this point it's just basketball just couldn't get his body turned around goes off his hands and helmet so on fourth down it will be a fitzpatrick punt and notre dame has struggled in the net hunting this year tomlinson deep as fitzpatrick punch from his own end zone that's a good one it is tomlinson backpedaling and calling for a fair catch and making a tough fair catch as it turned out at about the 35-yard line a 49-yard punt and maybe though will take over 3 34 to go first quarter [Applause] 7-7 game with 334 to go first quarter navy with its third possession of this first half you know they possess the ball so much time ordinarily in college football you get 13 maybe 14 possessions but when you play against them you get two or three fewer and looked like a false start somebody moved up front for the midshipman the mids with this kind of uh offense i find it's hard sometimes to overcome penalties but they certainly have a potent attack quadruple threat kyle eckle the fullback has not carried the ball yet today candinos pitched it a few times and lane and roberts have had a very good start to this game there's a lot of weapons to worry about now they line up you know two wide outs looks like a passing formation but they did they just prefer to run the ball and they run it pretty doggone well better than anybody in the country option pitched to roberts and roberts back to the 35-yard line where brandon hoyt makes another tackle hoyt off to a good start today the would-be poet from uh new jersey that's right he actually tackles in iambic pentameter but he's an interesting guy a jehovah witness here in an irish catholic campus and during mass we heard lewis johnson talk about that a little bit earlier he actually goes into the confessional he kind of meditates while the catholic mass is going on born in trinidad and recently performed here on the campus a poem he had written about his grandfather whom he had never met but his mother told him he was just like her father on the option to pitch to roberts surrounded and tackled lost in the play as notre dame defended that one very well yeah justin tuck and quinton verrell in particular defended that one well you know they've taken the full back away still echo has not carried the ball they've done a pretty good job at candido this time they got the pitch man fullback's gone he may have pitched that a little bit early candido did you see uh beckstrom is that beckstrom and certainly justin tuck it respects from the number nine that turned it back in this is no man's land of course for navy in a passing situation it'll be candido on a quarterback draw and notre dame was ready for it to the 35-yard line about 12 yards still short of the first down and brandon hoyt makes the play once again and that's a a quick drive by navy standards now you know i expected to really possess the ball through the end of the first quarter instead we just come under two minutes and on fourth down john skaggs will punt skag's the career leading punter montez duff is deep you know montezuma hasn't had the kind of year returning that he had a year ago you could skag send montez back to the ten yard line there's a penalty marker down there's another penalty marker now a third one [Applause] there's seven referees so how many shorts one two three four or three flags short of the full house 50-yard punt nine yards on the return but all kinds of adjustments coming up with penalty flags all over the lot you know i see the referees with the gloves i forgot mine today i see you've brought yours yes well some of us are more equipped for cold weather than others i don't know how much cold weather you get there in southern california but in kentucky it gets a little chilly occasionally down to 70 this week i think you're a nice cashmere topcoat though it might be more besides on the defense at the snap blocking the back on the return team i think your coat might be warmer if you turned it so the cashmere was inside and the satin outside tried that second half we talked to tyrone willingham about you know the state of affairs of his team and said hey we still have a lot to play for now you know they would go six and six being a bull but he said you know it's something about notre dame there is pride of notre dame to be played for we've got a good senior class we're going to be playing for those guys who say hey we also have a potential of a thousand yard rusher in julius jones and he uh he acknowledged the criticism of him and of the program and said uh what you had to do was keep the outside out but it wasn't that he was ignoring it he was well aware of it but he said you can't let it affect you or affect your team and uh you can judge that he says you have to be aware of the signs i have to be aware of the signs that you don't lose your team yeah you just you saw him there that that's as animated as i've seen him all year actually yesterday when we talked to him he was probably more animated than we've seen him all year so after the penalties notre dame will start from its own nine yard line again hit one and with a better running game he should be able to complete 50 or better passes grant stopped short of the 15-yard line well the last time navy defeated notre dame 1963 roger stahlbach's heisman trophy season starbuck connected twice with pat donnelly for touchdowns first on this eight-yard pass and then later on this pitch look at the two-hand pitch since that 35-14 victory navy has lost 39 straight games against the irish and ncaa record for consecutive losses versus one opponent roger actually threw a third touchdown past that game that was quite a splendid pitch what it was the beginning of the triple option at navy most competitive guy i've ever seen was roger stogga he had an overactive competitive thyroid he backed it up too you know he did he really did ryan grant on two consecutive carries still has two yards to go on third down [Music] [Applause] a bit of a win here today with the windshield down below 30 degrees you know he said 45 pound advantage for notre dame's offensive line just give julius jones a chance there he is he got his chance and he couldn't take it back by the center of that navy defense jeremy chase number 49 who was the first guy to hit him and then josh smith number 33 that finish it up chase is an interesting guy he saw him miss a tackle early on julius jones run but you know he plays some linebacker and then he'll play some defensive end for the midshipman and he's a true freshman fort myers florida big stop on third down by the navy defense we're in a 7-7 game at the end of the first quarter and we'll return to notre dame after these messages from your local nbc station blue november skies we start the second quarter with navy and notre dame tied 7-7 and notre dame set to punt from deep in its own territory from the 17-yard line fitzpatrick in punt formation tomlinson deep for the mids low kick and a short one by fitzpatrick tomlinson takes it on the run running up and then driven back with a hard tackle at the 40-yard line eight-yard return after a 33-yard punt and we mentioned earlier the last time navy defeated notre dame roger staubach 1963 and roger from his home in dallas joins us now roger welcome hello how you doing tom hammond and pat hayden here at notre dame stadium uh has it really been 40 years since that game oh man i tell you it's hard to believe tom and pat you know of course uh pat and i played against each other in the old days i can't believe how long ago that was and of course navy's uh it's 40 years uh what do you remember what did you what's your most lasting memory of that win over the irish well we had a tough first half and it was real close in the second half i just remember the uh all we had we put an option type play into pat donnelly and we uh we just played great in the second half and we uh um had difficulty in the first half but i remember coming off the field at the end of the second half uh in fact my wife who she was we were we were uh we were dating the time but we ended up getting married my family was there we i was uh from cincinnati so it was a big deal uh with all our family and friends there beat notre dame and south bend is it bigger than beating army roger where does this fit in in navy's uh football calendar if you will well there's nothing bigger than beating army but it was right up there the notre dame game was a big game and there was a lot of history to do it back you know in the 20s uh in the 40s and during the war years and so there's always a big tradition with notre dame and i of course i grew up watching notre dame in cincinnati so it was a big deal beating notre dame trey hines excuse me pat with a 13-yard run for the mitchell yeah i'm watching candido here i really like him he's he's a great kid roger how do they these kids stay up with notre dame they're oversized i mean notre dame has better athletes but every year it seems like navy hangs in there hangs in there hangs in there well paul johnson's done a heck of a job he's got a good system he fits the players into the system and uses their talents in the system and he's also got him playing there they just give every play they're giving 100 out there and they're a well-coached football team and they're good athletes out there candido echols and thomas and they've got some good guys in offense well roger thank you very much for uh spending a couple moments with us and uh best of luck to your midshipman maybe this is the year yeah pull this one out guys it's good okay thanks take care very appropriate that the midshipmen driving as they had their former star on the phone it's second and five from the notre dame 19. option and echoes gets his first carry of the game kyle eckel wrestled down by courtney watson now that is strength against strength leading tackler for the irish against the leading rusher for the midshipmen maybe maybe that's why they haven't given the ball much there to the fullback because you're going to run into right into the number 33 courtney watson again a perfect tackle there's absolutely nowhere for eccle to go even to kind of generally inch four now echo cam coming into the game had carried 162 times and only on two carries had he lost yard didn't lose any yards there but pretty close and a great tackle by watson so here's third down and three from the 17 of the irish option candido wrapped up and taken down at the line of scrimmage might have lost a yard good play by corey mays from his linebacker spot corey mays number 46 one of those guys in his junior year who's finally beginning to emerge one of those heralded recruits in a played special team but now getting in more and more on regular down and distance and made a great play there to force a field goal to temp now this navy has struggled here it's rutgers they had three of these blocked eric candido will hold a 35-yard field goal attempt to give navy the lead [Music] [Applause] candido gets it down ross just sneaks it through the upright it might have even grazed it as it went through but it does give paul johnson and the midshipmen the lead the field goal by ross puts navy up 10-7 here's eric groffs with his sixth field goal of the season just slipping it past the upright perfect snap perfect hold perfect kick and a perfect score as far as paul johnson is concerned his midshipmen are on top leading notre dame 10-7 with 11 45 to go till halftime and navy set to kick it off to the irish that's not the real goat i know pat you thought thanks for that piece of information ross will kick it off to duff and shelton taken by shelton this time at the 15-yard line matt shelton trying to get to the sideline over one man and has a good return twisted out of bounds around the 40-yard line notre dame football is brought to you by charles schwab there's never been a better time for charles schwab by lexus and the new ls the ultimate expression of their passionate pursuit and by allstate you're in good hands with allstate so the irish from their own 38-yard line their average start has been at the 25 so this is good field position for them davey has had a beneficial start they have averaged starting at their own 41. play action fake quinn on first down passes short of his intended receiver mcknight those are the first down plays you just have to make a wide open raymond mcknight a simple out pattern you know brady quinn has kind of struggled with the consistency in the passing game now he hasn't gotten a lot of help he's had a throw too much in a lot of games 59 passes against purdue and what 52 i think it was last week against florida state but but what notre dame really needs is is a game in a season if you will out of quinn where he can throw the ball 20 25 times a game only but complete 55 julius jones cut back that'll put him over 100 yards in this already first half and that'll make it his second highest total of the season is 262 against pittsburgh the high water mark josh smith the tackle for the midshipman jones also has moved into fifth place on the all-time notre dame rushing list passing phil carter who gained 2 400 yards in 1979 to 82 and jones closing in on 2500 [Music] 11 minutes to go till halftime and look at the difference the size differential in favor of the irish that's what makes you think they want to pound it with julius jones they pitch it to jones again and he got a good hole and then slipped but made it across that yellow line for the first down third player we've seen slim right tried to cut back and lost his footing covered in there good lead big block here by the tight end and then a good lead block by josh smith number 12. the walk-in full back right down here got some raymond mcknight and uh you know i'm surprised we're not seeing more collisions between the fullbacks with sean powers neal and josh schmidt notre dame and linebackers from from navy but but instead notre dame has run a lot more too tight in than a fullback sense julius jones 10 carries 109 yards now fake it to him this time quinn [Applause] and palmer is tied in it was just broken up at the last minute by mahoney tomorrow night at 9 8 central it's the nbc original movie saving jessica lynch don't miss the untold story behind the rescue that carried the hopes of the nation saving jessica lynch tomorrow night at 9 8 central here on nbc speaking of that sure enjoyed our trip to annapolis this past week thursday we're there ate lunch with the uh brigade of midshipmen draw play jones they latched on to him pretty well and a shot of the midshipmen in the stands that made the trip to south bend i uh at my table the uh the squad leader was courtney davidson paul pat who was an academic all-american women's basketball player at annapolis and uh listen to this how about ambition and accomplishment she's going to graduate this spring she's hoping to go to the university of maryland to get her master's degree in a semester and a half and then she wants to be a marine helicopter pilot academic all-america basketball player brady quinn on target and mcknight nearly slipped away not quite but he does have a first down for the irish a gain of 15. you know tom i had lunch with a pretty impressive guy myself billy hurley from virginia who uh really interesting guy actually on the golf team one of the top 10 amateur golfers in america and he will one day hope to be a navy pilot but you know 4 000 midshipmen we had lunch we've ever seen so much food both served and consumed quickly as we did how did you how many stars did you give the cuisine one to five yes well at least yeah i'd give it two and a half ideas here's a reverse this is carlisle holiday the former quarterback holliday can't get a block but still shakes a tackler tiptoes his way down the sideline to the 17-yard line gain of 16. tom nice play but if he if he had a chance to throw that i don't know that was a run pass option but raymond mcknight number five was open by 30 yards it looked like he was expecting to run it but down here here's the reverse but mcknight number five watch him down nobody covers him nobody covers him he didn't look like he was even thinking about i think must've been a run all the way because they did have blockers downfield do you think in any event it's a first down it advances the ball to the navy 17-yard line from the eye handoff to ryan grant and grant wrestled down after a gain of four five yards flying on the play josh smith another tackle smith the workhorse the junior from attica indiana he had 60 friends and family at the game today to match well 63 touchdowns he scored in his senior year of high school i thought it was a misprint when i said 63 you know touchdowns i thought it was a career but he had 63 touchdowns in high school 811 career points he's an unbelievable guy he's missed two games yet he's their leading tackler three interceptions four tackles for losses recovered two fumbles forced another one of those guys you know undersized never played defense before he came to the academy he was indiana player of the year at attica when they were the state runner-up and he gained 230 yards rushing in the state championship game you know with numbers like that she's a player in several states and then they won the state championship in basketball and he averaged 24 points a game clark has it jarred loose on the hit that's an incomplete pass you know i've seen jared clark open wide open twice and they weren't able to get him the ball and that time he's he's fairly well covered and just gets drilled after they throw it to him that was a shallomar brazier that made the hit for the midshipman [Applause] a guy that's played well for four years for the midshipmen he's also running some navy track very good special teams player as well as a corner they play a lot of zones on buddy green's defense you know they're not a lot of man for man defense keep things in front of you and then hit them after they throw it to you just like that penalty sets the irs back hand it off and nothing doing for julius jones that time back to the line of scrimmage brian jackson 44 one of those inside linebackers tom you know we talked about 34 defense really seems to fit this team watch these both these guys always moving toward the line of scrimmage but it's number 44 lane jackson one of the guys takes on the fullback the other guy just goes gets the the running back saw those scores go by what about the tennessee defeat of miami was the last time miami lost two games this is the 11th play of the drive for notre dame again the penalty has sort of put them in a hole and they face a third down and 18 from the navy 25-yard line glitch and quinn got it away but through the hands of ryan grant and once again notre dame just not look sharp i think one thing that the irish know they have is a pretty tough freshman quarterback because josh smith number 33 he does not let up when he hits brady quinn just ran right through him grant's got to catch that he's got to catch him it's going to be short of the first down marker but to give yourself a better chance for a field goal to attempt it will be a field goal attempt by dj fitzpatrick who's hit four of six krueger will be the holder 43-yard attempt [Applause] fitzpatrick kruger got the high snap down the kick's on its way and no good so fitzpatrick has missed two field goals now so he's four of eight on the year one was from 50 yards and this one never had a chance didn't look good from the start his plant foot slipped as you see not able to get any leg into it and it remains 10-7 navy [Music] nbc football continues you know paul johnson head coach of navy has mentioned all throughout the week the difference in the physical statute and the talent level between navy and notre dame the irish are able to snag the biggest and hottest talent across the country here's an example last year's u.s army all-american bowl featuring some of the best stars from all over america you just saw victor abi amiri now starting as a defensive end here a freshman for notre dame ambrose wooden made the impact on defense now a wide receiver there's a travis thomas the running back brady quinn the quarterback who was a big star now showing his stills here and you can see more future college stars when the u.s army all-american bowl airs january 3rd right here on nbc tom all right lewis trying to make navy mad all that army talk there here's the option in the uh fullback echo [Applause] [Music] notre dame u.s army all-americans from the 2003 game there's some good ones there have you mary's had a real good year ryan harris now starting at right tackle for the irish and some that we haven't seen in action yet but are highly touted john sullivan is going to be interested in state player of the year in connecticut a year ago should place some center for the irish next year option candido nowhere to go cedric hilliard was the first man to get him he put those big size 18 shoes right in candido's way yeah we talked about big said yesterday number 50 for the iris and he said you know my assignment is to tackle the fullback says well actually if i if i get single team i tackle the fullback whether he has the ball or not if they double team me i just kind of suck up those blocks and get my size 18 in the ways of those blocks and let the linebacker make the tackle so he's got a little game within the game going with kyle eckel cedric a pretty jovial big fella it's fun to talk to him has a high ankle sprain that's bothered him virtually all season candida rolls and delivers a pass and it's caught by roberts eric roberts one of their slot backs you know you see him you know on the pitch his 15th catch of the year but tom you know he's he's caught four touchdowns and this isn't a 24-yard catch but that's that's what he's averaging always amazes me about these option quarterbacks who get beaten up so badly their hands get hit with helmets tom and they could still throw the ball with some touch and finesse as craig candido did there preston jackson made a swipe at it but couldn't quite get there in time and it's a first down for navy candido's hit two of two for 15 yards through the air on the triple option echo gets the carry and the full back turns out about four or five yards excuse me i'm sorry i i didn't uh at the top of the show we said we're gonna see vontez duff a lot at free safety thus far he's played his much more familiar corner position he's not really playing that free safety position you know the coaching staff said to us you know he's our best athlete best tackler and the free safety in the option against the option has to make a lot of tackles but but playing corner fumble the ball balls loose [Applause] [Music] we spoke with the kyle eckel about this option when the quarterback rides it into his belly and then either leaves it or takes it out and he fumbled that one and notre dame recovers well you're right tom he never knows when he opens those arms up whether the quarterback is going to give him the ball or not you know it's almost surprising you don't fumble it more but but they practice it so much the same plays over and over again i'm not sure that was on the exchange or whether a helmet hit him the guy who has a chance for a thousand-yard season clinton burrell number eight there making the play so burrell recovers the fumble and paul johnson in the midst turn it over here it is again pat so yeah he didn't know he's gonna get the ball it wasn't on the exchange it was just stripped i think it was by cedric hilliard who made the strip so the irish after the turnover take over at the 47th of navy play-action fake quinn in the pocket pass batted down incomplete this is one of the first games i've seen notre dame receivers really really open and that time brady had number 80 omar jenkins on a little crossing route wide open the middle a little tough when the when the navies put it on the ground and the the option is a high risk offense but they have much more success as you might imagine when they are turnover free well you know they have a small error for for uh margin of error when they play against a team like notre dame even notre dame at two and six has better athletes they just have to play a near perfect game coming to the six-minute mark first half at notre dame stadium here's julius jones looking for a block in the corner can't quite turn the corner taken down short of the 40-yard line does a real good job otherwise i think julius jones picks up another 10 15 yards fights off the block and maybe omar jenkins but eddie cartham in this 34 defense has thrived his first three years at the academy never intercepted a pass has four of them this year already also the leader on the team in sacks with three you know they play him all over sometimes he plays defensive end sometimes they play linebacker jones able to get six yards out of it making it third down and four [Applause] again it's julius jones so the high stepping his way toward the line of scrimmage and trying to power across that yellow line and looks like he's just short he'll be short of the first down now ty whittingham does he go for it here i think he's already made the decision to go for it and again i think i think with the size advantage you have to you know they've already missed two field goals it's kind of that weird area where you punt it or kick it you know this is a good opportunity to try to pick up the first in fact fitzpatrick now has missed three straight field goals going back to previous games after making four of his first six you know nick nick said i was having a great year for the irish before he got hurt so on fourth down fourth and one notre dame will go for it and a timeout taken by the irish with time running out took a little too long in the discussion to get the play in and they're forced to spend a timeout trailing navy by three notre dame 10-7 notre dame with a fourth and one at the navy 38. quinn hands it off to julius jones and he didn't make it navy holds again with wayne jackson the linebacker leading the charge for the midshipmen you know the charge is the good work it's so surprising they can't pick up that first down with the size advantage but a great play by jackson i think josh smith too number 33 was involved as well great linebacker play thus far watch up in here too that's smith i think kind of fighting off the fullback but forces him to go inside and then you know just kind of he made a play didn't he yeah wow he's just down on the ground he's 44 he's down to the ground momentarily but as you would expect from these navy guys just does not quit that is one determined play by lane jacks navy takes over on downs after the fake option candido is going for six throws into coverage and it's incomplete intended for wesley and he was triple covered by notre dame they weren't fooled by that one and ordinarily in the passing game they fool you and you have guys wide open by 20 or 30 yards but the play-action fake did not fool the irish defense can you see the scores oklahoma 77 nothing over texas a m they had lost to the aggies last year they took it personally obviously my guess is they beat the spread i'm not sure 10-6 in tennessee over miami as the volunteers come up with a big win further scrambling the bcs bowls and the one-loss teams appreciate it brandon courtney watson makes the play that time watson stopping candido for a loss spoke watson had a very good first half i mean you know they they gave up the one very long run to tony lane at 65 yards but but number 33 right in the middle of your screen is just making a lot of tackles inside like a running back he used to be and runs through and fights through traffic to make plays sets up a third down and 13. again this is the situation navy does not want to find itself in i think paul johnson would have loved to possess this ball through to halftime stopped with a navy timeout apparently it is a timeout taken by navy that i never saw the timeout signal the play was already underway but instead the midshipmen do get the timeout and it allows us to remind you that tomorrow at 2 eastern 11 a.m pacific here on nbc don't miss a special look back at the defining moments of this year's gravity games that's the gravity games tomorrow at 2 eastern 11 a.m pacific here on nbc you know tom we spent some time with paul johnson this week this week thursday as we said in annapolis really turned around to program that was one in 20 the prior two years see what he's done six and three this season leads the nation rushing with 310 yards and playing a lot of young guys the youngest in navy history 11 freshmen play and he said an interesting thing to us when he was talking to us down in annapolis pat that i hadn't really thought of we think of these navy as as very motivated very good academically good discipline wise good determined football players and he said but when you get right down to it they're just college kids college kids who want to win and uh so and we talked to a couple of them that uh that just seemed good college kids we said well you know what you do in your spare time we were expecting you to study calculus [Applause] and candido has to be careful if they choose to throw with the lead away from home in the pocket sacked by tuck balls loose and navy got it back and it could finally recover it but did you see nick wilson number 79 trying to get is like one of dante's nine stages of hell as he was trying to work his way back to that ball he just couldn't get there justin tuck the sack specialist was all over candido yeah what the night at the eighth of the year good inside move to tomahawk right now what's 79. he got [Music] takes a bit of a notre dame bounce and then a lateral bounce and is down after a 33-yard boot by skaggs navy clinging to the lead just under three minutes to go in the first half [Music] takes over with its best field position to start a drive all day long at their own 42-yard line and they've been sputtering since julius jones ran 48 yards for a touchdown on the average a couple yards per play there's a pass on first down to rim of the night and rhema takes it for a first down in front of frazier as quinn was on target there for 16 yards remember that same pass in the first quarter we under through the wide open mcknight that was a perfect throw by brady quinn got back got his feet set delivered the ball on time mcknight ran a deep square out for a you know really easy pitching catch in the first spot the ball in the navy 42 big old cushions for these wide receivers [Applause] quinn with a handoff to ryan grant grant might have lost the yard notre dame wanted they could run quick outs you know his five or six yard quick outs and let the receiver catch it run because they're getting 12-yard cushions by the defensive backs of navy but we assumed the notre dame game plan would be to pound it out with their bigger offensive line but you might have to adjust that thinking huh you know every time we see navy against notre dame it seems like it's the same kind of mismatch on paper and it never is when you get between the lines it's just incredible to me the determination of this of these navy players [Music] on second and 12. quinn spins away now he's going to run with it got a block from grant and crosses the 35 to the 34 where he's tackled by david mahoney yeah that's a good run by brady quinn one of the smart things he did he really secured the ball you know you see so many times quarterbacks out of their element when they start to scramble get hit and fumble but he had both arms around that football sets up at third and two for willingham and the irish under two minutes to go now in this first half maybe clinging to a three-point advantage buddy green trying to get his defense to rally which they did enough fourth and one earlier in the game [Applause] grant cuts back close to the first down we'll see where they spot it bring the chains out as we have a minute 20 to go in this first half navy leading notre dame 10-7 speculation about this game where the irish would be should they lose to navy you see it's about a foot short there's a lot of naval academy greg still complaining about a mark here was at 19. yeah he got a bad spot they sure did and they gonna go go for it again and fourth they are again this is you know if you have some pride in your offensive line this is where you stay low you just drive into the defensive lineman you've got them outsized and you give the ball of your tail back over the top if you have to for the first quarterback snake by quinn crossing the yellow line first down irish good quick count on the quarterback snake box stops to reset the chains and then it'll be restarted it shows a minute eight [Applause] that was interesting talking to brady quinn last week you're all excited about meeting joe montan meeting joe montana and he said yeah i can really remember joe montana when he played for kansas city couldn't even remember his san francisco 49ers he's so young [Applause] first down for the irish play-action fake quinn's in the pocket now chase from it and he's got some room down the sideline quinn rambling out of bounds at about the 20-yard line now marking at the 19 jeremy chase chased him out after a gain of 12. a good name for jeremy but you know brady quinn is actually running the ball better than we've seen him all year long securing it and doing the smart thing there getting out of bounds so two good runs by brady quinn this drive 43 seconds left there's a look at his rushing prowess today there's no doubt that brady quinn can develop into a really good quarterback at notre dame but they've got to help him in other ways in the receiving game and in the running game and if he has a balanced offense he could be a very good player he's in the shotgun here on first down from the 19. plenty of time finds the open man and it's clark and jared park out of bounds if brian grant doesn't block his guy brady quinn doesn't have a chance i mean there's 11 guys in the football team you don't watch the passers you watch the catchers but ryan rant number four there picks up the blitz and allows brady quinn to step up throw to a wide open jared clark derrick carter has been open a lot today steps out of bounds with 37 seconds on the clock second down and five from the 14-yard line of the midshipmen again in the gun blitz quinn got it back to clark he's to the four-yard line it'll be first and goal for the irish jackson the tackle and the eric's going to use one of their two remaining time mats jared clark has clearly made the transition to tight end don't you think tom yeah he told us yesterday he felt comfortable his tight end now the former quarterback now a tight end and made a key reception there first and goal irish when we return to notre dame stadium back at chile notre dame stadium notre dame trails by three and you know they're inside the five-yard line first and goal on the four they struggled desperately last week against florida state four times inside the 20 and no points [Applause] grant is the lone setback first and goal quinn flagged down it'll be against navy as jenkins and brazer were locked up and brazer will be called for the pass interference or hold one of the two [Applause] pass interference on the defense ball be placed on the two yard line first down okay here's omar jenkins in the radio who could have been holding or pass interference the ball is already in the air i actually thought it was more holding than passing it was catchable actually to be past interference well yeah he grabbed him nonetheless he couldn't get to the spot you're right you know with the athleticism of receivers these days there's almost no such thing as an uncatchable ball when these guys jump up and catch the ball everywhere long drive by the irish but still no points repeat first down this time from the two go to the other side and stovall can't hang on kelly and stovall and stovall could not hang on to the football in the corner of the end zone you know maurice stovall has such a size advantage at that 6'5 they've been trying for the last two years to kind of have him really get up and play some basketball here this is a good chance up high and a really good play by von kelly i think he got he just raked it out of there real strong play by kelly with his right hand just rips it away from maurice stovall so second and goal from the two 20 seconds left second quarter quinn going to try it again to mcknight touchdown they try at the jenkins they try at the stove all and then the third time they get right when they throw it to mcknight like brandon i don't think he would be impressed but yeah persistency though i mean that was a persistent play calling because bill diedrich the offensive coordinator called three straight face and the third time resulted in a touchdown [Applause] and you know good release by mcknight and you know he gave the quarterback plenty of room to throw the ball into the back corner of the end zone so there's a good tight split giving the quarterback an easier throw on the fade point after touchdown is good and notre dame was playing the lead just before halftime 14 seconds left until intermission the fade pass they were determined they were going to try it until it worked it did to raymond mcknight his third touchdown catch of the rece of the season you know and raymond mcknight is so relieved because it's just been it's been a tough year for the irish offense it's a tough year for mcknight even though he leads the team in receptions but the sophomore from los angeles was expecting to make a lot of those kinds of plays when he came here and he still has plenty of time to do it [Applause] so 14 seconds left and hurry up offense is not a navy specialty either no no i'm you know maybe notre dame's just squibbing run this thing out it's a good look at brady quinn who's uh his entire freshman year as a starter has actually looked very very poised we talk about the help that he needs in the running game but boy he has run the ball particularly well today in that time good throw to mcknight for the touch that was his sixth touchdown pass in his sixth game as a starter brady quinn candido his opposite number for navy what impressive guy craig candido is there's the scoring drive for the irish prior to that drive brady quinn had hit only two of eight for 26 yards but on that drive four of six 33 yards and a touchdown and a couple of good scrambles yeah fitzpatrick to kick off with mcgowan and hampton deep and they do kick it deep mcgowan [Music] twisted down at the 17-yard line good coverage by notre dame the special teams down in a hurry and carlos campbell who scored a touchdown on a fumble recovery earlier this season against boston college makes the play great candido as you say doesn't throw the ball much pretty accurately here though today imagine memory's game against army last year is incredible six rushing touchdowns threw for touchdowns he will always be a part of navy football lore he's going to take a knee here to bring the half to a close [Applause] but navy has come into notre dame stadium trying to break that 39-game losing streak and they've given the irish a battle though notre dame will go to the locker room in front let's go to lewis all right thanks so much coach i imagine you're not happy about giving up that last touchdown but evaluate your team's execution in the first half well we have an execute as well as we need to especially offensively we've got a short side there but we can't seem to get anything going we'll go and make a few adjustments and come out we're still in the game we haven't played as well as we can play so it's good that we're still in the game all right coach thank you tom all right louis so notre dame leads at halftime for just the second time this season they landed pitt and went on to win the game at halftime notre dame 14 navy 10. stay tuned for the lexus halftime show with jimmy roberts right after these messages and a word from your local nbc station ready for the second half and uh we thought it might be uh a war of attrition ball control instead we saw some big plays in the first half yeah a couple of big plays uh one for either either team you know notre dame kind of started off with julius jones and it was their second drive 48 yards after he breaks a tackle and then the thing about julius jones it only takes them what two steps or two strides to get the full speed they take take the lead which was tyrone willingham really wanted to do but navy answered as they usually do lane goes 65 yards off the pitch and we talked about all the different options they have you know they haven't run the fullback real well and the quarterback has been much of the factor but they've actually run the pitch pretty well and of course not a lot of passing yards on either side although the last drive by notre dame got brady quinn up in the numbers a little bit let's look at our halftime stats and uh in first downs notre dame with the advantage there a surprise to me is actually the time of possession when navy is really rolling and beating teams they're out possessing you know have three or four minutes advantage there for notre dame encouraging 172 yards rushing you know they've kind of struggled in that uh regard but when they've run the ball well in their two wins that's been the key to the win running the ball well so the irish getting a touchdown just before the end of the half to lead it they're making their reappearance right now and we're back for the second half kickoff in a moment lewis johnson back at notre dame stadium with ty willingham you just come out of the locker room what did you all talk about at the half coach well first of all we tried to talk to our football team about eliminating that stretch of right between the first quarter and the second quarter that we had of what i just call amazingly dumb football we had too many mistakes lack of concentration and if we can eliminate those stretches and play a much better second half we'll be okay now i can imagine clock management will be critical now here in the second half how do you manage that well one we've got to get the football and once we get it from them do something with it be productive control it and not let their offense back on the field all right coach good luck thank you tom all right louis it sounds like whatever coach willingham said he said in a forceful way at halftime since he's a little hoarse and incidentally this is the 75th anniversary of new rocney's win one for the gipper speech it'll be actually two days before it's the exact anniversary november 10th 1928 before the irish squared off against unbeaten army at yankee stadium in new york after uh george gibb had died eight years earlier 25 year old after contracting a throne infection that's when newt rockne said win one for the gipper and they did over unbeaten army 12-6 ronald reagan immortalizing that scene in the movies here's the kickoff mcgowan takes the fitzpatrick boot stutter steps broke a tackle and then driven forward with some help from his teammates to about the 27-yard line where he's finally stopped and frank candido will direct the offense now the navy offense has been in neutral since that big run by lane well you know you run the option uh attack that they do there's a couple of good things about it first of all you have to block all the defenders because you're obviously optioning off one sometimes two you don't need to have dominant offensive alignment because you're just kind of brush blocking and cut backing for the most time and the second thing the third thing is you don't really care what kind of defense you face you're gonna run your plays regardless of what the defense throws at you so there's some real advantages to it and the navy academy has really seized those echo the fullback gets the call and tuck was the first to hit him carolecko was kind of fun to talk with this week you know from south philly you know and that uniform couldn't hide the south field either you're absolutely right first things the first half 32 he gets there and he gets right back up even after he gets tackled he gets back up this time a nice little block a cut on the linebacker second thing and then he's gonna give him the ball let him do his thing a block up here and then he actually recovered the fumble on that was a hustling play here we are back live with lane ripping off another big run he's all the way up to the 45-yard line tony lane made it to the 44. it's a gain of 13. i just want to go back and show you the play watch echo down here ball fumble he just keeps us they teach you every time you get down get back up on your feet go to the ball and sometimes you're going to recover fumbles he did right there they were telling us that coach johnson requires that if you uh you get knocked to the ground get up and run to the ball and they say that even though we fumbled sometimes we recover the public because everybody's converging on the football candidate with a keeper on the option and gains perhaps three to bring up second down johnson sending the play in with one of his wide receivers emir jenkins paul johnson interesting one of what i think it's six division 1a coaches who never played college football been incredibly successful coaching college football played his high school career and then really just just got into coaching right after school as you mentioned earlier it won a couple of national championships one double a at georgia southern lane slowed down and then tackled at midfield [Music] that we called the name of montez often today yeah you're right and the other thing is we have not seen him at free safety at all you know craig candida we were talking to him uh this week and saying how his parents come to all the football games mom rosie dad larry there they are there they are right there's dad there's mom mom's a physical education teacher he's dead takes his driver's ed you know you know we asked greg have you ever gotten a speeding ticket [Applause] i could pull it over once but stuttered around a little bit on the give to eckel on the option driving his way forward just short of the first down it would appear justin tuck again makes the tackle navy is converted only one of six third downs that would be the seventh and uh looks like they did not convert that one you know that was one of those runs where kyle michael just got hit about four or five six different times just kind of kept the legs moving and you know he he's kind of all full back you know he's playing best when his shirts out he's got some dirt the grass in his helmet he takes one to the hip there then gets by courtney watson then there's brandon hoyt and there's two other blue jerseys i mean it was five different guys that had a shot of echo you know he said one of the reasons i came to the to the naval academy was to play against notre dame right said you know i know we hadn't had much success but but i wanted to play at notre dame against the irish and once again navy will go for it on fourth down they've been successful one out of the previous two fourth and in the guard candido ducks ahead has the first down he's to the 45-yard line of the irish it's hard to believe that craig candido has survived for four years as an option quarterback because he just gets pumped i mean he's getting hit so much it also staggers me to be able to throw the ball so effectively you see that the right shoulder and the right arm he's got a pad right over his right bicep there looks like and it's it's because he takes so many helmets to that right arm his passing arm here's the pitch roberts up ended what a play that time by garen bible you're right garen bible ran right through the block or the supposed block of amir jenkins number 17 up fights here the block makes attack now if jenkins number 17 makes that block there's a big alley for the run bible was burned on lane's touchdown run earlier that time he makes the play despite a blocker right in his face second down to nine candido fakes and will try to pass chased and sacked tuck was the first to hit him and then watson put the finishing touches on [Music] those two guys in spite of the irish record justin tuck and courtney watson and both had good years here's tuck here's watson getting he comes off either corner sometimes in the blind side that's where he caused the fumble earlier that time he was in the quarterbacks with the quarterback and see him avoided him but then he chased him right into courtney watson [Applause] so third down and 18. [Applause] play clock to two one just got it away and nothing there for eccles stopped in his tracks well cedric hilliard tom you got those 22 inch biceps size 18 shoes planted all over echo still a little gimpy it looks like as he runs off the field with that high ankle sprain yeah he's always moving forward but i'll tell you you can't go too far forward i think that may be the third only the third running play where he's lost yardage all year long great play by hilliard skaggs with a nice looking punt to duff who feels it at the 10. got away from the first man and the second and then buried by white jerseys at the 15-yard line five-yard return of a 43-yard punt and notre dame takes over 9 52 left third quarter the irish leading navy by four [Music] it was dedicated in a game against navy october 11 1930 as notre dame beat navy 26-2 you're full of historical footnotes today tom thank you very much is that all that late-night studying i did last night couple yards on first down good play up front defensively by ralph henry getting playing time for the midshipman kind of a slow start for brady but ian in that last drive since that start four of five 33 yards and a touchdown pass to mcknight another offensive lineman down for notre dame last week against florida state they had three different offensive linemen go down at one point this is jamie ryan he's filling in for dan stevenson all just tangled up maybe it looks like he's okay and speaking of offensive linemen young ones ryan harris the freshman from st paul we spoke with him yesterday what an impressive young man he was yeah number 68 you know a true freshman got thrown in a few weeks ago and he told us in eighth grade his social studies teacher introduced him to uh the islamic faith actually said he was asleep and woke up and you know he's a practicing muslim on a catholic campus interesting guy oh man wow what a defensive play he made that time by carmen he could have taken the handoff it looked like he was he called his number and the absolute shot out of a cannon with eddie carton up here at the top [Applause] and then it's unbelievable there's no chance absolutely no lucky there wasn't a fumble yeah so julius jones who took the hit is out and ryan grant is in and it's third and 17. [Music] from the shotgun brady quinn pressure got it away but incomplete not even close and he goes down under the rush from jeff vanick from his defensive end spot and we're just talking about ryan harris number 68 what a bright future he has what a great guy he is before the defensive lineman just got right to his ins inside vanick and one more time brady quinn gets knocked down good defensive series by navy you know in the last offensive series even though they didn't score they ran off five minutes of the clock and so their defense got all that rest and allows their defense maybe to play a little bit better late in the third game the third quarter and in the fourth quarter fitzpatrick running from his own end zone to tomlinson short cut [Applause] out of bounds wow this will give navy great field position at about the irish 40-yard line it's only a 32-yard punt and here's the pressure right in here then it gets right by ryan harris and there's just no way to take care of your quarterback willingham could use some of those false fruit breezes navy takes over at the notre dame 40-yard line and if the midshipmen are going to end that 39-year losing streak they need to score on this possession with excellent field position candido keeps and twists his way toward a first down quentin burrell tackled him i'm not sure if that was a broken play or it was intended to go that way well they do have an option where he fakes the fullback and just kind of follows him into the hole and you know he has such good vision and a feel for the hole and that time he just kind of faked out cedric kelly cedric harrier was used to getting hit by the fullback that time he was looking right into the eyes of craig candido gain of 10 in a navy first down his best run today again chewing up the clock pitch roberts hit hard spun down by burrell and watson but another good game for navy on first down you know these these slot backs for navy do such good work in a variety of ways you know roberts made the nice run but tony lane number 21 who ran for 65 yards for a touchdown earlier on threw a great block i mean you have to block they catch they run and that was a real nice lead block by tony [Music] lightko in the defensive line for notre dame second down and three option keep candido first down [Applause] monday night at 8 7 central on nbc don't miss a wild new fear factor followed by the hot new drama las vegas get in on the action monday night eight seven central on nbc talk about uh fear factor notre dame nation fearing now that if navy beats them in fact it was written by one columnist this week that uh if notre dame loses to navy tyrone willingham is finished there's a long way to go from here to there but navy is doing exactly what they want in the second half and that is really winning possession game echo bouncing off tigers pounding inside the five yard line down to the three would you say pounding you are right i mean kyle eckel from south philly one of those guys he's just such a guy when we talked to him yesterday just said he loves football so much and he loves the physical part he says when i give me the ball i make one cut try to make the first guy miss and then i just run over somebody closing in on a thousand yard season five times he's rushed for over a hundred yards this year that one was 16 yards it's first and goal from the three [Applause] move that'll cost him five yards yeah and as we said navy's the kind of team that everything has to be clicking and they can't afford you know poor first down plays and penalties to the snap false start on the offense five yards first down you talked about tyron willingham he is under duress from a lot of quarters tom and you know for the first time we talked to him yesterday he kind of said hey you know i realize that i feel it i'm very much aware of it and i'm going to be judged by wins and losses and we haven't won enough games so put the ball back at the eight yard line after the penalty make it first and goal from the eighth here's a pitch a straight pitch this time to lane he's to the five yard line tackled by justin tuck [Applause] having a pretty good game you're right you know you think of him justin tucked so much as a pass rusher he's had two good pass rushes today but he's become a much better run player right down here number 44 fighting through you know kind of a quick slip block by the tackle and justin duck from playing with a really sore shoulder pretty much most of the season a real bright spot on a dismal season for the irish second and goal from the five options [Applause] paul johnson said to louis johnson that we were going to make some adjustments at halftime well they made something and and echo is getting the ball much more than he did in the first half what about that shirt tail out yeah that's when he starts but you get a shirt tail out you get you know some blood on you you get a little dirt in your helmet and again they're doing something now to allow him a little bit more freedom inside to get some momentum and then he just kind of powers through a couple irish defenders to the end zone point after from ralph's candida holes kick on its way and good you know two good opening drives for the midship in this this half one took five minutes this one ended up in a touchdown echoes barges in after they had the good field position to start the drive and they capitalize on it with a touchdown and quarterback craig candidos paris applaud the navy lead 17-14 40-year jinx against the iris they've lost 39 in a row and maybe they will break the charm this year i noticed that touchdown jesus still signaling touchdown or perhaps field goal despite your comment of a week ago that he's lowered his arms nice scoring drive there 40 yards and two good series for the midship in this half sort of a little pop-up kickoff taken on the fly by matt shelton [Applause] and notre dame will get it right beyond the 30-yard line yeah so the short kickoff works in notre dame's favor last year notre dame led navy 9-7 at the half and then navy scored 16 points in the third quarter look at the time of possession here in this third quarter again navy doing exactly what what they do is they all possess you and then more importantly they scored a touchdown i mean you know you just get two or three more fewer opportunities as an offense so you know you have to really be judicious about the play calling and execution quinn with a fake and a roll to his left and on target to clark knocked down at midfield and notre dame this is a big test for this young notre dame team if they can answer navy here you know he has been wide open i say he jared clark number one about five times on this exact same route one time he was underthrown and then a couple times uh brady quinn couldn't get him the ball but bill did keeps coming back to it just like he kept coming back to the fade by the goal line but jared clark on that crossing route makes his third catch of the day forward quarterback at cardinal mooney high school in sarasota and a quarterback at notre dame before being switched to tight end julius jones spinning away from one tackler and lowering his head a nice determined run by julius jones who has gained over 100 yards today eli sanders the safety the tackle well for manic indiana number 33 josh smith doesn't miss many tackles leading tackler on the team but you know julius jones jones in the open field makes uh a lot of people miss how many people you tell me he had at the games at n60 and kind of only has about three thousand yeah no traffic connecticut today jones with a seam he burst her to the 30-yard line tackled again by sanders but not before a big gain by julius jones good blocking and he was through that hole in a nano second you're right maybe quicker than that jamie ryan number 51 the right guard does a real good job of blocking right through here the hole watch as he got molinero number seven he kind of seals his guy off jamie ryan pulls and hits his man big crease there for julius jones so just inside the 30-yard line and already inside the final five minutes of the third quarter julius jones picking his way forward for a short game notre dame keeps this drive going they've seen navy come back to take the lead and now they're trying to answer tom just kind of want to finish the story a little bit about ryan harris you know as he came here as a practicing muslim you know tyrone willingham really you know told him about some resources here in south bend where he might feel a little bit more comfortable and uh he has he felt very comfortable even though as we know it's an irish or a catholic campus but uh he found his way here very well and he's gonna turn out to be a great offensive lineman and of course awkward moments sometimes these days in these times as josh smith the walk on full back makes the reception tackled by von kelly and just to wrap it up with ryan harris awkward moments in these times for those of the muslim faiths sometimes and he said the islam that he practices he believes in is an all-accepting faith and that what the kind that espoused by the terrorists is something completely different that he doesn't understand at all he's he's an impressive well-spoken young man incredibly impressive and you know ramadan you know poses [Music] a few obstacles a few weeks ago you have to fast from sun up to sun down and we had his own special ways of observing rashon powers neal with his first carry of the game the full back you know tom you mentioned hey this is an important series to see how they respond plus bar they've responded pretty well you know running the ball throwing the ball and you saw joss smith catch that ball in the flat eighth catch of the year in the fullback position expect that the west coast office those full backs catching the ball in the in the flats the tight ends getting worked in we've seen that from jared clark second and seven from the navy 12. [Applause] hand it to joe julius jones using his blockers in for the touchdown [Applause] [Music] the freshman brady quinn directing an impressive drive by the irish julius jones with the finishing touch and now the point after it's patrick from krieger's hole and it's good you know it's a good offensive series for julius jones but tom a great offensive series for the offensive line for notre dame and the wide receivers doing fullbacks blocking right here the fullback powers kneel and mcknight number five does his job allows julius jones to do what he does so well get to the outside use that strength and speed to get into the corner of the end zone but that was a really good series for the offensive line jones 31 yards on three carries in that drive notre dame back in front [Music] let's go back to the touchdown moment ago by julius jones watch his right foot it steps out of bounds now you can't tell where the ball is but he's out there i think it's just short of the pylon another look at it right foot out i think the ball short should have been out about maybe uh the half yard line one yard line but i don't think that was a touchdown tom so the irish get a break and believe it or not pat the seven points in the third quarter by notre dame today is a season high shocking shocking prior to that td the irish had been outscored 51-15 five field goals in the third quarter this season and out of bounds on the fitzpatrick kickoff so navy will get it at the 35-yard line giving us time to call on the screaming fan of the game the halls fruit freezers screaming fan of the game oh nice costume but good young not enthusiastic what do you think [Music] [Applause] if they haven't won yet they should [Applause] [Applause] navy got it back but garen bible made a play wow that's two this half garrett bible has made one he fought off a block that time he came cleanly and the ball popped out i think candido went right into candido's arms down here and you know the second time jenkins number 17. he's gotta block him yeah he just quipped on him but yeah paul johnson the head coach is gonna the tape tomorrow when they watch tape tomorrow he's gonna get on emir jenkins for missing that block four fumbles by navy today but again run to the football they've lost only one of them remarkable it's amazing what hustle can do [Applause] is he a prototypical fullback he is an old-time football player a throwback player the jersey is out he was saying that you know he's a big john riggins fan looking for a poster of john riggins to kind of hang up into in his room but you know the shirt out just kind of powering through guys these days you don't see those power full backs much anymore you think all around the country other college full of acts saying oh man i'd like to carry the 100k option again catch on the corner oh roberts is thrown back again it's bible with help from beckstrom and help from burrell there were all sorts of blue jerseys around in that time yeah that's what you want all sorts of blue jerseys around the ball carry but but jason beckstrom i think nine number nine did a terrific job all these guys up top they're just fighting off blocks good play for the corners really you know much more a tackling game for the corners today than the covering game so skaggs with the punt and vontez duff that's a flag down the illegal block in the back he's got a touchdown but he's going to be called back maybe not maybe not touchdown but it looked like an illegal block in the back just as doug fielded the ball one would assume it's going to come back brazer saved the touchdown but the flag will nullify the huge return of 50 yards you know that we did we were talking earlier in the game tom about what a you know great year he had a year ago in the return game as a punt and a kicker haven't seen the flash this year that was the first time yeah you make that first guy miss see alec number 24. no no i don't think he really pushed him i think he took his hands off i don't think that was a penalty but here's the flat that was a clean block there so i don't know where it was wasn't anything that i've seen thus far but you know the first time he made the first guy mix missed they had a wall set up they called it an lx but i don't think he blocked him in the back all right so with 30 seconds left in the third we'll take a break notre dame's ball when we come back 21-17 [Music] let's go back to that uh right now here's alex the punt return there he gets his right hand in the back now the official on the other side sees the right hand and he's going to call that now again i think it's ticky tack but that's what the official sees and he calls the penalty and the nullifies [Music] there's no question [Music] josh schmidt in it fullback as we start this series julius jones is the tailback it begins from the notre dame 12 with 30 seconds left in the third quarter [Applause] jones trying to turn the corner and twist it down at the 10-yard line that'll be a loss on the play as frazier came up from the corner to maybe the hit on julius jones is he a good tackler and this is an important season i mean a series for navy tom you know 21-17 down by four keeping this game close in the fourth quarter is the way they're going to win they need to force a punt here by notre dame razor end carpet number 56 both are stretching that play out and the play by brazier will bring the third quarter to a close notre dame will face a second and 12 when we start the fourth quarter at the end of three at notre dame stadium notre dame 21 navy 17. and we'll return to notre dame right after these messages from your local nbc station just the second time in the last 14 games notre dame on top heading to the fourth quarter you see three touchdowns there tom they only had 10 offensive touchdowns coming in today's game so it's been a good offensive performance thus far from their 10-yard line the irish were the second and 12 in a handoff julius jones josh smith once again in front of those fans from attica indiana a couple he should have been blocked i can't remember which wide receiver missed josh smith but they had a clean shot at just run in the alleys we talked about that and you know a good not a punishing tackler but when he hits you you're ultimately going to go down that looks like one of those bull riders or something wrestling down or calf rope you know nothing the bull riding he's going to go just that's the way he's segueing into that good lead third down and 12. from the shotgun quinn chased got it away diving catch made but only gained a couple yards lamar jenkins josh smith you know just forced to punch without i mean again came in cleanly on the blitz the play priory makes a nice tackle watch at the top of it here he comes not by getting too far for number four ryan grant to go and so brady quinn has no chance of making a completion for a first down great design by buddy green the defensive coordinator great execution by smith [Applause] fitzpatrick from his own end zone have i said that before it's about the third time in the game did high snap nearly blocked yeah yeah tomlinson runs up and fumbles the ball and i i think maybe got it back [Music] i think a navy player was clipped 36-yard punt it's gonna be against notre dame it's gonna be a hold against notre dame you know the guy rushing to punter number two and it was lamar owens number two got held [Applause] and clipped to the back and they're gonna make him punt it again that's unusual because they would have had the ball at the uh you can decline it right on the offense watch one goal fourth down you're going to see number two who's rushing for navy owens right here just get tacked look he didn't hurt his right knee there yikes the navy would have had the ball at the notre dame 45-yard line they're going to make notre dame put it again why i don't know why he just didn't didn't uh there was owens declining he had great field position unless you think only the hold prevented the block it appears huh you're right so tomlinson now standing uh at about the 45. here's owens again right there deeper in the end zone this time did you just say that deep in the end zone [Applause] sends it on its way and this one a better punt but still low-line drive and a fair quest taken by tomlinson at the 39 so it did work out taking the penalty only a 34-yard punt in great field position for the midshipman tomorrow at 4 eastern 1 pacific nbc presents you ready for this the 2003 bbr built forked up world finals yes bull wrestling don't miss chris shivers as he battles two thousand pounds of nature's fiercest beast there's a million-dollar prize estate passed yep it's bull riding tomorrow at four eastern one pacific on nbc i thought i was kidding didn't you no i knew you weren't candido keeps tries to put on a move and shakes a tackler he's down to about the 27-yard line in a navy first down clinton burrell made the saving tackle but not until candido kept for 13 yards he may not be as fast an athlete as zero is on the team but you can't be more determined than craig candido is roger steinbeck was talked to us earlier in the game howie he really likes this kid there's a lot to like about both on the football field and off good student 3.0 and economics and two sports star 370 hitter in baseball he's keeping it again candido banging ahead to the 16-yard line another navy first down abby and miri the tackle for notre dame grew up in florida dreamed as a young boy of being a gator nobody was telling us florida football fan deland high school he was the 6a mr baseball in the state of florida all-state in both football and baseball wants to be a pilot fly jets he's the winner of the 2003 thompson trophy which goes to the navy athlete that promotes varsity athletics and he wins it again next year next spring he'll be only the third in navy history to do that the first two winners e.w miles who went into 1918 actually three of them before him miles in 1918 roger stahlbach and the admiral david robinson to a pretty select company wouldn't it be yeah absolutely and he's the favorite to do so well in this year his candido and his midshipman friends are thinking about a win here at notre dame stadium they've beaten air force and if they can beat army later in the year the first commander-in-chief's trophy since 1981 eckel still turning a tough two yards to the 15. his own number 50 cedric hilliard from notre dame kind of picking himself up again that's his guy the fullback he and echo are dating this afternoon he said you know when echo gets that ball he didn't get the ball because i'm going to hit him that's my job to hit the fullback interesting talking to both teams pat as we did the mutual respect that they have for each other and navy has it for army too they're such fierce rivals but they uh they're sort of brothers and arms there but they have the same sort of respect for notre dame candido passes wide open but he fell down it was amir jenkins he had a touchdown nobody between he and the goal line but the momentum of the past took him to his backside at about the two you know paul johnson the the the head coach and offensive coordinator is just so clever in his play calling i mean he forces you to defend those first three options right but they have the fourth that you forget about sometimes and that's the pass well almost tipped still it's first and goal spot the ball at just about the one one-yard line first and goal navy keeper candido and mark short of the goal line it was number 46 corey mays who hit him first abby murray number 95. [Applause] paul johnson you know they got the full back they've run well in the second half first half they had the pitch you know the quarterbacks come alive the second half and then the fourth one the pass almost for the touch inside the one second and goal keep again there's candido oh and a penalty that's a false start that's going to cost navy five yards well you know they had a couple of false starts inside the five [Applause] a team that's so disciplined i think it's the second one i've seen inside the five [Applause] look at the expression on candido's face too is he turned around in frustration so now it's second down and goal but the ball is at the six yard line notre dame expects option candido handed it to the fullback echo burrowing and close but not in that that was quite a run by kyle eckman in a neat little call by paul johnson kind of a you know almost an inside trap play that time to echo the eyes you know yet it almost took it out the great vision of craig frandia candido you think about they're making good decisions as a passer and the option a quarterback has to make great decisions in the run game third down and goal one yard line handoff to eckel touchdown [Applause] [Music] kyle eckel again powers his way into the end zone and now the point after attempt from eric ralph's [Music] [Applause] it's up and it's dead center fifth lead change today you know that guy thank goodness guys at the academy don't ever quit give up i mean almost a fourth snap that candido didn't get but once again we set it over a determined run by echo gets the ball in the end zone and a very very happy quarterback and navy up by three with under 10 to play simon at notre dame stadium 9 53 to go navy park trying to break a 39-game losing streak to notre dame and leading the irish 24-21 with 9 53 to play well this option is just devilish to try to defend and you know paul johnson's team has used all four of the available options that we showed at the very beginning of the broadcast rolf's kickoff [Applause] juventus [Applause] move and then stopped at the 25-yard line one in three of the last six meetings notre dame required some late-game horrors to preserve this 39-game win streak in 97 the irish needed this audrey denson five yard touchdown run to beat navy 21-17 99 36 seconds remaining jarius jackson to jane johnson for the winning score and last year the irish scored 15 unanswered in the fourth quarter winning on carl holliday's 67-yard touchdown pass to omar jenkins you know what tom 9 48 remain in this ball game and this defense has not been on the field much this half because the offense has done a great job of possessing the ball play action fake brady quinn lost it through the hands of the intended receiver who is mcknight the time of possession is oftentimes not a key factor but but look in the second half and so what you have is not only a lead a very fresh midship and defense mcknight has been open all day on this he's caught one this is a drop and one time they missed it how do you account for so many drop passes well all season they've dropped they've been dropping all season but you know such a big cushion they can continue to run look at the big cushion there continue to run that out trying to turn the corner julius jones using his blockers effectively he has a first down close to the 42-yard line that's why you don't throw the out every down because you've got 22 back there julius jones you hand him the ball 17-yard gain on that one jones exceeded 100 yards rushing in the first half today he just kind of keeps piling on he's been really good on this stretch play good block by omar jenkins number 80. i talked to some of the coaches last week about omar jenkins is that whatever we ask omar jenkins to do he'll do it no catch over the middle block play special teams julia jones now gained 147 yards today thank to him quinn fires complete jenkins holds on twisted out of bounds at the 48 yard line it's close to the first down marker von kelly was defending omar jenkins from blocker to receiver omar jenkins it is a first down never you know not a lot of flash out of this guy but boy he's just one of those dependable receivers that a quarterback can encounter defensive coordinator buddy green calling his signals as notre dame has a pretty good drive going they've advanced the ball into navy territory now [Applause] jones jones showing his tackle breaking ability and his speed he has a first down to the 35-yard line smith and sanders the safeties prevented the touchdown you know he's got such good acceleration in the hole we've seen it in the open field where he outruns people but you know if you just let him get started and not get you know tackled or hit at the very beginning of the run but he finishes runs so well he's had so many good games as you saw against the naval academy they'll give it to him again and he bursts free biting off huge chunks of yardage now another notre dame first down riding the back of julius jones and bobby mclaren number 51 the inside linebacker for navy making the stop you know way after the first down there's mclaren playing with a broken hand a little earlier watch the big push by the offensive line big crease right there walk by there by morton jamie ryan [Applause] first down play again it's julius jones he's to the 20-yard line [Applause] mclaren bobby mclaren number 51 again making that tackle and you know we were talking to buddy green yesterday about mclaren he just says you know this guy just makes plays that you don't think are possible burn in the air broke his hand played with a big club on his hand they called it the club he had a it was a boxing glove covered with hard plastic playing now with a softer that's his left hand it's still taped up but they missed three games blocked a pass against air force with that club [Applause] jones he's been the workforce on this drive and he has responded he is again close to a first down eli sanders again forced to make the tackle as the defensive secondary making the tackles now as the offensive line is blowing people off the ball and then a big collision there between mclaren and the full bag rashaan powers kneel powers neal the lead blocker in that eye formation and bobby mclaren just could not get through the full-backs block he's out for three games and he said you know i was just going crazy i just did not know what to do with myself when i couldn't play football third down in the yard quinn keeps follows his blockers feet chopping and close to the first down i think he crossed that yellow line we'll [Applause] well west point dude i think probably a lot of chopping going on there by the plagues that's what brady quinn did right there [Applause] that plebe summer is what uh gets their attention as as several of them told us this week 50 yards on five carries this drive for julius jones here's the ninth play after the brady quinn first down mixed up quinn keeps it [Applause] hit at the 10-yard line what went wrong there but obviously it was a foul but you know he did did the smart thing and as soon as he you missed that handoff just run where he was supposed to be or supposed to run and hopefully there's still a hole there that's the point of attacking the blocking so you try to take advantage of it huh indeed inside the 20 twice today and responding with two tds julius jones only four yards short of 200 here he is and you can uh subtract some yardage from his total now well they were ready for him vanick and brazier came up jackson was there too lots of white shirts well maybe the most important down in 39 years for the navy defense or flipping over the notre dame offense because with 544 if you notre dame may not see the ball again the way navy possesses it on offense so an absolutely critical down for brady quinn in his irish offense and interesting julius jones now out of the game ryan grant in at tailback he's the better receiver and he's been a very good pass blocker it's third down and eight from the shotgun blitz coming quinn for the end zone overshot his man who's wide open it was jenkins yeah and jenkins is kind of kicking the ground yeah kicking the tuba because he was open and those are the plays you just have to make in situations like this right down here in a little corner out front of the end zone back of the end zone just a little bit too much air and again you said it last week you got to keep the ball in play right keep the ball in the field of play so on fourth down it's a fitzpatrick field goal attempt 30 yards he missed from 51 and 43 earlier [Applause] 30-yard attempt on its way and it is up and it is good fitzpatrick with a field goal to tie the game at 24. [Music] bit finished coming up here at notre dame stadium with 5 10 remaining the fitzpatrick field goal has made it a 24-24 game willingham says let's get after it tie game [Music] two ties five lead changes no more than seven points is separated navy and notre dame today and with 510 remaining it's [Applause] look at 24-24 navy one of only three schools to have never played in an overtime game unbelievable we see one today north texas tulsa and navy mcgowan and hampton deep to receive the fitzpatrick kick [Applause] this is hampton nice forum tackle made there on special teams as we take a look at our adt defensive play of the game you know this was a terrific play he was holding in the game and julius jones so just a moment ago julius jones on a second down play just got absolutely drilled by about five white jerseys and that was the biggest play of the defensive game uh thus far after he had had such a great driving gain over 50 yards on the drive too so is he over 200 mark noise at 194. that took him back yeah the lost yardage so navy takes over at the 27 yard line candido swarmed under number 60 for notre dame daryl campbell just as soon as the ball was snapped shane todd the center had no chance i mean he knew the snap count it looked like well watch right in here he got that rolling start i mean i get lucky there wasn't a fumble and then tuck got a piece on him despite being blocked by eckel still two-yard gain for candido lucky to have made that option candido to the 35-yard line it's going to be third down and a couple of yards for navy and the way paul johnson calls a game he may be thinking i've got two downs to get these two yards boy i don't know at that spot on the field well i i know four minutes left in the game you may not get it back well first you worry about third down right yeah [Applause] the play is in from the sideline third down and two change of the play at the line and candido calls timeout it's a good timeout it's a good judicious use of his time use of his timeouts because he had all three got him out of a bad play that's what his coach says he does all the time they'll talk it over on the sideline third down coming up [Music] led by heisman trophy winner roger stahlbach it was 1963 the last time navy beat notre dame they've played every year since and the irish have won every time it's tied here at 24 and navy has a third and two once again critical time for a false start twice inside the five and you know with under four minutes the game false start on the offense five yards third down so now the task becomes more difficult third and seventh it's both guards moving early again boy now as we say when they had the big plays it's dangerous to give it to your fullback you get seven yards but the big plays have come in the perimeter on the pitch candida rolling to pass throwback they've got the first down out of bounds is jenkins after picking up the navy first down paul johnson again to his bag of tricks it goes for 17 yards isn't that a thing of beauty i mean it's terrific you know it doesn't have to be a bomb down the field to be an effective play you know in comes amir jenkins number 17 who usually lines up wide this time he lines up as a tight end easy throw for candido away from all the flow and a first down beautiful call and execution now from their own 48 clock down to 343 candido running up and down the line to change the play five seconds to snap it got it off pitch lane six yards before burrell knocked him out again from notre dame and kent bear the defensive coordinator he knows the way that that navy possesses the ball our offense may not get the ball back so we can't allow them to get in position to attempt a field goal timeouts left you see right down here notre dame has all three navy with two there's kent bear the defensive coordinator they need a negative play candido option to echo courtney watson and others throwing him back okay when kyle eckel goes into the locker room today he's going to take off his jersey number 32 and then an imprint on his shoulder patch he's going to see number 33 because courtney watson has tackled him every time he's touched the ball we're hitting him every time and to repeat what you said earlier the idea is to tackle him whether he has the ball or not yeah you know they don't know exactly and he doesn't know he's getting it or not third down and four candido again changes the play option pitch slipped down roberts lost his footing and looked like he was about to be tackled anyway by bible yeah bible you know he got burned in the one long run the bible since that play has played the option pretty well number 26 in blue fights off the wide receiver block you know he forced him to cut inside that's why he slipped but he was forced inside because of the play of bible lost a yard it's fourth down and five you know i think they should punt the ball here i think if they get the game into overtime they right now they have a better kicking game and they're going to punt it so johnson prolonged the suspense for a while put teams out play clock kicking away one to go and they got it away a high snap skags duff surrounded escaped momentarily then taken down at the 15-yard line seven yard return of a 40-yard punt and notre dame will take over at its own 16-yard line in a tie game with 154 left and a freshman quarterback at the helm yeah you know brady quinn probably had lots of wins late in the game in his high school career in dublin ohio a different scenario here and a thing here with plenty with 154 remaining in all three timeouts you can still run the football and run it successfully they have with julius jones approaching 200 yards on the ground yeah because he can gobble up 20 and 30 yards at a time it is to jones trying to turn the corner and has some room cut back jones a nine-yard run on first down should be at the line of scrimmage vanick the tackle for navy [Applause] they are at the line of scrimmage and ready to go is brady quinn the freshman runs the hurry up offense from the shotgun quinn stands in the pocket now runs away and flips it complete short pass to jones who does have the first down that'll stop the clock momentarily the one thing that brady quinn has done better today than we've seen the last few but he has not forced the ball they bring in ryan grant a little better receiver out of the backfield [Applause] that's another great day for julius jones against david his final appearance against the midshipman the navy's happy about that from the 27 first down quinn lines up and is hit just as he releases it by josh smith just smith he was so good you know he tried to go the easy route on the outside and the blitz that was taken away so then he took takes the hard route inside clovers a couple of irish club gets clobbered by his guy lane and then you know lucky brady quinn didn't fumble this ball what a game josh smith has had you know he watched a bunch of tape of him tom and he was around the ball seemingly every time the opponent had a ball too slow to play at a division one school as a running back after setting all sorts of records here in indiana found his niche at navy box stopped at a minute nine second down play quinn swings pass blockers in front to julius jones jones dodging his way ducks out of bounds he's at the 33-yard line vaughn kelly escorted him out of bounds stops the clock in a minute three just another way of trying to get julius jones in the open field little swing pass they haven't been terribly successful doing that this year but got him in the open field did a nice job of getting the ball out of bounds but critical third down now for brady quinn third down and three [Applause] three wide receivers julius jones the setback give it to jones he's got the first down and jones off to the races down to the 45-yard line first down notre dame eli sanders tackled him there the clock stops as they move the chains jones continues to add to that rushing total lifts off 200 yards plus today 214 214 and 31 carries 52 seconds quinn first down pass slant route to grant he has it at midfield tackled by mclaren and notre dame takes the time out their first time out of the second half stops the clock with 42 seconds remaining 24-24 in the iris driving now in navy territory with 42 ticks left back at notre dame where it's time for our xerox new way to look at it replay yeah eddie carpenter number 56 this was in the earlier in the ball game it just did everything right on that play almost intercepted the handoff our xerox new way to look at it replay another good game for their co-captain second down and three for notre dame ryan grant in the backfield brady quinn is in the shotgun it's the bubble screen set up and mcknight is down to the 30-yard line tackled by eli sanders and again that's what the irish have not did much of getting mcknight the ball and letting him run after the catch from the 30-yard line now first down notre dame clock shows 30 seconds quinn plenty of time pass over the head of grant incomplete 27 seconds remaining dj fitzpatrick their kicker has a long field goal of 38 yards this year so that makes them they'd have to get to the 21-yard line to match that 38-yard susan a little bit out of his range right now brady quinn started the game hitting only two of nine but he's found his rhythm since then 12 of 18 101 yards and a touchdown he's thrown the ball pretty well he's run the ball pretty well and he's controlled the game very well julius jones back in the backfield for the irish no interceptions for quinn today he's in the shotgun to jones turning the corner cutting back and tackled inside the 25-yard line by smith and the irish take time out they'll have one left [Music] nicholas setter remains sidelined by injury so fitzpatrick has had his problems there's a block by florida state and then today he missed his first two although this one was from 50 yards missed another before finally connecting third time the charm in that case and while setta walks the sideline fitzpatrick contemplates what might be a game-winning field goal he's the walk-on kicker who could get the chance to win it for the irish and i don't think there's anything you can't say or should save the kicker just just stay away from him let his let him think his own thoughts 20 seconds left the full moon rising over the rim of notre dame stadium a lunar eclipse set for the east coast tonight and perhaps that long winning streak will be eclipsed too right now notre dame doing their best to win it before it might go to overtime [Applause] well one thing at third and four we said as long as his 38 net means from the 21-yard line so it's a little bit longer than that but i expect a play to julius jones perhaps over the left side if he doesn't get the first maybe closer to dead center in the middle of the field jones has averaged seven yards of carry today here he is again center of the field inside the hashes smith the tackle short game and fourth down yeah to let the clock run down to about three four seconds and call the final timeout and there it is and fitzpatrick [Applause] taking his warm-up kicks from granger indiana walk-on kicker thrust into the action by the injury to nicholas setta one of the best kickers in college football and now fitzpatrick will get a chance to win it for notre dame and keep the long winning streak against navy alive it's 39 straight and fitzpatrick will line it up with five seconds left 40-yard attempt which would be his career longest indeed so high drama here between these two respectful rivals in navy the long long long losing streak to notre dame they played their hearts out as they always do and now they can only kneel and watch on the other sideline notre dame desperately in need of a victory of any kind high drama here at notre dame stadium [Music] [Applause] fitzpatrick missed from 51 missed from 43 made a 30 yarder this one 40 yards to win the game [Applause] gonna ice him they call their second timeout [Applause] so tyrone willingham calling his special teams over candido you seem linking arms here in the last time navy beat notre dame 1963 roger staubach's heisman trophy season he connected twice with pat donnelly for touchdowns he hit him with an eight-yard pass and as we talked to roger earlier he mentioned too that this pitch the navy won it 35 to 14 and they have not won since they played every year 39 straight games against the irish that ncaa record for consecutive losses versus one opponent and now it's come down to a 40-yard field goal attempt by a notre dame walk-on place kicker and tom you know we talked to the navy guys this week they start their football season saying this is the year this is the year we're going to beat notre dame it's been close the last four or five times they've played some real close calls but it always comes down to a play like this reardon snaps krueger holds fits patrick kicks 40 yards to win for notre dame and another timeout the suspense builds the drama builds and paul johnson's not taking any chances you can't take those timeouts back to annapolis you might as well let fitzpatrick think about it you know i've never been a kicker i'm not so sure that ice is kickers i mean coach has been doing that for as long as i can you know and you talk about dj fitzpatrick there's just as much pressure on the snapper in the holder i think holding's one of the maybe the worst job in football everybody expects you to get it put it down the perfect position that the kicker do it but as we've seen the last few weeks you know in a bunch of college football games right it's not as easy quite as it looks the notre dame victory march plays fitzpatrick continues to pace like a caged beast when you've only won two games this wouldn't qualify as waking up the echoes but still it is high drama again fitzpatrick 40 yards to win it for notre dame [Applause] on its way it is [Applause] [Music] [Music] candido's parents crestfallen as was their son the walk-on kicker is that not a notre dame story unbelievable let's go to lewis johnson all right tom thanks so much tyrone willingham here with this look of near disbelief but obvious jubilation what does it feel like to be back in the win column again it feels real good i mean simply our guys have fought for a lot of weeks uh might as well sometimes as we like but today is one of those games where everything came together at the right time and we got it done you have not had your man nick setter out on the field for several weeks but dj fitzpatrick you dispatched him what were your thoughts as you sent him out for the 40-yard kick my thoughts were to just have him know that they were going to take every time out they could try to freeze him and uh coach preston has done that with him sometimes on a weekly basis where they just freeze him and step back and kick and he did a great job congratulations and enjoy ty oh yes we will all right all right louis and the navy players who upon their graduation from the academy will move on to other things more important things defending our country defending our freedoms thought their hearts out trying to break that 40 years of frustration they are absolutely in tears you can imagine they're feeling so close to winning at notre dame so much respect for the tradition of the irish and yet to come up three points short on a last second field goal by dj fitzpatrick lewis and dj is here along with julius jones first of all dj to you as they continue to try and ice you it's already cold with the multiple timeouts what were you thinking there before the kick uh just keep going through my steps picturing it going through don't think any negative thoughts and thank god it went through it was a wobbler could you have imagined that it would have looked like that even though it did go through came off my foot fine i thought i don't know if it was blocked i didn't know if i was going to make it but i did it all right and uh it's nice to redeem myself from the first two in the first half and to you you had a tremendous day with multiple carries for a lot of yards your thoughts as you came into this game you've had great success against navy in the past um our thoughts as a team my thoughts were just coming in here and getting a win uh we worked hard this week and uh we knew that they would give everything they had because they do every single year and uh you know they played us tough and uh thanks to dj we got the win i've got to get ask you you must be buying dj a steak tonight dj you got to have something from these guys i mean it was the game-winning kick yeah we'll get a mistake whatever he wants so it's on him all right guys congratulations 220 yard rushing day for julius jones yeah you know the other thing tom brady quinn didn't throw an interception and and he had a solid football game you know uh threw for you know over 50 percent no interceptions julius runs for 221. but still a heartbreaking loss as so many of them are for the midshipmen when they play notre dame almost stunned over there in that small rooting section of midshipman the navy players went over to that end of the far end of the stadium the drummond bugle corps that's here played the notre dame or played the naval academy anthem and now they trot off the field and craig candidos with lewis all right tom thanks so much craig an unbelievable effort in a losing match first of all talk about the disappointment on the loss after a hard-fought battle it's a very disappointing game i mean we were right there the whole game you know we came in this game expecting to win you know did some good things just couldn't pull it out there at the end does your team think about 39 years of losing against notre dame is that something you thought about coming into this thing well you know the media has told us all about it you know all week and um you know we've only been here the seniors have only been here for four years so this is our fourth loss in our name yeah that's that's something that we let the media worry about but after four years of incredible football you have a lot to look forward to your life in terms of the military and possibly being a pilot what would you take away from this experience even though it was a loss you know sometimes things don't always turn out like you want you know you just go out there and play hard all the time heck of a game classy accurate thank you all right tom all right louis he's a warrior pat craig candido yeah he's just a fabulous guy he played certainly well enough to win uh you know this navy team you know the defense just began to wear down late in the ball game but uh candido and those those option guys and how about kyle eckle the fullback too another strong game by him as you said a couple times just one of those games you you thought you had one and at the very end you lose it it's happened so many times the navy against notre dame desperately needed victory for the irish and another frustrating loss for the midshipmen of navy that's 40 in a row it came down to fitzpatrick the walk-ons field goal 40 yards away to win it 27-24 don't forget notre dame football returns to nbc next saturday at 2 30 eastern 11 30 pacific as the fighting irish host of byu cougars and coming up tonight beginning at 8 7 central on nbc it's lost

Channel: Coach Tom Yashinsky

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Id: e-80m63Kumk

Length: 147min 14sec (8834 seconds)

Published: Sat Apr 23 2022