Everett Golson passed for three touchdowns and ran for three more as Notre Dame overcame numerous defensive lapses to outlast Navy by 49-39. The Irish surged to a 28-7 lead midway through the second period, went to sleep as the Midshipmen fought back to take a 31-28 lead with 19 minutes left in the game, and rallied with 21 points in a wild fourth quarter. Numerous Notre Dame players went down with injuries during the course of the evening, but the most serious appeared to be an ankle injury suffered by middle linebacker Joe Schmidt. The Irish move to 7-1 on the season, but the win definitely lacked the style points that most fans anticipated.

It took only two plays for Notre Dame to score following the opening kickoff. Golson threw a laser down the middle to C.J. Prosise, who eluded a safety near midfield and completed a 78 yard score. Navy answered immediately, scoring on a 25-yard pass from quarterback Keenan Reynolds to Thomas Wilson that followed ten straight runs. Regardless of how earnestly the Irish defenders practice for the triple option, they need to get used to the pace and execution by the Midshipmen before settling in. Tonight was no different.

Notre Dame did make defensive adjustments that appeared to be working over the next 15 minutes while Golson and company built a 21 point lead. Navy countered again by trading inside runs for the outside pitch, and the Irish were unable to hold containment. The result was a ten point run sandwiched around a Golson interception to close the half down by only 28-17.

The Midshipmen kept the momentum in the third quarter by taking the ball and grinding out a long touchdown drive that took half the period to complete. Schmidt was hurt during this sequence and was replaced by freshman Nyles Morgan, who displayed exceptional athletic ability but also was caught out of position a few times. On balance, however, those mistakes can be cleaned up and Morgan appears to have a bright future.

The Irish fell flat after finally getting the ball. Two incompletions and a sack gave the Midshipmen a chance to take the lead, and they did it in grand style. A quick snap on a fourth and one play caught Notre Dame asleep at the wheel, and Copeland took a pitch for 54 yards to the four yard line. Chris Swain scored on the next play to put Navy ahead by 31-28 at the 4:09 mark.

Golson seemed to take this turn of events personally, as he ran for two first downs on the ensuing drive before darting across the goal line from three yards out to put his team back on top by 35-31. If this battle wasn’t strange enough at this point, things got even more crazy over the next few minutes. The Irish defense finally stopped Navy after they had scored on four consecutive possessions, but only after Reynolds dropped a halfback pass that he might have taken for a score. The Midshipmen were forced to punt the ball back to Notre Dame, but Cody Riggs muffed the catch deep in his own territory. Miraculously, he managed to recover it among five Navy defenders at his own 14 yard line.

The Irish appeared to take control of the game in the next few seconds. Golson hit Chris Brown down the sideline for 46 yards, and a horse collar penalty on the tackle brought the ball all the way to the Navy 25. Tarean Folston broke through the line for a touchdown on the next play, and Notre Dame had some breathing room at 42-31 with 12:22 remaining.

Any notion that the Midshipmen might surrender was quickly dispelled. Although the Irish had great field position on its next two series due to a defensive stop and an interception by Justin Utopo, the offense suddenly could not move and Kyle Brindza missed badly on two field goal attempts. With six minutes remaining, Reynolds brought his team back with passes to Jamir Tillman and Swain to narrow the margin to 42-37. A two point conversion pass to a wide open Geoff Whiteside cut it to 42-39 with four minutes and change on the clock.

Navy tried an onside kick, and the ball was free momentarily before Prosise fell on it for Notre Dame at the 48 yard line. Folston then took a third down check-down toss and rumbled all the way to the two yard line to set up another touchdown run by Golson on a play in which he fumbled the ball, scooped it up and weaved his way through a sea of Midshipmen. Mercifully, the game ended 87 seconds later, but the overwhelming feeling was like survival than victory.

The Irish offense did its part with 518 yards and seven touchdowns, but the concern shifts to a defense that has been torched for 113 points in its last three games. Brian VanGorder’s charges may be running on fumes with the growing number of players that are either sidelined or dinged up. The next game requires a another long road trip to a hostile environment with little time to recover, so the reliance on freshmen to step into key roles will continue.

Let’s look at the answers to the pregame questions for additional insights.

Can the Irish defense limit the Midshipmen to short gains on first down? Only for that nice stretch in the first half, but Notre Dame was never really in firm control throughout the evening.

Will a healthy Reynolds be too quick for Notre Dame’s linebackers? The Irish limited Reynolds on the ground but had trouble with the pitch man in the option. Reynolds also showed surprising accuracy on several passes.

Can the Irish convert red zone opportunities into touchdowns? Yes, and they needed all of them.

Which team will commit costly turnovers? Golson’s interception before the half set up a Navy field goal and could have been a ten point swing at that time. The Irish could not capitalize on Utopo’s pick in the second half.

Will Navy be able to burn Notre Dame with gimmick plays? There were a few narrow misses on gimmick plays, but Navy really hurt the flat-footed Irish with quick snaps on critical plays.

Can the Irish escape with no significant injuries? Unfortunately not, unless Schmidt’s ankle is a lot better than it looked when he left the field.

Despite the consternation of many Notre Dame fans, this series with Navy will continue into the foreseeable future. Perhaps the best time to play the Midshipmen is in the season opening game, because it seems quite difficult for recent Irish teams to deliver a strong performance when the game is sandwiched between higher ranked opponents. That theory is not meant to diminish another exceptional effort by Navy, who once again gave the Frightened Irish as much as they could handle.