Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/747744
30 NOV. 14, 2016 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BRIAN KELLY MAKES TOUGH LATE FOURTH-DOWN DECISION The officiating call was not the only controversial play during the Notre Dame loss. Head coach Brian Kelly's decision to have sophomore place- kicker Justin Yoon kick a 31-yard field goal with 7:28 left in the game was also questioned following the game. Notre Dame faced a fourth-and- four at the Navy 14-yard line, and Kelly elected to attempt the field goal — which Yoon made — instead of going for it. Yoon's make got the Irish within one point at 28-27. Navy had just put together a nine- minute touchdown drive on its pre- vious possession. Another drive like that would end the game and not give the Irish offense another chance to score. That is how it played out, but Kelly did not question the decision, even though he did consider putting the game on the shoulders of his offense. "I certainly thought about going for it," Kelly said. "Now in hindsight, it's something that we didn't get the ball back." With 7:28 left in the game, Kelly's decision is certainly understandable. "Even if they score a touchdown, we still have the opportunity to score and get the two-point conversion," Kelly explained. "It made sense to me at 28-27 was the right call at fourth- and-four. I think if it's fourth-and-one or two, maybe. "But those are the decisions you got to make. I don't question the deci- sion to go for the field goal other than the fact that we couldn't get the ball back." GREER MARTINI SHINES AGAINST THE OPTION, AGAIN Junior linebacker Greer Martini has made nine starts in his Notre Dame career, and almost half of them have come against triple-option offenses. Martini has started against Navy in each of his three seasons, and he also started last season against Georgia Tech, another triple-option team. Martini's three best statistical games have come against Navy. He had nine tackles as a true fresh- man against the Midshipmen in his first career start. Last season, Mar- tini again made nine tackles against Navy. In his most recent matchup against the Midshipmen, Martini set a career high with 11 tackles, tying for the team lead. "Greer is a good player," Kelly said. "He has a good sense of the triple and does a really good job." Martini noted he has worked hard to learn how to defend the option, knowing it was his best chance to get on the field. "I have a feel for it. I don't know how to describe it — it's just kind of been my thing," Martini said after the loss. "I had to perfect the craft to be able to get on the field." ✦ NAVY VS. NOTRE DAME QUARTER-BY-QUARTER COMPARISON Navy 1st Qtr. 2nd Qtr. 3rd Qtr. 4th Qtr. 1st Half 2nd Half Total Time of Possession 6:47 6:46 9:43 10:37 13:33 20:20 33:53 Third-Down Conversions 1-1 1-3 3-4 3-5 2-4 6-9 8-13 Fourth-Down Conversions 0-0 1-2 1-1 2-2 1-2 3-3 4-5 Average Field Position Navy-25 Navy-27 Navy-25 Navy-25 Navy-26 Navy-25 Navy-25 Notre Dame 1st Qtr. 2nd Qtr. 3rd Qtr. 4th Qtr. 1st Half 2nd Half Final Time of Possession 8:13 8:14 5:17 4:23 16:27 9:40 26:07 Third-Down Conversions 3-5 3-4 3-3 0-1 6-9 3-4 9-13 Fourth-Down Conversions 1-1 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-1 0-0 1-1 Average Field Position ND-24 ND-33 ND-25 ND-18 ND-28 ND-21 ND-26 PLAY CHART (NO. OF PLAYS) Yards NAVY ND (-) Yards 6 1 0-5 Yards 37 27 6-9 Yards 10 13 10-19 Yards 8 11 20-29 Yards 1 4 30-39 Yards 1 0 40-49 Yards 0 0 50 or more Yards 1 0 RED ZONE EFFICIENCY (INSIDE 20-YARD LINE) No Poss. TD FG Score Navy 4 3 0 1 Notre Dame 3 2 1 0 BIG PLAYS (25 YARDS OR MORE) Navy • 1-10 NAVY20 Worth rush over right tackle for 60 yards to the ND20 • 3-9 ND37 Cass Jr. rush over le end for 37 yards and a touchdown • 3-7 ND28 Worth rush over right guard for 27 yards to the ND1 Notre Dame • 1-20 NAVY26 Kizer pass complete to Hunter Jr. for 26 yards and a touchdown • 1-10 ND41 Kizer screen pass complete to St. Brown for 26 yards to the NAVY33 Junior linebacker Greer Martini has been at his best against triple-option looks, recording 29 tackles (9.7 per game) against Navy the past three years. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA