Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com NOV. 27, 2017 27 He saved his best for last, leading Notre Dame and setting a new career high with 15 tackles. Navy is certainly happy that Martini no longer will wear a Notre Dame uniform against it. "Ken Niumatalolo asked me if [Greer] was a senior, and he hoped that he would not be back next year," Irish head coach Kelly said of what his Navy counterpart mentioned to him following the game. "He's tried to block him, and he can't block him. He was our player of the game — he got the game ball." Martini is a smart and disciplined player, making him an ideal fit to play the option. "He just has a really good nose for the football, good sense," Kelly said of his senior captain. "What you saw today was the physicality and bend- ing back on the fullback. "He was physical, he played with the top of his pads. It was a clinic in terms of the way he played the line- backer position today." Martini's performance didn't come as a surprise to his teammates, who have seen his versatility. "I expected that," senior linebacker Nyles Morgan said of Martini's big game. "We call Greer the option guru. He just finds the ball whether he's in the middle, he's playing Buck, playing left, playing right. "He just finds the ball. I'm proud of him." TROY PRIDE JR. HAS A CAREER DAY Senior linebacker Greer Martini wasn't the only Irish player to have a career day. Sophomore cornerback Troy Pride Jr., who is known primar- ily for his speed, had a breakout per- formance against Navy. Pride registered his first career interception in the fourth quarter, but he was active against the Navy ground game, finishing the game with a career-high six tackles. "What Troy did today is he became more of a complete player in the sense that he had to get into the ac- tion," head coach Brian Kelly noted. "He's been playing wide corner, and you're not really in the action there. He was in the action today. "He had to get off blocks, make tackles and get his nose dirty, and I thought he did a nice job." Pride not only made his first career interception, he also made his first career tackle for loss. BRANDON WIMBUSH SETTLES DOWN Junior quarterback Bran- don Wimbush completed just 1 of 5 passes in the first quarter, and heading into the final drive of the first half he was just 2 of 6. Trailing 10-3 and with just 1:08 left in the half, Notre Dame needed something from its signal-caller, and he delivered. Wimbush completed a pair of 23-yard passes on the drive before capping it off with a two-yard run touchdown to tie the game with just eight seconds left in the half. In the final 31:08 of the game. Wim- bush completed 7 of 12 passes for 138 yards with two touchdowns, and added 41 yards and another score on the ground. "He was just a little off," head coach Brian Kelly said of his quar- terback's early struggles. "… He was just a little amped, and the ball came out high a couple of times, but I thought he settled down into the game. "What we're looking for is a guy that will take what's happened early and reset, which he did, and refocus. He came back and made some really big plays for us. "The conditions weren't great to throw the football today, but I thought he was gritty, hung with it, and we went back to some tough throws that he had to make. I was re- ally proud of the way he responded." KEVIN STEPHERSON BREAKS OUT Sophomore wide receiver Kevin Stepherson didn't play a snap in Notre Dame's first four games, al- though the reason for that has never been fully explained. Once he re- NOTRE DAME VS. NAVY QUARTER-BY-QUARTER COMPARISON Notre Dame 1st Qtr. 2nd Qtr. 3rd Qtr. 4th Qtr. 1st Half 2nd Half Total Time of Possession 4:20 5:13 1:48 5:57 9:33 7:45 17:18 Third-Down Conversions 1-3 1-2 0-0 2-3 2-5 2-3 4-8 Fourth-Down Conversions 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 Average Field Position ND-29 ND-30 ND-21 ND-19 ND-29 ND-20 ND-25 Navy 1st Qtr. 2nd Qtr. 3rd Qtr. 4th Qtr. 1st Half 2nd Half Final Time of Possession 10:40 9:47 13:12 9:03 20:27 22:15 42:42 Third-Down Conversions 1-4 1-4 2-5 4-5 2-8 6-10 8-18 Fourth-Down Conversions 1-2 1-1 2-2 0-1 2-3 2-3 4-6 Average Field Position NAVY-33 NAVY-34 NAVY-27 NAVY-29 NAVY-33 NAVY-28 NAVY-30 PLAY CHART (NO. OF PLAYS) Yards ND NAVY (-) 3 4 0-5 28 54 6-9 8 16 10-19 3 5 20-29 5 1 30-39 2 0 40-49 0 0 50 or more 0 0 RED ZONE EFFICIENCY (INSIDE 20-YARD LINE) No Poss. TD FG Score Notre Dame 3 2 1 0 Navy 3 2 0 1 After a slow start, junior quarterback Brandon W imbush bounced back and finished with 205 yards of total offense and three touchdowns (two passing and one rushing). PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA BIG PLAYS (25 YARDS OR MORE) Notre Dame •2-3 ND40 Adams rush for 30 yards to the NAVY30 •1-10 NAVY30 Wimbush pass complete to Stepherson for 30 yards and a touchdown