Close Games, Trial by Fire Just What Young Notre Dame Defense Needs

Looking for style points? Hoping to impress the selection committee? 

You've come to the wrong place. 

On Saturday night, Notre Dame did everything it could to be a hospitable foe to the Naval Academy. Everett Golson's gift-wrapped interception before halftime kept the Midshipmen alive. A lackluster third quarter gave the Irish a scare and pushed Navy ahead. And Notre Dame blew two fourth-quarter scoring opportunities when even getting a field goal would've finally buried the Midshipmen. 

But while a 49-39 victory over Navy won't do anything to impress the selection committee, it did move the Irish forward this season. Giving up 39 points and 336 yards on the ground is a funny way to show improvement on the defensive side of the ball, but there's a silver lining after watching the Irish's battered and bruised defense compete in the fourth quarter. 

Many wondered how Brian VanGorder planned on attacking the Navy triple option. And if you were the one that predicted Greer Martini, Nyles Morgan and James Onwualu being critical pieces, run to 7-Eleven a pick up some lotto tickets. 

We took a time machine into the future of Notre Dame's defense Saturday night. And it revealed some really impressive play by the next generation of VanGorder's troops.

There were plenty of mistakes. And assignment football certainly took a beating against Keenan Reynolds and Ken Niumatalolo's triple-option attack. But when push came to shove, a defense filled with kids and afterthoughts took Navy's best punch down the stretch and came out a victor. 

Earlier this week, most thought Brian Kelly's admiration of Navy was lip service or spin control after an underwhelming initial ranking in the first College Football Playoff poll. But after rolling to 215 yards in the first quarter and jumping out to a 28-7 lead, the Irish gave Navy the one break they needed. And when they came up for breath, Notre Dame was losing 31-28. 

Things looked bleak. Nose tackle Jarron Jones was on and off the field all night with injuries. Sheldon Day and James Onwualu went down after a nasty collision chasing Reynolds. And most serious of all, the Irish are looking at life without Joe Schmidt, with the heart of the Irish defense suffering an ankle injury that looks to be significant—Schmidt had an air cast on and needed crutches on the sideline.

But blue-chipper Nyles Morgan went in at middle linebacker and immediately showed the kind of promise that made him a critical recruit in February. While it forced the Irish to simplify their defensive attack, the true freshman flashed some incredible athleticism and made some bone-crunching collisions as he made four key tackles, including one TFL down the stretch.

He certainly made some mistakes—with Navy's late touchdown and two-point conversion likely blown assignments for the young linebacker. But after playing exclusively special teams this season, Morgan showed a comfort level making plays that give you a glimpse at his promising future. 

If Morgan's performance was a surprise, Martini's was a shocker. With Jaylon Smith moved outside to the edge, it was Martini who played inside from the start. His nine tackles led the Irish and confirmed Kelly's praise for the heady nature of the unheralded linebacker. 

Start	Time of Possession	Play-Yards	Result
Navy 25	2:10	5-14	Punt
Navy 25	1:50	4-7	Downs
Navy 29	1:48	5-9	Interception
Navy 27	1:25	5-73	Touchdown
Navy 31	0:37	4--12	Downs

Looking for another reason to trust Brian Kelly's recruiting acumen? Martini may have been one of the lowest-ranked recruits in last year's class, but he was the Irish staff's first commitment. Coupled with 3-star safety Drue Tranquill, who made five tackles, Kelly's ability to get production out of both Army All-Americans and afterthoughts explains quite a bit. 

The glass-half-empty crew will get plenty of ammo from Saturday night's roller coaster. After looking solid as tacklers early, safeties Max Redfield and Elijah Shumate struggled with assignment football, flashing late and struggling to get to the pitch man. Even though job No. 1 is stopping the fullback, Noah Copeland ran for 138 yards on just 16 carries. 

Rob Carr/Getty Images

The Irish pass coverage also had its failures, with Keenan Reynolds able to hit an early touchdown pass and keep drives alive through the air as well as the run. And Navy just missed a potential game changer when Reynolds couldn't reel in Copeland's pass that could've served as a dagger.  

But on a night when the Irish could've seen their playoff hopes go up in flames, they got out of FedExField alive. And they called on some unlikely heroes to get the job done.