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Players Of The Game From The Notre Dame Win Over Navy

Originally posted on FanNation Irish Breakdown
By Bryan Driskell | Last updated 11/13/22

The 20th-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish (7-3) won their fourth straight game yesterday with a 35-32 victory over Navy (3-7). It was a game that was at times outstanding and at times maddening, but ultimately it was a win.

There were several standouts on both sides of the ball and on special teams, but three players stood above the rest either by their full game performance or with game changing plays.

OFFENSE - Braden Lenzy, WR

Stats: 5 catches, 67 yards, 1 TD
Runner Up: WR Jayden Thomas

I could have gone with Braden Lenzy or Jayden Thomas, who were both standouts for the Irish. Lenzy led the team in catches with five, while Thomas led the offense in yards with 80. Lenzy gets the nod here for a couple of reasons, with the first being his strong start to the game helped spark the Irish offense.

Lenzy ran an excellent post-out route that went for 21 yards on the opening drive, and it put the Irish into Navy territory. On Notre Dame's next possession, Lenzy made a leaping grab of a very high throw to pick up four yards on a first-down play. He capped that drive by blowing past a Navy defender for what should have been an easy deep route touchdown, but the ball didn't come.

Instead, quarterback Drew Pyne scrambled around and heaved a pass into the air. The ball was woefully underthrown, but Lenzy battled back, reached his hands around the defender and caught the ball off the defender's back. I can't really do justice to it, see for yourself.

Lenzy finished with five catches and his blocking was also solid in the victory.

Thomas, for his part, made two big plays down the field and was a handful for the Navy defense. The combination of Lenzy and Thomas was a huge part of the Irish offense.

DEFENSE - Clarence Lewis, CB

Stats: 2 tackles, 1 interception
Runners Up: LB Jack Kiser, S Xavier Watts, CB Benjamin Morrison

A very strong case could be made that Notre Dame's defense defender from start to finish was linebacker Jack Kiser, but junior Clarence Lewis made a play that truly changed the course of the game.

Navy had scored on back-to-back possessions, and the Irish offense had just failed to put points on the board. Notre Dame led 21-13, but Navy had the momentum in the game. The Midshipmen called a reverse pass in hopes of going for a big play to really turn the game around.

Instead, Lewis read the play perfectly, pursued from the backside and stepped in front of the pass for a huge interception. That interception gave the Notre Dame offense the ball in Navy territory, and three plays later Pyne scampered into the end zone to put Notre Dame up 28-13.

SPECIAL TEAMS - Jack Kiser, LB

Stats: 1 blocked punt
Runners Up: P Jon Sot

Of course, the Lewis interception wasn't the only sequence during that stretch that changed the course of the game. Notre Dame's defense forced a quick three-and-out on the ensuring drive, and Kiser ended the drive with a huge punt block that gave the offense the ball at the Navy 37-yard line. It took Notre Dame just one play to break the game open, with Pyne hitting Thomas on a 37-yard strike to make it 35-13.

That stretch of nine plays (offense, defense, special teams) turned a 21-13 game that had Navy possessing the ball into a 35-13 Notre Dame lead.

This article first appeared on FanNation Irish Breakdown and was syndicated with permission.

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