Notre Dame Football Grades: Defense vs. Navy

The Notre Dame football team defeated Navy on Saturday, 24-17. Despite not getting off the field frequently, the Irish defense slowed the Midshipmen’s triple-option attack. In addition, Notre Dame’s defense limited Navy’s big plays. Here are the grades for Irish defense on Senior Day.

This is the toughest game for the Notre Dame Defensive Line every year. With cut blocks coming on every play, ineffective play usually plagues the line. However, this year, Notre Dame’s Defensive Line played well enough to win.

Senior Defensive Tackle Jerry Tillery led the unit with 6 tackles. Other than Tillery, several linemen generated great numbers. Andrew Trumbetti, Khalid Kareem, and Jonathan Bonner each tallied 4 tackles.

This might have been a great day for the defense. However, with missed tackles, it was only a good one. For example, Kareem had a Navy runner stopped in the backfield. However, he let the runner get the edge and Navy converted a 4th down.

There were two major reasons that the Irish won: Greer Martini and Drue Tranquill. In his final home game, Martini tallied a career-high 15 tackles. He also forced the ball into his fellow defenders; allowing them to make the play.

The other playmaker, Drue Tranquill, might have played in his final Notre Dame home game as well. Tranquill made 8 total tackles including 2 tackles for loss.

These two players made the difference in a game that came down to the final minutes.

The Defensive Backs played an up-and-down game on Saturday. Like last year against Army, Sophomore Julian Love moved to the Safety position. He was able to make lots of plays from that spot. He generated 14 tackles; only short of the game high.

Troy Pride, who made his first start against Navy, played very well. He collected 6 tackles including a tackle for loss and grabbed an interception. If the Irish make a first down on their last possession, that interception would have been the play of the game.

Notre Dame held the Midshipmen to about 90 yards less than their average. They only allowed 17 points. Could they have gotten off the field more? Sure. But, the Irish defense did a great job at containing this attack and making plays when it was needed.