Notre Dame Football: Williams was Offensive Player of the Game vs. Navy

Notre Dame football moved to 8-0 thanks to a solid night from Dexter Williams.

Everyone can breathe now that the triple option is out of the way the rest of the season. Of course it didn’t come without an injury or two, as it seems to always be the case when Notre Dame football plays Navy.

Aside from “injury bugs”, the Irish ended up controlling the first half of the game both offensively and on the defensive side — which is always a relief against the Midshipmen. The second half wasn’t as pretty for the defense, which isn’t a surprise against the frustrating option. That said, the offense was solid all night.

Quarterback Ian Book once again played a great game, aside from one bad read that turned into a interception, and finished with a little over an 80 percent completion rate.

The player though that really stood out from start to finish was running back Dexter Williams. He’s the Slap the Sign offensive player of the game against the Midshipmen.

Williams carried the ball 23 times for 142 yards and added three huge touchdown runs throughout the first half to give the Irish a comfortable lead for majority of the game. He also added three catches for 27 yards to his night. With Dexter in the lineup, he continues to bring so much speed and athleticism, which also complements the other Irish running backs for this offense. To add to that, he’s been progressing in his pass blocking — which has always been a weakness in his game.

With Jafar Armstrong back — who also had a stellar night in his return — I still want to see Williams get around 20 carries a game. He’s just too explosive. The staff must know that and they should be putting this offense in the best position to win every week, as they have done thus far.

The Irish head to Northwestern for another Saturday night primetime game and once again Williams will have to come up big on the road. Until then, the Irish are 8-0 heading into the first College Football Playoff rankings of the season this Tuesday night.