Notre Dame Football: The play that changed everything vs. Navy
By Chase Eyrich
Despite moving down a spot in the rankings Notre Dame is playing their best football right now.
First, it was a complete and dominant Notre Dame performance vs. Duke last week. The Irish followed that up with a performance not many saw coming.
No one looks forward to playing Navy. You can respect the tradition-rich history between Notre Dame and the Midshipman, but when it comes to preparation and the actual game, the enjoyment dies down.
The Irish might have been about a one score favorites heading into this one, but the reality was that if Navy could force Notre Dame into their game, it would have headed down to the wire.
That unsettling feeling soon faded away after the game kicked off. The Irish came out of the gates eager and ready to hand it to the Midshipman.
It became clear right away that Navy would not be able to run with Notre Dame. The Irish dominated the first five series of the game on both sides of the ball, as they rung up three straight touchdowns and recovered two fumbles.
Things began to get out of hand as the score snowballed in favor of the Irish. With just under 11 minutes left to go in the first half, it looked like the nail had already pierced the coffin as Chris Finke utilized every blocker he could while returning a punt for six.
Unfortunately, he used one more block than needed and that score was wiped off the board thanks to an illegal block in the back.
But the energy throughout the stadium only had a second to dip down as Ian Book threw possibly his best pass of the season on the very next play.
With an extra second of patience, Book ripped a dime through the middle of the field with Braden Lenzy perfectly in stride, never missing a step on his way to the end zone.
Next. Claypool was OPOG vs. Navy. dark
What could have been the ultimate energy killer a play before ended up being saved by the flawless connection between Book and Lenzy.