3 takeaways from Notre Dame’s win over Navy

Notre Dame defeated Navy 35-32 on Saturday afternoon, extending its winning streak to four games.

The game was not quite as close as the final score would indicate. The Irish struggled in the second half, but still held a double-digit lead until Navy scored a late touchdown with 1:21 remaining.

Here are three takeaways from the victory:

Drew Pyne’s best game

Pyne has played well at times this season, but this was his best game of the year. He threw the ball just 21 times and gained 269 yards and four touchdowns on those attempts. Those are new career-highs for Pyne in both touchdowns and yards.

Pyne also rushed for a touchdown in this game. His lone blemish was an interception in the second half, but the pass was tipped at the line of scrimmage.

If Pyne plays like this, Notre Dame’s offense has a very high ceiling. The Irish averaged 9.2 yards per play in the first half.

Another blocked punt

Notre Dame’s special teams blocked another punt. Jack Kiser did the honors this time.

Here’s the play:

This is Notre Dame’s seventh blocked punt of the season and the fifth straight game with a blocked punt. Kiser’s block extends both of those program records.

Credit to Notre Dame special teams coordinator Brian Mason for consistently drawing up blocked punts this season.

10 wins?

After the Stanford loss, it looked like Notre Dame’s season might spiral out of control.

Instead, the Irish have responded with four consecutive victories over UNLV, Syracuse, Clemson and now Navy.

Suddenly, another 10-win season is within reach for Notre Dame. The Irish would need to beat Boston College and USC to close out the regular season to get to 9-3.

If Notre Dame can get to 10 wins, it would extend its streak of double-digit win campaigns to six. Notre Dame’s current streak of five 10+ seasons is already the longest in program history.