Notre Dame and Navy have traded blows on the scoreboard in the first half in Jacksonville, with the Irish holding the edge at halftime with a 17-14 lead.
Notre Dame had a bit of a health scare for wide receiver Torii Hunter Jr., who was assisted off the field with an apparent left knee injury, but he was later returned to the field and provided a key block on Notre Dame’s late first-half touchdown to take the lead.
Notre Dame opened the game with a well-executed offensive drive spanning 83 yards in 10 plays for a touchdown. The drive included a fourth down conversion with DeShone Kizer completing a 23-yard pass to Hunter to move into the reds zone. Two false start penalties later, Kizer completed a 26-yard touchdown pass to Hunter for an early touchdown lead. Kizer’s two touchdown passes in the half have gone to Hunter and Durham Smythe. Kizer has also contributed on the ground with 46 rushing yards, and Josh Adams leads the team with 47 rushing yards.
Notre Dame has committed four penalties for 30 yards so far, while Navy has yet to be flagged. Navy quarterback Will Worth leads all players with 101 rushing yards, which is pretty typical for Navy’s offense.