Notre Dame used a late touchdown by Tarean Folston to land the decisive blow in a wildly entertaining 38-34 win over Navy for the Fighting Irish. The game featured eight lead changes, which is pretty remarkable considering there were 11 scores in the entire contest.
Navy vs. Notre Dame 2013 final score: Fighting Irish hang on in slugfest
A back-and-forth game ended with No. 24 Notre Dame victorious, 38-34.
Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Navy made one last charge, but on its 70th rush of the day, a reverse on fourth-an-4 was blown up in the backfield, sealing the Notre Dame victory.
For Navy, Keenan Reynolds was the doomed hero, rushing 22 times for 53 yards and throwing for 88 yards; he logged four of the Midshipmen's five touchdowns. But on Navy's final drive, his errant toss forced Navy into a third-and-15, and the MIdshipmen couldn't convert.
Box Score Hero: Folston was the Irish workhorse, logging 140 yards on 18 carries and his first career touchdown. Even more impressive was that Folston’s longest run was only 15 yards, so he was remarkably consistent in his production all day long.
Rankings Ramifications: It’s a win against a feisty team, so Notre Dame’s not going to get dinged out of the Top 25 for this (especially with No. 21 Michigan hacking up a hairball for three hours). But don’t expect a big move here.
But Did They Cover? Notre Dame was favored by 17. That didn’t happen. That’s OK.
For More On This Game: For more on Irish football, visit Notre Dame community One Foot Down.
Next Week’s Schedule: Notre Dame’s next game is a trip to Pitt on Saturday, while Navy hosts Hawaii.
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