APBALTIMORE - Brady Quinn enjoyed an afternoon that would have satisfied almost every quarterback in the nation, especially one with a shot at winning the Heisman Trophy.
Quinn accounted for four touchdowns and No. 11 Notre Dame amassed a season-high 471 yards Saturday in a 38-14 victory over Navy, the Fighting Irish’s 43rd consecutive win in the series.
With Quinn leading the way, the Irish (7-1) scored on their first five possessions to take a 31-14 lead. The Irish were then stuffed at the Navy 1 before Quinn completed his marvelous performance with his third touchdown pass.
Six scores in seven possessions is impressive work, but Quinn lamented Notre Dame’s lone unproductive drive.
“One of the things our offense wanted to work on this week was being more consistent throughout the entire game,” he said. “I think you saw that with the exception of that one drive when we didn’t get it in at the goal line.”
What could possibly be better than scoring 31 points on the opening five drives?
“Six out of six and making them all touchdowns,” Quinn said. “That’s our goal every time, especially when we’re in the red zone.”
Quinn finished 18-for-25 for 295 yards, and he also ran 19 yards for a score. Darius Walker ran for 103 yards on 20 carries and Rhema McKnight had two touchdown catches to help the Irish win their fifth straight.
Although Quinn found fault with the offense, Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis was delighted with the way the Irish played after last week’s 21-17 comeback win over UCLA.
“The first five times we got the ball on offense, we scored. That’s always a good thing,” Weis said. “To be honest with you, that was our intent coming into the game. We felt that on offense we haven’t been running the ball, we haven’t been playing consistent. What we had to do is have one of those games when we got the ball and scored early and often. Fortunately, that’s how it panned out.”
“The way their offense runs, they’re tough to stop,” Quinn said. “We knew we had to put more points on the board because they have a potent offense and they’re able to meticulously drive down the field and get scores.”
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Notre Dame’s winning streak against Navy (5-3) is the longest against one opponent in NCAA history.
“I told our guys at halftime I thought we had a chance, but you’re not going to beat them if you can’t stop them once,” Navy coach Paul Johnson said.
After Notre Dame's Blue and Gold game, it appears to be a three-way race for the starting QB position. Keith Arnold breaks down this race and each area of the offense as he projects the opening day starting lineup.
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