No. 8 Irish ride Coan’s arm, defense to win over Navy. MORE:
Coan, a grad transfer from Wisconsin, completed 23 of 29 passes, with a 70-yard scoring pass to Kevin Austin late in the first half for the Irish .
Grad nose tackle Kurt Hinish had a career-high 10 tackles after making just 14 in six games coming in. Notre Dame dominated the Midshipmen with its size and physical play. Navy controlled the clock, with 34:33 of possession — but completed just one pass for 18 yards and rushed for 166 yards — 73 on 22 carries by fullback Isaac Ruoss.
Navy led 3-0 after the first quarter on the first of two field goals by Bijan Nichols. But the Irish scored 17 points in the second quarter – Jonathan Doerer’s tying field goal, Williams’ 1-yard TD run and Coan-Austin’s touchdown aerial – for a 17-3 halftime lead.