Notre Dame took a win over Navy on Saturday, but it was a physical game. Multiple players from the Irish were injured, which could leave Notre Dame short-staffed against Miami this upcoming week.
One player, Drayk Bowen, was injured on a block from Navy, leading to questions about the future of the series with Navy, per Pete Samposon of The Athletic.
Bowen was hurt just before halftime, and it will keep him out long-term.
“I let the officials know before the game, ‘Hey, on the backside of the run, be alert for the high-low blocks because those are dangerous,’” Freeman said. “This is just my opinion … I don’t think it’s intentional; I choose to believe that. I have a lot of respect for (Navy coach Brian) Newberry, and some of the injuries that happen could happen in any game.”
Freeman did say that the injury to Bowen happened on the goal line, when a Navy player fell on Bowen's leg and it was twisted under the pile.
“Some things unfortunately happen in the game of football,” Freeman said. “And I don’t want to say it’s because we played Navy. We have to be alerted to high-low on the backside and try to protect ourselves.”
Article Continues BelowThe two schools first played in 1927, and have met 99 times. Notre Dame leads the all-time series 83-13-1. They have also won nine straight games in the series.
Beyond Bowen being injured, Franci Brewu and Jason Onye are now both questionable after taking clocks to their lower leg that knocked them out of the Navy game. It was initially a tight game between Notre Dame and Navy. The Irish scored on a 52-yard run with just 55 seconds left in the first half to take a 14-13 lead into the halftime break. Still, Notre Dame shut down Navy in the second half, on the way to a 35-13 win.
Miami enters the weekend as the top team in the nation. Notre Dame plays host to Miami on Saturday, with kickoff set for 7:30 pm ET.