Clan-Members » I dont feel like the locker room has ever [given up on me

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Navys final fourth-down play worked to perfection. Just dont bother asking coach Ken Niumatalolo how it played out.I had my eyes closed. I was praying, Niumatalolo said. It obviously worked out great.It helped Navy get a rare win against Notre Dame.Will Worth ran for 175 yards and two touchdowns, his eighth consecutive game with a rushing score, and the Midshipmen beat the Fighting Irish 28-27 Saturday in the nations longest-running intersectional rivalry.Navy (6-2) won its fourth game against Notre Dame since 1963. The Irish (3-6) had won five in a row in the series.Were kind of in euphoria, Cloud 9 right now having beaten Notre Dame, Niumatalolo said. Ive been here a long time. Weve had some crushing defeats to these guys. To be able to finally come out on top, it feels so good.Irish coach Brian Kelly deserved some of the blame for this one. Trailing 28-24 with a little more than 7 minutes to go, Kelly opted for a 31-yard field goal instead of trying to convert a fourth-and-4 play at the 14. He made the call even though his defense hadnt forced a punt all afternoon.Well, certainly thought about going for it, Kelly said. Now in hindsight, its something that we didnt get the ball back. But 28-27 made sense to me at the time. Even if they score a touchdown, we still have the opportunity to score and get the two-point conversion. ... But those are the decisions you got to make.Again, I dont question the decision to go for the field goal other than the fact that we couldnt get the ball back.Navy got the ball and ran out the clock with its triple-option offense. Worth converted two huge fourth-down plays on the final drive, one on a dive play near midfield and another with a pass to Jamir Tillman that essentially ended it.Worth took a knee after that, setting off a raucous celebration that surely will continue through the weekend.There are no words for that (win), Tillman said. Every year we get so close. But close only matters in horseshoes. So it feels crazy to bet them my senior year and to go out just how we did.Tillman finished with four receptions for 41 yards. Worth notched with his fourth straight 100-yard rushing performance and fifth of the season.The kids playing phenomenal, Niumatalolo said. Were where were at right now because of Will Worth. Hes given our team belief the way he plays, tough, hard-nosed and hes created an edge on our football team. Were a scrappy team thats not going to back down from anybody. A lot of that edge comes from the way he plays.Navy finished with 368 yards, including 320 on the ground.The Midshipmen actually punted once, but it was wiped out after a replay because Notre Dame had 12 men on the field. Instead, the Midshipmen kept the drive alive, converted a fourth-and-1 play and Worth later scored his second rushing TD and his 15th of the season.Listen, Navy won the game, Kelly said. Im not here to cry over that call. We had chances to get off the field and we couldnt get off the field.THE TAKEAWAYNotre Dame: The Irish now need to win out against Army, Virginia Tech and USC to become bowl eligible. It was the Irishs fifth loss in seven games, continuing Kellys worst season in seven years. The Irish have a young team and should be better in 2017, but making a bowl seems like a long shot.Navy: The Middies are bowl eligible again, improving to 23-5 in their last 28 games. Three of those losses came against ranked teams.KIZER SHINESNotre Dames DeShone Kizer completed 19 of 27 passes for 223 yards and three touchdowns. He added 52 yards rushing and didnt have a turnover. But he was standing on the sideline, unable to do anything, in the final 7-plus minutes.UP NEXTNotre Dame: Plays Army in San Antonio, Texas, next Saturday. The Irish have won 14 in a row in the series.Navy: Hosts Tulsa in the teams home finale. Navy is 2-1 against the Golden Hurricanes.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org Air Max Ireland . LOUIS -- Valtteri Filppula assisted on three of Tampa Bays four goals, and the Lightning beat the St. Cheap Air Max Ireland . Thousands of Southern California fans enveloped the Trojans to celebrate an improbable win secured by an interim coach, an inconsistent kicker and a thin defence that wouldnt break. http://www.airmaxireland.com/ . -- Kyrie Irvings last-minute 3-pointer helped seal another victory for Cleveland -- and the Cavaliers longest winning streak since LeBron James left. Air Max Ireland Sale . Catch all the action on TSN2 at 11pm et/8pm pt. The nine-time Big 12 champion Jayhawks are positioning themselves for another title, as they have run out to a flawless 6-0 mark in conference play thus far. Air Max Outlet Ireland . Collaros, 25, was solid last season, posting a 5-2 record as the starter while incumbent Ricky Ray was injured. Collaros also started Torontos 23-20 regular-season finale loss to Montreal — Ray didnt dress because the Argos had already clinched first in the East Division — but was one of three quarterbacks to play that day. LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler pushed back on the notion he lost the team after last Sundays disappointing performance.On Monday, Bleacher Report reported that two unnamed Bears players said, via text message, that most of the locker room has given up on Cutler. One of those players said Cutlers lack of preparation before Chicagos?36-10 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was truly embarrassing.Cutler finished the game 16-of-30 for 183 yards, two interceptions (one for a pick-six) and two lost fumbles.Unnamed source, Im guessing? Cutler asked on Thursday. The source could be a lot of people. It could be a made-up source. It could actually be guys in there. If people actually start putting their names on it, we can have a discussion about it.The game before [versus Minnesota in Week 8] was the opposite end of the spectrum. Whenever you lose, we all know what this position entails. And when you do have a performance like that as a quarterback, youre going to get some of that stuff. I dont feel like the locker room has ever [given up on me]. Ive never felt like that in the locker room with those guys.Offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains denied that Cutlers preparation played a role in the lopsided loss to Tampa Bay.I didnt see that in his preparation, Loggains said. But obviously, the way we played, I dont thhink any of us were prepared.ddddddddddddWe need to do a better job coaching. We need to do a better job of executing plays.Following the Bears surprising win over the Vikings on Oct. 31, Loggains told reporters that Cutler, who returned that night from a five-week thumb injury, had inspired the team.Asked if Cutler can still galvanize the locker room, Loggains responded, This is a week-to-week league.Loggains added: Its all of us. We win and lose together. He was the same guy who we were praising against Minnesota. And obviously he didnt play as well as wed have liked. I didnt coach as well as I would like to. And the staff. No one. When you lose like that, no one plays well enough. No one does their job.Jays the quarterback. So it falls on him. Its nothing new. He can take the responsibility. So weve moved forward and were getting ready for the next one.The Bears (2-7) travel to MetLife Stadium to play the New York Giants (6-3) on Sunday. Head coach John Fox said on Monday that he planned to stick with Cutler.The only other quarterback on Chicagos active roster is Matt Barkley, who went 6-of-15 for 81 yards and two interceptions after Brian Hoyer suffered a broken forearm at Lambeau Field on Oct. 20. ' ' '