RB Respect Month Vol. 3, Day Seven: Julius Jones Sinks Navy (2003)
Jones was a bright spot in a tough season for the Irish.
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Welcome to day seven of Running Back Respect Month! Yesterday, Thurman Thomas reminded us of Oklahoma State's rich history of running backs. Here's where we're at today, and how the rest of the month looks:
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Today: Julius Jones vs. Navy (2003)
RB Respect Month Vol. 3, Day Seven: Julius Jones Sinks Navy (2003)
2003 was a tough season for Notre Dame. Fresh off a 10-3 mark in Tyrone Willingham's first year, the Fighting Irish slipped to an ugly 5-7. They had an inexperienced offense, plus the misfortune of playing the nation's toughest schedule - which included four teams who finished in the top-11 of the final AP Poll. One of the lone bright spots was the play of running back Julius Jones.
Jones came back for his senior season after being academically ineligible in 2002, and needed a big year to re-invigorate any NFL Draft stock he had prior to his suspension. After a quiet first four games, he erupted for a (still) program-record 262 yards rushing and two touchdowns in a 20-14 win at Pitt that brought Notre Dame's record to 2-3. Any hope of that win changing the course of their season evaporated when the Irish lost their next three. Two were vicious beatdowns at the hands of No. 5 USC and No. 5 Florida State in South Bend:
Sitting at 2-6, Notre Dame didn't have much left to play for beyond their own pride, and building toward 2004. In reality, their next game against Navy was as important as any they played that season. The 6-2 Midshipmen traveled to South Bend determined to snap a 39-game losing streak in the series dating back to 1964. Their six wins were already their most since winning seven in 1997, and three more than the prior three years combined (They went 3-30 from 2000-2002). They'd come close to breaking the streak three times over the past six years, but this was by far their best chance on paper going into the matchup. The stakes were high, and no one at Notre Dame wanted to be known as the team responsible for finally losing to the Midshipmen - especially in a season as bad as 2003 was already going. Julius Jones was at the forefront of that list, and he's the main reason the streak extended to 40.
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Jones put the Irish on his back (almost literally), running for 221 yards and two TD on 33 carries. He made three key plays on the Irish's final drive, which ended in a game-winning 40-yard field goal as time expired:
It was clear from the first drive that Jones would do everything he could to will Notre Dame to a win. His first four carries went for over 100 yards, highlighted by a 48-yard, cross-field sprint to open the scoring:
A couple days ago, I wrote about how Texas still has nightmares about Oklahoma's Quentin Griffin. You can say the same for Navy when it comes to Julius Jones. He ran wild in four games against the Midshipmen:
