Drayk Bowen suffers 'significant' injury, dealing Notre Dame major blow - USA Today

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Notre Dame rallied from behind and pulled away from Navy on Saturday, Oct. 31, but the 35-13 victory came at a significant cost for the Fighting Irish.

Senior linebacker Drayk Bowen, a team captain and the “green dot” of Notre Dame’s defense as its coach-to-player designee, suffered what multiple individuals with direct knowledge of the situation described to USA TODAY Sports as a “significant” ankle injury during a first-half scrum.

Bowen is expected to miss an extended period of time.

“He’s likely done for the rest of the regular season, at least,” one individual said.

Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman wouldn't provide any more information on Bowen after the game, only saying: "We will get an injury report on Sunday."

The injury came during Bowen’s 48th appearance in a Notre Dame uniform, including his 36th consecutive start.

A former Indiana Mr. Football and Gatorade Player of the Year in the state, Bowen entered Saturday with 197 career tackles and quickly blew past the 200-tackle milestone. He finished with seven tackles, including two solo stops, before exiting.

Notre Dame’s defense responded without him, shutting out Navy in the second half as the No. 6 Irish turned a one-point halftime lead into a comfortable victory.

But replacing Bowen becomes an immediate problem, and the timing couldn’t be worse.

Notre Dame hosts No. 1 Miami on Saturday, Nov. 7, at Notre Dame Stadium in a game with enormous College Football Playoff implications. A victory could strengthen the Irish’s case for a home playoff game or potentially a top-four seed and first-round bye.

Beyond Miami, Notre Dame’s most significant remaining test also comes at home, against No. 16 SMU on Nov. 21.