URBANA, Ohio -- Notre Dame saw its winning streak come to an end on Saturday, as the Falcons fell to the Urbana Blue Knights, 49-16.  (Box)

The loss for NDC ends a streak of victories -- four in a row -- that now stands as a new program record.  The streak came to an end on a day when the Falcons (5-3) failed to muster more than seven points on offense (NDC scored a special-teams touchdown and recorded a safety on defense).  After rolling up 1,755 yards over its four straight wins, the Falcon offense produced just 239 yards -- a season low -- on Saturday at Urbana University Stadium.

With the victory, Urbana (5-3) has now won three straight games.  The Blue Knights have scored 40-plus points in each of those three wins.  On Saturday in idyllic autumn football conditions, Urbana scored 28 unanswered points in establishing an eventual 35-7 halftime lead.

Two Blue Knight quarterbacks -- DJ Mendenhall and Evan Gehlert -- combined to go 23-of-27 for 268 yards.  Urbana scored five rushing touchdowns, with freshman running back David Hill scoring three of those.  The Blue Knights went 8-of-12 on third-down conversions en route to running and passing their way to 469 total yards.

Urbana scored two touchdowns in the opening quarter and then two more in the second frame before NDC finally got on the board with a 21-yard TD pass (Rob Partridge to Keifer Titus) at the 1:30 mark in the second.  The host Blue Knights wrangled back the momentum however when they marched down the field to score another TD just before the half ended.  The opening half ended with Urbana up, 35-7, and with the Blue Knights having gone 7-of-7 on third downs and posting 303 total yards of offense.

In the second half, the Blue Knights scored two more TDs before Notre Dame scored again.  NDC got a late TD on a Michael Fields punt return and then a safety on a botched snap by the Urbana offensive unit.

When it was all over, the Falcons had yielded 469 yards and a program-worst 49 points.  Urbana moved the chains early and often and with regularity on third down as they routed the NDC defense for 29 first downs, 201 rushing yards and 269 yards through the air.

Quarterback Rob Partridge was under near-constant duress in the Notre Dame backfield.  He was sacked six times along the way to posting a subpar 15-of-34 afternoon.

The running game provided no relief on a day when the Falcons were losing line-of-scrimmage battles on both sides of the ball.  Only a late surge that saw Jack Foy gain 59 yards on five second-half carries got NDC over 100 rushing yards for the game.  Notre Dame finished with 104 yards on 29 carries.

Urbana, on the other hand, had two rushers post identical and impressive numbers in the contest -- running backs David Hill and Brandon Jackson each had 16 carries for 88 yards.  Three of Hill's carries found paydirt.  Wide receiver Joe Webb also had a big day running the ball, but his runs came after catches.  Webb racked up 127 hard-earned yards on eight grabs.

Defensively, the Falcons were led by safety Bo Grunder, who tied an NDC single-game record with 13 tackles.  Defensive end Jake Adkins also had a big game; he had 11 stops including a sack and 2-1/2 tackles for loss.

Notre Dame will look to rebound from the loss next Saturday when the Falcons host the Pioneers of Malone University in a special “home-away-from-home” game at Spire Institute in Geneva, Ohio.  Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m., making the NDC-MU tilt the third night game in program history.

[Postgame Notes]