5 meaningful stats from Notre Dame's dominant win over Navy

Notre Dame was scheduled to face one of its toughest remaining tests of the 2024 regular season on Saturday when it traveled to East Rutherford to face Navy.

However, touchdowns on three of Notre Dame's first four possessions helped the previously undefeated Midshipmen get around fairly quickly as the Irish moved to 7-1 heading into the November stretch run that begins after next week's bye against Florida State begins.

How dominant was Notre Dame's 51-14 win over Navy?

Here are the five numbers that told the story of defeat.

Notre Dame vs. Navy: 6-0 turnover battle

Win the turnover battle and win the game, it's usually as simple as that. Win the turnover 6-0 and the scoreboard will be heavily in your favor. Such was the case Saturday, as Notre Dame's physical and speedy defense made life difficult for Navy quarterback Blake Horvath and his colleagues all afternoon.

Notre Dame vs. Navy: 30:29 Time of possession for Irish

Navy's offense features some new twists from the offense that gave Notre Dame many problems from 2007 to 2016. There's more throwing now, but for Navy to beat a team like Notre Dame, it's important to own the ball and limit possessions. With that in mind, Notre Dame took the ball away for more than half of the game, depriving Navy of any chance to tie the game as they would have wanted to, despite their eye-popping offensive stats coming into the game.

Notre Dame vs. Navy: -2.17 yards per play for Midshipmen

When you look at the final tally, you see that Navy averaged 5.43 yards per game against Notre Dame and think that wasn't all that bad against a great defense. That may be true, but that's 2.17 fewer yards per play than Navy averaged entering Saturday's game. Navy put up some huge numbers, but had never seen a team like Notre Dame, and it didn't just show in the final score.

Notre Dame vs. Navy: 49:39 game time with a two-plus point lead for Irish

If you've followed me here or at previous stops, you know that I follow the game situation much more than just looking at stats.

How quickly did Notre Dame take down the Navy? The Irish took the lead after just 4:32 minutes and extended it to two points with 5:44 minutes left in the first quarter. Navy got back within a touchdown early in the second quarter, but a quick response from Jeremiyah Love on a 64-yard touchdown run put Notre Dame back ahead 14-12 with 12:28 to play before halftime were. Notre Dame would lead by as many as 14 points the rest of the way. Overall, Notre Dame held a lead of two points or more, 49-39, in Saturday's 60-minute game.

Total control.

Notre Dame vs. Navy: 13 Jeremiyah Love touches

It's not so much just about the Navy game, but for the season in general, Notre Dame has done a great job of keeping Jeremiyah Love fresh during games. Most recently, that was partly due to the blowouts, but Love reached the end zone twice on 13 touches and managed exactly 100 yards of offense for Notre Dame.

He was Notre Dame's leading home run hitter on offense, but only touched the ball 105 times all year. Since I have a week off before the November distance run, I'm really a fan of how much less wear and tear Love should see as it transitions into late fall.

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