Notre Dame is taking advantage of Navy's revenue and giving its CFP resume a boost

Unexpected streaks of fortune in college football can be built on many different dynamics, but the foundation is often the same: a significant advantage in turnover margin. Want to have a Cinderella season? Take away the football much more often than you give it away. It is the most direct path to victory.

This statistic, created at the intersection of opportunity and preparation, explains the surprising undefeated starts of the Iowa State Cyclones (plus-nine turnover margin), Pittsburgh Panthers (plus-seven), Indiana Hoosiers (plus-eight) and BYU Cougars (plus) . -Seven). And it's certainly played out at the military academies – the Army Black Knights are at plus-eight, and the Navy Midshipmen entered Saturday's game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at a whopping plus-twelve, second-best in the country .

The Midshipmen had not turned the ball over since their first game against Bucknell. Their creative, hybrid wing-T/option attack was a precise beauty – so many moving parts worked without major malfunctions. From the end of the season opener to last week, they have gone 307 consecutive games without losing the ball, an extraordinary run of demanding football.

Over time, they became one of the better stories of 2024 and made this game a surprise spectacle. It was a national ABC broadcast in an NFL stadium with a big crowd – the kind of big-game display the Navy isn't used to.

Then the Navy's greatest strength became its greatest weakness. After five consecutive games without a turnover, the 24th-ranked Midshipmen were a mess in the Meadowlands, losing five fumbles and throwing an interception in a 51-14 reality check against Notre Dame. The six turnovers were the most for the program since 2002.

The spate of fumbles was particularly sad because they were not forced by the defense: a simple throw to fullback Alex Tecza was dropped; a botched handoff left the ball lying on the ground; a muffed punt by Isaiah Bryant did the same thing; Quarterback Blake Horvath, who was having an outstanding season, simply lost control of the ball in the end zone and the Irish fell on it for a touchdown; then Eli Heidenreich fumbled another punt.

“If you look at almost every single turnover or fumble, that’s something we did,” Horvath said. “They almost didn’t touch the ball. We really wanted it and went for it.”

In maritime terms, this was the Exxon Valdez, which ran aground off Alaska. For Bill Belichick — who grew up in Annapolis while his father, Steve, was an assistant coach at Navy — it was over in time to leave the stadium early.

“I thought the stage might have been a little big for our players today,” Navy coach Brian Newberry said candidly. “Lots of mistakes. We had people who were afraid of making mistakes. When you play with fear in your heart like that, mistakes happen.”

And so, with a 6-0 start, Navy crashed headfirst into a superior opponent. The Irish had the good sense to accept the gifts the Midshipmen kept offering, turning free possessions into easy points and an easy win – one that looks good in their 7-1 College Football Playoff resume.

Notre Dame entered the second half of this season needing to add some pizzazz to its work. The season-opening win over the Texas A&M Aggies only added strength, but nothing else resonates – and the horrific Week 2 loss to the Northern Illinois Huskies definitely hurts. With Florida State a bust of historic proportions and USC unsuccessful in its first season as a member of the Big Ten, the Irish had few chances against quality opponents.

Then the Army and Navy rallied just in time to take a 6-0 lead at the same time for the first time since 1926. Army is now 7-0 but has two more games to get through before facing the Irish in November. 23. This Navy game was a clear and present opportunity.

If the moment was too big for the Midshipmen, it was right for the Irish. They struck quickly, scoring on their first drive and then converting Navy's first fumble into seven more points and a 14-0 lead. They finished the game with 466 yards of offense while making several big plays – and had no turnovers of their own.

The only game this season in which Notre Dame lost the turnover battle was the disaster against Northern Illinois, when the Irish were minus-two. This game was a clear example of a team failing to mentally put aside the triumph at Texas A&M earlier in the season – a painful lesson that coach Marcus Freeman wants his players to remember.

“We can’t lose the pain,” Freeman said. “I don’t want to lose the pain of this game. We are motivated by it. Sometimes I have to remind her of this pain. We will use that. We will be grateful for that.”

Now Notre Dame will turn around and become Navy's biggest cheerleaders – the more the Middies win, the better this slammer looks. But beyond that, the two schools have a long history of mutual respect. There's a reason the players and coaches from both teams stood together for their respective alma matter after the game.

The Navy actually helped Notre Dame stay afloat as a university during and immediately after World War II. During Father Theodore Hesburgh's 35-year tenure as president of Notre Dame, he declared that the football series would continue as long as the Navy wanted it. This was the 97th meeting, the most played rivalry in Fighting Irish history.

It could be the first Navy game in a long time that boosts Notre Dame's national reputation. The CFP selection committee must weigh the Midshipmen's merits as well as their self-destructive tendencies in this game. A 51-14 win over a ranked team looks good on paper — but a plus-six turnover margin, largely given to the Irish, tells a big part of the story.