Notre Dame sails past the previously undefeated Navy

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – Notre Dame entered its national showdown with Navy looking to generate turnovers, and the Midshipmen uncharacteristically obeyed.

Jeremiyah Love ran for 102 yards, two touchdowns and extended his rushing streak for a TD to eight plays as No. 12 Notre Dame capitalized on six turnovers to beat previously unbeaten and No. 24 Navy 51-14 on Saturday.

“That was a focus. This team is No. 2 in the country in turnover margin,” Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said after the Irish (7-1) defeated Navy (6-1) for the seventh straight season. “An increase of 6 in ball losses is a clear expression of complementary football.”

Navy coach Brian Newberry said the Irish were a better team in every way, and he said bluntly that playing at MetLife Stadium, about five miles from New York City, may have been too big a stage for the Midshipmen.

“Sometimes you want something so badly that you play outside of yourself, and I think we did that today,” said Newbery, whose team hadn’t lost a fumble all season.

Love scored on runs of 64 and 2 yards and quarterback Riley Leonard ran for a touchdown and threw two more in this 97th meeting between the rivals.

“I’m still trying to figure out whether we got it or not,” Leonard said. “I'm a little worried that there's still more left in the tank. It’s obviously still a work in progress, but I think we’re getting better every week.”

The Midshipmen lost five fumbles and had six total turnovers, resulting in 28 points for the Irish, with Jaylen Sneed recovering a Blake Horvath fumble in the end zone for a touchdown.

Love's shorter TD run, a 6-yard TD pass from Leonard to Kris Mitchell and a late 4-yard TD run from Kedren Young also followed turnovers, including two on muffed punts.

Leonard finished 13 of 21 for 178 yards and added a 37-yard TD toss to Beaux Collins that helped the Irish to their sixth straight win after a stunning loss to Northern Illinois in Week 2.

The Irish led 31-7 at halftime and were never in danger.

Horvath scored on a 47-yard run for Navy and finished the game with 129 yards on 14 carries. Eli Heidenreich scored the second touchdown on a short run.

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

Notre Dame outscored Navy 466-310, the 51 points being the most the Midshipmen allowed this season.

The takeaway food

Notre Dame: The Irish knew they had to be efficient on offense to keep Navy from running their ball-control offense, and they did just that. Leonard and the offense are coming into form and have now scored at least 30 points in four straight games. The defense has been good all season and nothing changed against Navy.

Navy: Horvath is an outstanding quarterback and the offense can go up and down if it doesn't spit the ball out. The five lost fumbles and six total turnovers are the most for the Mids since 2002 against Boston College. Navy's defense couldn't handle Notre Dame's size, speed and talent, as well as the poor position the offense put them in.

Impact on the survey

The Irish played well, aside from a few failed runs by Horvath. It wouldn't be a surprise if they moved up. Navy played their worst game in years and will likely knock them out of the poll.

Next

Norte Dame: has a bye and returns Nov. 9 at home against Florida State.

Navy: at Rice on Saturday.