EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — No. 12 Notre Dame ran away from No. 24 Navy for an easy 51-14 win at MetLife Stadium on Saturday, handing the Midshipmen their first loss.
The Midshipmen committed six turnovers and quickly fell behind 14-0 in the first quarter. A 47-yard touchdown run by Blake Horvath gave Navy a glimmer of hope early in the second quarter, but the Irish proceeded to break the game open, leading 31-7 at halftime en route to the 37-point win.
It was only the third time since 1957 that both Notre Dame and Navy were ranked in the AP poll for their annual matchup. The Irish also won in dominant fashion in 1978 (27-7) and 2019 (52-20).
Notre Dame (7-1) remains firmly in the College Football Playoff race, as it had a 75 percent chance to make the field entering Saturday, according to The Athletic’s model. In suffering its first loss, Navy saw its Playoff hopes (just 5 percent entering Saturday) take a hit, though it is still a perfect 4-0 in American Athletic Conference play.
Navy fumbles its big chance
With a chance to stay unbeaten and make a statement nationally, No. 24 Navy committed a bevy of unforced errors.
The Midshipmen, who came into the game with only two giveaways, turned it over six times against the Fighting Irish, their most turnovers since a 2002 loss at Boston College.
On its first possession, Navy lost a fumble for the first time this season and committed its first turnover since the opening game against Bucknell. Running back Alex Tecza dropped a simple pitch and Adon Shuler returned it 28 yards to set up the Irish for a short touchdown drive to make it 14-0 in the first quarter.
Another fumble, this one by Horvath while pulling an inside handoff late, gave the Irish the ball next around midfield. Navy managed to get a third-down stop and Notre Dame’s backup kicker missed a 36-yard field goal.
The Midshipmen held onto the ball on their next drive and Horvath sliced through the Irish for a 47-yard touchdown on an option keeper to make the score with 13:33 left in the second quarter. Those two possessions represented Navy’s one moment of hope to pull the upset.
Horvath to the housepic.twitter.com/wRkt5r5zES
— Navy Athletics (@NavyAthletics) October 26, 2024
Notre Dame busted a long touchdown run on its next series, and another Navy fumble — this time on a muffed punt by Isaiah Bryant — led to a fourth Irish touchdown in the first half. That was pretty much it for the Midshipmen’s unbeaten season.
The Navy offense — a hybrid version of the wing-T combined with the Midshipmen’s traditional triple-option — was effective when it wasn’t turning it over. Horvath ran for 129 yards on 14 carries, and the Midshipmen opened the second half with a beauty of a 12-play, 75-yard drive that culminated in wingback Eli Heidenreich taking a jet sweep around left end for a 1-yard score on fourth-and-goal that made it 31-14 Notre Dame.
The Irish responded with another long touchdown drive and then the capper on a truly dreadful day for Navy’s offense. Horvath fumbled trying to pass from around his goal line, the ball seemingly slipping from his hand while under pressure, and Jaylen Sneed recovered for a touchdown that made it 44-14.
Horvath was intercepted in the end zone in the fourth quarter and then another muffed punt gave Notre Dame its fourth drive of the day starting in Navy territory. Navy has now lost seven in a row to the Irish. — Ralph Russo, national college football writer
Why optimism is growing for Notre Dame on offense
For most of this season, it has required squinting to see Riley Leonard as the quarterback Notre Dame thought it was getting out of the transfer portal from Duke last winter. The run threat has always been there, but Leonard the passer was a developmental project for offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock. Now the Irish might be reaching a new act in Leonard’s only season at Notre Dame.
Leonard the run threat remains, which is why he has 11 rushing touchdowns — three away from tying the single-season record by an Irish quarterback. His 10 carries went for 83 yards and a touchdown against the Mids. It’s Leonard the passer that’s gone from hope and a prayer to throw and a catch. Leonard went 13-of-21 for 178 yards against Navy, which might not look impressive as a standalone statistic. But Leonard completed layered passes over zone coverage, worked the RPO game with success and converted Notre Dame’s only fourth-down attempt.
BEAUX TIME#GoIrish☘️ | @beaux_collins pic.twitter.com/uokYNfkwdT
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) October 26, 2024
No Irish receiver had more than four catches — Jordan Faison had four for 52 yards — but nine players had at least one. It would have been 10 if not for an Eli Raridon drop during the third quarter.
Notre Dame might not have a great offense at its disposal entering November, but it has an improving one with Leonard at the controls. There may still be brain cramps and almost-interceptions. Both happened against Navy. And maybe that’s just part of the Leonard experience. But the upside Notre Dame hoped for after signing Leonard in the first place is burning brighter and brighter. — Pete Sampson, Notre Dame beat writer
Irish did their job against revamped Navy offense
As much as Navy authored its own demise with five lost fumbles, Notre Dame’s defense at least got a byline.
Led by four graduate students up the middle — defensive tackles Rylie Mills and Howard Cross III, linebacker Jack Kiser and safety Xavier Watts — Notre Dame clamped down on Navy’s modernized option offense that seemed to be Horvath and little else.
Tecza and Daba Fofana, the fullbacks, found no success up the middle, finishing with 14 carries for 47 yards. Horvath threatened but struggled to connect as a passer, as he went 7-of-13 for 88 yards, including an interception by freshman cornerback Leonard Moore.
The @NDFootball five recovered fumbles are tied with four other games for the second-most in a game in program history (and the first time since 1977 in a 19-9 win over Pitt).
ND recovered six fumbles at Southern Cal in 1984.— Notre Dame Football PR Team (@NDFootballPR) October 26, 2024
Yes, Horvath was outstanding on the ground at times, but even his numbers require context. Though he posted a 47-yard touchdown run and a 60-yard run in the second quarter, he was hardly effective otherwise.
Kiser led Notre Dame with nine tackles, which wasn’t a surprise. But Sneed also posted nine stops, while Shuler and Junior Tuihalamaka chipped in with seven tackles each. Sneed also recovered one of those Navy fumbles in the end zone to help blow the game open in the second half.
Notre Dame’s offense made Navy pay for its mistakes, and even without all the turnovers, the Irish seemed to solve the Mids’ updated playbook without much trouble. — Sampson
Does Navy still have a path to the Playoff?
Navy’s realistic Playoff chances go through winning the AAC and grabbing the bid that goes to one of the five highest-ranked conference champions.
So that’s still in play, but the Midshipmen really needed a signature win on their resume. Not only didn’t they get it, but they were blown out, playing their sloppiest game of the season by far.
Navy didn’t necessarily need to beat Notre Dame, but hanging with the Fighting Irish would have at least provided something for the CFP selection committee to weigh when looking at the Mids as a potential Playoff team — like Boise State’s three-point loss at Oregon in September.
Navy’s other nonconference games were against Bucknell and a struggling Air Force. And the Army game won’t count for the Playoff race because it’s played the week after the CFP field is set.
Back in conference, Navy has two road games coming up against Rice and South Florida before returning home for what should be a key AAC game against Tulane. While there has been a lot of deserved attention on Army and Navy, the Green Wave are also unbeaten in the AAC.
Coming off four consecutive losing seasons, Navy is still in position to have one of the best turnarounds in the country, but coming up so far short against Notre Dame is probably going to relegate the Midshipmen to Playoff spoilers. — Russo
(Photo of Kris Mitchell: Edward Diller / Getty Images)
