What Happened the Last Time Notre Dame Played Navy?
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After a much-needed bye following their road trip to the unconquerable house of horrors that is Lavell Edwards Stadium, Notre Dame will be suiting up for its eighth game of 2026, a Halloween nooner at Gillette Stadium against the intrepid men of the United States Navy. My feelings on this series have shifted over the years. For a long time I hoped Notre Dame would move away from an annual game, convinced by arguments you are no doubt familiar with as a reader of this site – we get no credit for beating them even when they’re good, Notre Dame was one of many schools that participated in the V-12 program during the Second World War and none of them feel bound to play Navy in perpetuity, etc. – but I’ve moderated on it in recent years. As college football has been strip-mined and lost so much of the tradition and connection to history that make it special, a series like this with a long tradition of existence, despite its one-sided nature, does have a certain appeal.
The other thing Navy has going for them is that despite setbacks and obvious limitations, they’ve found ways to remain a more than competitive program if never a real contender on the national stage. Though many in the twilight of Ken Niumatololo’s tenure wondered whether there was a future for service academies in the modern game, Brian Newberry has recovered to post back-to-back double-digit win seasons with a pair of bowl wins over Power Four opponents. His Midshipmen teams have been just on the edge of the conference title game and a potential playoff berth in both of those seasons. It is always amusing to still hear fans of teams that have regular dates with the likes of Arkansas and Rutgers accuse Notre Dame of making a soft scheduling choice by playing Navy, as though the Middies wouldn’t beat the brakes off those and many other teams on their supposedly brutal conference schedules. Year in and year out Navy is one of the most challenging G6 teams anyone can schedule, and it’s not a coincidence you don’t see power teams that regularly queue up Directional State Animal Husbandry Academy as part of their non-conference slate throwing them in the mix.
Whether it is wise or not, the Irish are continuing to play this one and as long as they do, they should expect to win and win convincingly. Last year’s installment was no different.
Week 9: Navy Midshipment
Last matchup: November 8, 2025 – Notre Dame 49, Navy 10
The Midshipmen entered the game determined to hang in there in classic Navy fashion by bleeding the clock on their first few offensive series, especially as they were missing injured quarterback Blake Horvath. While the Irish went up 7-0 on their first drive, Navy was able to possess the ball for a couple series, get a key stop and tie the game 7-7 early in the second quarter. Notre Dame’s offense regained its stride, though, and had stretched the lead to 21-10 by halftime.
Getting the ball out of the break, the Irish had an opportunity to more or less ice the game on their first possession. As it was so often in the last couple years, that killing blow was delivered by Jeremiyah Love:
It’s a category with a lot of worthy candidates but this is a strong contender for the most physically impressive run of Love’s career, showcasing his strength and body control as well as top-end speed down the sideline. Once it happened, the rout was fully on in South Bend. Two more touchdowns came via the air in the third quarter, and with the score 42-10 heading into the fourth and snow falling, the white flags went up and both teams ground down the clock for the remainder of the night.
Love had the play of the night and put up a big game overall, with 94 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, but the best performer of the evening for Notre Dame’s offense was CJ Carr. In terrible throwing conditions, the young quarterback ran a full passing playbook and was dynamite in limited action, going 13/16 for 218 yards with three touchdowns and a 98.8 QBR.
Smart and athletic linebacking play is usually essential to limiting Navy’s offense and the Irish had it in spades, led by Jaiden Ausberry’s eight tackles, including a sack and an additional TFL. Drayk Bowen and Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa each tallied five tackles of their own, with KVA notching a TFL and a pass breakup. While Navy got their yards on the ground as usual, the always-dreaded pass-play deception never materialized as Braxton Woodson threw for only 22 yards. Credit Chris Ash for the discipline of his defense and for succeeding in keeping Navy off the field in his first go-round in a series that often vexes first-year coordinators. Highlights are below:
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