Notre Dame vs Navy Series History

A look at the series history between Notre Dame and the Navy Midshipmen

After a dominating 35-14 victory over Clemson, Notre Dame travels to Baltimore to take on the United States Naval Academy in M&T Bank Stadium on Saturday. Marcus Freeman’s Fighting Irish look to extend their winning streak to 3 games and keep alive the possibility of playing in a New Years Six bowl game.

SERIES HISTORY

Notre Dame and Navy have met 94 times on the gridiron, making Navy the most frequent Fighting Irish opponent in the university’s storied football history. These two teams met every year on the field from 1927-2019, with the 2020 game that was scheduled for Dublin, Ireland canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Fighting Irish have dominated the series, holding an 80-13-1 advantage. The longest winning streak that Navy has ever had in the series is 2 games (on 4 separate occasions), and the best overall stretch for Navy was when the Midshipmen won 5 of 8 against Notre Dame between 1956-1963. On the other hand, Notre Dame famously won 43 games in a row from 1964-2006, the longest consecutive wins streak by one team over another in college football history.

Notre Dame went 9-2 against Navy during the Brian Kelly era, falling in 2010 and 2016. Navy has been coached by Ken Niumatalolo since 2008. Niumatalolo is the winningest coach in Naval Academy football history and has an overall record of 3-10 against Notre Dame.

SERIES RESULTS SINCE 2000

2021 – Notre Dame 34, Navy 6
2019 – Notre Dame 52, Navy 20
2018 – Notre Dame 44, Navy 22
2017 – Notre Dame 24, Navy 17
2016 – Navy 28, Notre Dame 27
2015 – Notre Dame 41, Navy 24
2014 – Notre Dame 49, Navy 39
2013 – Notre Dame 38, Navy 34
2012 – Notre Dame 50, Navy 10
2011 – Notre Dame 56, Navy 14
2010 – Navy 35, Notre Dame 17
2009 – Navy 23, Notre Dame 21
2008 – Notre Dame 27, Navy 21
2007 – Navy 46, Notre Dame 44
2006 – Notre Dame 38, Navy 14
2005 – Notre Dame 42. Navy 21
2004 – Notre Dame 27, Navy 9
2003 – Notre Dame 27, Navy 24
2002 – Notre Dame 30, Navy 23
2001 – Notre Dame 34, Navy 16
2000 – Notre Dame 45, Navy 14

NOTABLE GAMES

2021 – Notre Dame got off to a sloppy start and did not take the lead until 2:46 remained in the first half on a rushing touchdown from Kyren Williams, but a 70-yard touchdown pass from Jack Coan to Kevin Austin with 50 seconds left in the first half pushed the margin to 17-3. Still, Notre Dame was shut out in the third quarter and with the score standing uncomfortably close at 17-6, the Irish leaned on defense and the rushing attack to close out the Midshipmen. A safety, another Williams touchdown run, and an 8-yard plunge from Logan Diggs resulted in a 34-6 Notre Dame win, moving the Irish to 8-1 on the year.

2019 – Navy entered the 2019 matchup against an up-and-down Notre Dame team ranked 23rd in the country and led by dynamic QB Malcolm Perry. Unfortunately for the Midshipmen, they had no answer for the pressure that the Notre Dame defense brought, nor could they stop the connection between Ian Book and Chase Claypool. Book threw 5 touchdown passes, with 4 of them going to Claypool, tying the school record. On defense, Notre Dame forced 4 Navy turnovers, including fumbles on the first 2 drives, a big reason why Notre Dame went into halftime with a 38-3 lead and cruised to a 52-20 victory. Navy was the only ranked team Notre Dame beat in 2019, and despite a 10-2 regular season record, the Irish were sent to the Camping World Bowl where they defeated Iowa State 33-9.

2018 – Notre Dame moved to 8-0 with a 44-22 victory over Navy behind 330 passing yards and 2 touchdowns from Ian Book and 142 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns from Dexter Williams. After Miles Boykin fumbled on Notre Dame’s first offensive snap, little went wrong on offense the rest of the way, as the Irish scored on 7 of the next 9 drives. Notre Dame led 27-0 at halftime and though Navy closed the gap to 30-14 with 5 minutes left in the third quarter due to some sloppy tackling, the outcome was never in doubt. Notre Dame would finish the regular season undefeated but fall to Clemson in the College Football Playoff semifinal.

2016 – Notre Dame dropped to 3-6 in the forgettable 2016 season with a 28-27 loss to Navy in Jacksonville. The Fighting Irish somehow managed to lose a game in which they scored on 5 of 6 drives, due in large part to the inability of the defense to tackle and get off the field. After Justin Yoon kicked a 31-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 28-27 with 7:28 left, Notre Dame never got the ball back, as Navy ran 14 plays on the ensuing drive to run out the clock. For the game, the Midshipmen were 8-13 on third down and 4-5 on fourth down and on the final drive alone converted all 5 third and fourth down attempts.

2012 – The Fighting Irish kicked off the magical 2012 season in Dublin, Ireland with a 50-10 thrashing of Navy behind 293 rushing yards. Theo Riddick ran for 107 yards and 2 touchdowns while George Atkinson III added 99 yards on the ground and 2 scores. Notre Dame also showcased the dominant defense which would carry them to so much success throughout the season, as Stephon Tuitt returned a fumble 77 yards for a touchdown and Manti Te’o snared the first of his 7 interceptions on the season.

2010 – Notre Dame dropped to 4-4 in Brian Kelly’s first season with a demoralizing 35-17 loss to Navy. The Midshipmen piled up 367 rushing yards, with 210 coming from Alexander Teich and another 90 from Ricky Dobbs, who also scored 3 touchdowns. Navy dominated the second and third quarters, turning what was a narrow 7-3 lead at the end of the first quarter into a 35-10 cushion by the start of the fourth. The loss to Navy ushered in arguably the worst week in modern Notre Dame football history, as student videographer Declan Sullivan was tragically killed the following Wednesday when the scissor lift he was using to film practice tipped over in high winds. Then that Saturday, a grieving Notre Dame team lost 28-27 to Tulsa.

2007 – The streak had to be broken at some point, and it came to an end with a 46-44 Navy victory over Notre Dame in triple overtime. Notre Dame fell to 1-8 in a forgettable season with the loss. With the game tied 28-28 and 45 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Charlie Weis opted to go for a fourth-and-8 conversion rather than attempting a 41-yard field goal. The Irish did not convert, sending the game to overtime. After the teams traded touchdowns in the first overtime and field goals in the second, Navy scored a touchdown and two-point conversion in the third overtime. Notre Dame answered with a touchdown but were stopped on the two-point try, giving Navy the victory and ending the longest all-time college football consecutive wins streak by one team over another.

1997 – There were many close calls in Notre Dame’s 43-game winning streak over Navy (including last second field goals in 1984 and 2003), but the play that best epitomizes the streak was the final snap of the 1997 contest. With Notre Dame leading 21-17 with 3 seconds left and Navy holding the ball at their own 29-yard line, Navy’s Hail Mary pass was deflected into the air by the Notre Dame secondary and caught in stride by Navy receiver Pat McGrew. However, CB Allen Rossum caught McGrew and pushed him out of bounds at the 1-yard line, giving Notre Dame the win in Bob Davie’s first season.

1969 – In a 47-0 rout at Notre Dame Stadium, the Irish offense piled up 720 total yards, which still remains the school record. The Fighting Irish finished the season with an 8-2-1 record (the tie was against USC) and ranked 5th in the final AP poll.

1964 – Notre Dame got off to a fast start in Ara Parseghian’s first season at the helm behind the right arm of the soon-to-be Heisman winner John Huarte. The Irish easily passed what was thought to be a tough test from the Staubach-led Navy team with a 40-0 victory over the Midshipmen in Philadelphia in a matchup that pitted the 1963 Heisman winner against the 1964 Heisman winner. Notre Dame finished the season 9-1, dropping the finale at USC in a game marked by questionable officiating. However, the 1964 season got the Irish program back on track, and Parseghian would capture his first national title in 1966.

1963 – Roger Staubach quarterbacked arguably the greatest team in Navy football history to a 9-1 regular season record and #2 national ranking. One of the highlights of Staubach’s Heisman campaign was Navy’s 35-14 victory over a terrible Notre Dame team in South Bend. The Fighting Irish would finish the season 2-7, and head coach Hugh Devore (who himself admitted he was a stopgap hire), departed to make way for Ara Parseghian. 

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