Notre Dame entered its highly anticipated game against Navy hoping to force turnovers, and the Midshipmen unexpectedly obliged.
Jeremiyah Love rushed for 102 yards and two touchdowns, extending his streak of scoring in eight consecutive games as No. 12 Notre Dame capitalized on six turnovers to defeat the previously unbeaten No. 24 Navy 51-14 on Saturday.
“That was a point of emphasis. This team is No. 2 in the country in turnover margin,” Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said after the Irish (7-1) won against Navy (6-1) for the seventh time in a row. “To be plus-6 in turnovers is a straight reflection of complimentary football.”
Navy coach Brian Newberry acknowledged that Notre Dame was better in every aspect of the game and mentioned that playing at MetLife Stadium, which is about five miles from New York City, might have been too overwhelming for his team.
“Sometimes you want something so bad you play outside yourself and I think we did that today,” said Newberry, whose team had not fumbled all season.
Love scored on runs of 64 and 2 yards, and quarterback Riley Leonard contributed with a touchdown run and two touchdown passes in this 97th matchup between the two teams.
“I’m still trying to figure out whether we got it or not,” Leonard said. “Having that little bit of fear of there’s always more in the tank. It’s been a work in progress obviously, but I think we’re getting better every week.”
The Midshipmen lost five fumbles and had a total of six turnovers, which led to 28 points for the Irish. Jaylen Sneed recovered a fumble by Blake Horvath in the end zone for a touchdown.
Love’s shorter touchdown run, a 6-yard touchdown pass from Leonard to Kris Mitchell, and a late 4-yard touchdown run by Kedren Young all followed turnovers, including two from muffed punts.
Leonard completed 13 of 21 passes for 178 yards, including a 37-yard touchdown pass to Beaux Collins, helping the Irish win their sixth straight game after a surprising loss to Northern Illinois in Week 2.
The Irish led 31-7 at halftime and were never in danger of losing.
Horvath scored on a 47-yard run for Navy and finished the game with 129 yards on 14 carries. Eli Heidenreich also scored on a short run for the Midshipmen’s other touchdown.
“When you look at almost every single turnover or fumble, it was something we did,” Horvath said. “They almost didn’t touch the ball. That is the most frustrating piece from our point. We wanted it really bad and we bit ourselves.”
Notre Dame outgained Navy 466-310, and the 51 points scored by the Irish were the most allowed by the Midshipmen this season.
