EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Notre Dame came into its nationally ranked showdown with Navy looking to create turnovers and the Midshipmen uncharacteristically complied.
Jeremiyah Love ran for 102 yards, two touchdowns and extended his streak of rushing for a TD to eight games as No. 12 Notre Dame took advantage of six turnovers and beat previously unbeaten and 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) beat Navy (6-1) for the seventh straight time. “To be plus-6 in turnovers is a straight reflection of complimentary football.”
Navy coach Brian Newberry said the Irish were a better team in every way, and he was blunt saying playing at MetLife Stadium roughly five miles from New York City might have been too big a stage for the Midshipmen.
“Sometimes you want something so bad you play outside yourself and I think we did that today,” said Newbery, whose team had not 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. “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 six turnovers overall that led to 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 by Kedren Young also followed turnovers, including two on muffed punts.
Leonard finished 13 of 21 for 178 yards, adding a 37-yard TD toss to Beaux Collins in helping the Irish win their sixth straight following a stunning loss to Northern Illinois in Week 2.
The Irish led 31-7 at the half and never were threatened.
Horvath scored on a 47-yard run for Navy and finished with 129 yards on 14 carries. Eli Heidenreich scored on a short run for the 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 with the 51 points being the most allowed by the Midshipmen this season.
The takeaway
Notre Dame: The Irish knew they had to be efficient on offense to keep Navy from running its ball-control offense, and they did just that. Leonard and the offense are rounding into form and it now has 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 when it doesn’t cough up the ball. The five lost fumbles and six total turnovers are the most for the Mids since 2002 against Boston College. Navy’s defense could not handle Notre Dame’s size, speed and talent, and the bad position its offense placed it in.
Poll implications
The Irish played well except for a couple of busts on runs by Horvath. It would not be a surprise if they moved up. Navy played its worst game in years and it probably will knock them out of the poll.
Up next
Norte Dame: has a bye and returns Nov. 9 at home against Florida State.
Navy: at Rice on Saturday.