Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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22 NOV. 9, 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED TURNING POINT With Notre Dame coming off a touchdown on its first offensive drive and leading Navy 7-0, the turning point of this game came on the ensuing possession when the Midshipmen made a rare miscue and turned the ball back over to the Irish on a fumble. Facing first-and-10 at its own 34-yard line, Navy fullback Alex Tecza fumbled, and Notre Dame junior safety Adon Shuler scooped up the loose ball along the sideline and returned it 28 yards to the Midshipmen 7-yard line. Three plays later, the Irish were in the end zone on a 6-yard touchdown throw from senior quarterback Riley Leonard to graduate student wide receiver Kris Mitchell to go up 14-0. It marked Navy's biggest deficit of the season to that point, and helped the Irish cruise to the lopsided win. STATS OF THE GAME Navy entered its game against Notre Dame having turned the ball over only twice all season during its 6-0 start, the second fewest giveaways in the coun- try, while it had forced 14 turnovers and parlayed them into 73 points. That script flipped when Navy turned the ball over 6 times — 5 fumbles, 1 interception — while Notre Dame had no giveaways. Remarkably, the Midshipmen entered the game without losing a fumble all season. It marked the first time that Navy turned the ball over 6 times in a game since 2002 against Boston College. As a side note, with his 2 rushing touchdowns against Navy, Irish sophomore tailback Jeremiyah Love has now scored on the ground in all eight of Notre Dame's games, the longest such streak to start a season since Autry Denson scored on the ground in 10 straight games to start the 1998 season. BEATING THE BEST The victory over Navy marked Freeman's 10th win in his last 11 games dating back to last year, and his sixth straight victory this season — the longest winning streak of his Notre Dame career. It was also Freeman's third victory in three games this season against ranked opponents, and already his 10th career win over a team that was ranked in the Associated Press Top 25. With the victory over Navy, Freeman tied leg- endary Irish skipper Frank Leahy for the most wins for a Notre Dame head coach over ranked opponents through his first three seasons on the job. With No. 23 Army (7-0) expected to be 9-0 when it meets the Irish Nov. 23, and a bowl game against a ranked team on the horizon, Freeman stands a good chance to set a new school record in that category. THREE OBSERVATIONS BY TODD D. BURLAGE QB RILEY LEONARD In a little more than three quarters of play, the Irish senior completed 13 of 21 throws for 178 yards with 2 touchdowns, and added 10 carries for 83 yards and 1 score, his 11th of the season on the ground. As he has frequently done this season, Leonard got off to a hot start in the game. Through the entire first and early second quarters, Leonard went 7-of-8 passing for 73 yards with 1 touchdown. The matchup with Navy marked the fourth time in the last five games that Leonard has thrown mul- tiple touchdown passes after he managed only 1 scoring toss total in his first four games this season. RB JEREMIYAH LOVE The sophomore led all Irish rushers with 102 yards with 2 touchdowns on 12 carries, while av- eraging 8.5 yards per carry. Love did most of his work in the first half while Notre Dame built a 31-7 lead, finishing the first and second quarters with 92 rushing yards on 10 carries with 2 scores, including a 64-yard scoring scamper, the longest of his career. His other touchdown came on a 2-yard surge late in the second quarter that gave the Irish a comfortable 28-7 lead. Somewhat surprisingly, this marked only the sec- ond career 100-yard rushing game for Love. LB JAYLEN SNEED In a game-ball that seemed a long time coming, the Irish junior enjoyed his best game at Notre Dame with a career-high 9 tackles, which also tied for the team lead, and a big-play moment that he'll never forget. Sneed's already terrific game in rush defense was emphasized in the third quarter when he fell on a fumble by Navy quarterback Blake Hor- vath in the end zone that gave him his first career fumble recovery and his first touchdown. Sneed, the highest-rated recruit in the 2022 Notre Dame recruiting class, had only made more than 3 tackles four times in his career. GAME BALLS BY TODD D. BURLAGE Junior linebacker Jaylen Sneed (No. 3) made a career-high 9 tackles, plus notched his first career fumble recovery and touchdown in the win over Navy. PHOTO BY BILL STREICHER