Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM NOV. 9, 2024 23 1st Empty red zone possession of the sea- son for Navy came late in the second quarter against Notre Dame. The Midshipmen had first-and-10 at the Notre Dame 18-yard line when they put the ball on the ground for the fourth time in the first half but recovered it for a 4-yard loss. A 1-yard loss on another running play and then and incomplete pass on third-and-15 followed, before Navy missed a 40-yard field goal attempt. They also came up empty on drive that spanned the end of the third quarter and the start of the fourth, when they advanced to the Irish 12-yard line before quarterback Blake Horvath was in- tercepted by Irish freshman cornerback Leonard Moore in the end zone on fourth-and-7. The Midshipmen scored 22 touchdowns — the second most in the country behind only Ohio State (24) coming into the game — and had 1 field goal in their first 23 red zone trips to rank tied for first in the country in red zone success. They finished 1 of 3 against the Irish. 2 Fumbles lost by Navy in the first quarter alone. It marked the Midshipmen's first two lost fumbles of the season and their first turnovers since the third quarter of their season opener against Bucknell Aug. 31. It also is the first time Navy fumbled on its first two drives versus Notre Dame since 2019, when the Irish registered that 52-20 win. 6-0 Advantage in turnover margin for the Fighting Irish. Navy entered the game with just 2 giveaways and a plus-12 turnover mar- gin — both of which ranked second in the nation — but lost three fumbles, muffed two punts and threw one interception. The three first-half turnovers were Navy's most versus an FBS opponent since it had four against Notre Dame during that 52-20 loss in 2019. The 6 total turnovers by the Midshipmen against the Irish were the program's most coughing it up 6 times against Boston College in 2002. Notre Dame finished the game with a 27-0 ad- vantage in points off turnovers. 12-1 Combined record for the No. 24 Mid- shipmen and No. 12 Fighting Irish entering the game. That is the best combined record heading into a meeting since 1945, when both teams were 5-0. That game ended in a 6-6 tie. This was the 11th time in 97 meetings both team were ranked, and marks just the second such meeting since 1978. No. 16 Notre Dame beat No. 23 Navy 52-20 at home on Nov. 16, 2019. Before that, the most recent ranked meeting be- tween the two teams was a 27-7 Irish win in Cleve- land, featuring No. 15 Notre Dame and No. 11 Navy, on Nov. 4, 1978. 31-7 Lead for Notre Dame after two quar- ters — its largest halftime advan- tage versus a ranked team since a 38-3 advantage against No. 23 Navy in 2019. The Irish scored on five of seven first half drives with a missed field goal and just one punt. The game was essentially over at the half, with ESPN analytics giving Notre Dame a 99.4 percent chance to win at that point. 37 Points — 51-14 over No. 23 Navy — was Notre Dame's sixth-largest margin of vic- tory against a ranked opponent in the AP poll era, which dates back to 1936. It was the Fighting Irish's biggest win versus a ranked foe since their 54-7 victory over No. 9-ranked Boston College on Nov. 7, 1992. 51 Points scored by Notre Dame against Navy were the most in the series for the Irish since the 52-20 win in 2019. 88 Passing yards for Navy against Notre Dame. The Midshipmen entered the con- test averaging 161.0 passing yards per game, their most since 1994. It is the 45th time since 1996 that Notre Dame has held an opponent to 100 yards or less passing. Six of those games have occurred under defensive coordinator Al Golden the past two years: 43 vs. Navy in 2023, 67 vs. Tennessee State in 2023, 98 vs. Wake Forest in 2023, 100 vs. Texas A&M in 2024, 87 vs. Stanford and 88 vs. Navy in 2024. BY THE NUMBERS BY STEVE DOWNEY 5 Recovered fumbles total by Notre Dame against Navy, tied with four other games for the second most in a single contest in program history. The school record is 6 fumble recoveries in a 18-17 triumph at No.14-ranked Southern Cal on Nov. 24, 1984. The last time the Irish finished with 5 came in a 19-9 win over No. 7-ranked Pitt on Sept. 10, 1977. PHOTO BY BILL STREICHER