Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1541184
18 NOV. 15, 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY TYLER HORKA I t snowed in South Bend but it didn't stick. Notre Dame's perfor- mance against Navy, meanwhile? You could classify it as sticking it to the Midshipmen. The Fighting Irish absolutely boat raced 'em, 49-10. "It's always a great challenge when you get ready to play Navy just because of the uniqueness of their schemes on both sides of the ball," Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman said. "It is dif- ficult to prepare for because it's not something you see every week, and it's a good team. "I just thought our guys truly pre- pared the right way, had difficult prac- tices, which is important, and really bought into what we were trying to get them to do, and went out there and per- formed well." Navy (7-2) hung around for a while, taking a 7-7 tie deep into the second quarter, but the Irish opened it up with touchdowns from redshirt junior run- ning back Jadarian Price and junior wide receiver Jordan Faison to go along with junior running back Jeremiyah Love's from the opening frame. Up by 11 at halftime, it was all No. 10 Notre Dame (7-2) in a third quarter that slammed the door on the Irish's longtime rival. Notre Dame scored three touchdowns in a span of seven minutes of game time. The first of those was of the you-have- to-see-it-to-believe-it variety from Love. He fended off two unblocked would-be tacklers in the backfield then rolled over the body of a Midshipman without ever hitting the turf. He popped out of the pile and took off down the sideline 48 yards to the end zone. Love finished with 94 yards on 13 carries plus a catch for 27 yards to continue his Heisman Trophy candidacy. Redshirt freshman quarterback CJ Carr, meanwhile, accounted for the next two Notre Dame touchdowns. He threw a 34-yard strike to redshirt soph- omore wide receiver KK Smith on a deep post. Then connected with tight end Ty Washington on a drag through the backfield that leaked out into the flat. His first touchdown of the night was a similar instance of short pitch and catch with Faison. Carr completed 13 of 16 throws for 218 yards with 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. "I thought there were a lot of looks Nav y co u l d g ive yo u ," C a r r sa i d . "They're a good defense. They bring a lot of different pressures behind a lot of different coverages. So the preparation coming in was a lot. I think it was good for us. We went out there and knew the looks, saw the looks and executed." Navy played without starting quar- terback Blake Horvath to counter Carr's passing prowess, and the Midshipmen's aerial effort suffered as a result. Rather, it was almost nonexistent. Backup Braxton Woodson completed 3 of 8 pass attempts for 22 yards without any touchdowns or interceptions. He ran 23 times for 101 yards and a touchdown. It tends to be a hold-your-breath type of game going against Navy. If the Mid- shipmen get their option offense go- ing, it can snowball on the defense. But again — the snow wasn't sticking. Notre Dame forced Navy to punt on its first two possessions, and even in giving up points on two of the next three drives the Irish defense settled in and played confidently. Played so well, in fact, that Navy went to its third string quarter- back Jackson Gutierrez midway through the third quarter. Navy head coach Brian Newberry waved the white flag early. "All week as a defense we talked about how they were going to show us a lot of window dressing, make us communi- cate, move around a lot," redshirt soph- omore linebacker Jaiden Ausberry said. "But once the ball is snapped, it's foot- ball. You got to play fast, play violent." In three games against Notre Dame since taking over for longtime Mid- shipmen head coach Ken Niumatalolo, Newberry has lost 42-3, 51-14 and now 49-10. His Mids have been pretty good overall during his tenure; they're still in the running for a double-digit win sea- son, which would mark the first time in program history they've ever done it in consecutive campaigns. Against Notre Dame, though? Just not up to the tall task. FIRST QUARTER NOTRE DAME 7, NAVY 0 To p m o m e n t : Fre s h m a n E r i k Schmidt's extra point? It sure drew a momentous ovation, and justifiably so, given that all three of Irish kickers missed a kick in their 25-10 win at Bos- ton College Nov. 1. But the play that set SNOW JOKE Notre Dame proves it's for real with complete dismantling of Navy Junior running back Jeremiyah Love — who compiled 121 yards from scrimmage — was one of six different Fighting Irish players who scored a touchdown in the 49-10 rout of Navy. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER