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The 5 Best Games in Notre Dame vs. Navy History

By Daniel Morrison

SOUTH BEND, IN - NOVEMBER 02: The U.S. Navy Blue Angels perform a stadium flyover before the Notre Dame Fighting Irish take on the Navy Midshipmen at Notre Dame Stadium on November 2, 2013 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
SOUTH BEND, IN - NOVEMBER 02: The U.S. Navy Blue Angels perform a stadium flyover before the Notre Dame Fighting Irish take on the Navy Midshipmen at Notre Dame Stadium on November 2, 2013 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /
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5.  2016 Notre Dame 27, Navy 28

Most seasons where Navy beats Notre Dame, or even gives them a scare, it’s because Navy is having a better year than normal and Notre Dame is having a worse one. That’s exactly what happened in Brian Kelly’s worst season at Notre Dame.

In 2016 Kelly’s team went 4-8, despite the ridiculous amount of talent on the roster. Take a glance, Brandon Wimbush, Malik Zaire, DeShone Kizer, Ian Book, Dexter Williams, Josh Adams, Tony Jones Jr, Equanimeous St. Brown, Myles Boykin, Chase Claypool, Quenton Nelson, Mike McGlinchey, Alex Bars, Julian Okwara, Jerry Tillery, Te’von Coney, Drue Tranquill, and Julian Love were on this team.

That’s way too much talent for 4-8. Still, momentum can get rolling in the wrong direction after a couple of bad breaks, and things get away from good teams. That’s what happened in 2016. A 3-5 Notre Dame team desperately needed a win to get to 4-5, and make a bowl game a realistic goal once again.

Navy, who would win the AAC West in 2016, had other ideas.

The Irish scored first, and would carry a lead into halftime. It was a strong first half for Notre Dame quarterback DeShone Kizer, having thrown for two touchdown passes. However, Darryl Bonner and Will Worth both scored on the ground for Navy to keep it close.

It was 17-14 at the half, and that was the big issue in the game for Notre Dame. They let a less talented team hang around, and gain confidence. They gave Navy a chance to win, when they should have used their athleticism to stomp them.

Navy took the lead in the 3rd quarter on a 37 yard rush from Calvin Cass. He was the third Midshipman to find the endzone on the ground for Navy. A few minutes later, Kizer threw his third touchdown of the game for Notre Dame. The score was then 24-21, Notre Dame led.

That would be Notre Dame’s last touchdown on the day.

Early in the 4th quarter, Navy’s Will Worth ran for his second touchdown on the game. Navy had a 28-24 lead. They had confidence, and momentum. Meanwhile, Notre Dame’s season continued to spiral downwards.

The Irish would tack on a Justin Yoon field goal halfway through the 4th quarter to make it a one point game. This conservative choice was probably the right decision, if you’re going to be able to get into field goal range again.

Notre Dame wasn’t.

Instead, Navy used its ball control offense to kill the clock, and with one minute left Navy boldly went for it on 4th down. Navy did what Navy never does, complete a straight drop back. It was good for the first down. Notre Dame was out of timeouts, and the fat lady started to sing on the game and the season.

Notre Dame would only find one more win on the schedule, against Army. That’s ironic because after losing the AAC Championship Game to Temple, Navy would drop the Army-Navy game by a score of 17-21.

Navy would also lose to Louisiana Tech 45-48 in the Armed Forces Bowl. Notre Dame didn’t make a bowl game in 2016, and it seems that Brian Kelly hasn’t gotten off the hot seat since then.

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