Offensive woes return as Navy falls to #10 Notre Dame 34-6
The Navy offense showed signs of life against Cincinnati and Tulsa but Notre Dame shut them down on Saturday. The Midshipmen had 188 yards of offense and were held to two Bijan Nichols field goals. Quarterback Tai Lavatai left with an upper body injury in the second quarter. Before that he had negative seven yards rushing and attempted one pass that was incomplete. Fullback Isaac Ruoss had 73 yards on 22 carries to be the bright spot.
The Navy defense played well but a blown coverage to end the first half and a 95 yard drive to start the second were pivotal. They held a good Notre Dame offense to 17 points through 3 quarters before the Fighting Irish scored 17 more in the fourth. The key stretch was just before halftime Notre Dame scored on a 70-yard TD pass. After halftime Navy went 3 & out before another touchdown gave the Irish a 17-3 lead and the game changed. Rayuan Lane led the Midshipmen with 9 tackles while John Marshall had 8 including a sack.
After not playing last year due to the pandemic the two schools have signed a contract to play every year through 2032. In 2023 they head back to Dublin Ireland to play in late August. Last time they played overseas Notre Dame defeated Navy 50-10. The 2023 game will be a Notre Dame home game. That is unusual because it’s normally Navy who moves their home games around.
Navy is now 2-7 and has a week off before East Carolina comes to Annapolis for senior day on November 20th. Kickoff is on CBS Sports Network at 3:30.
