Navy will travel to South Bend this weekend to face off against Notre Dame in front of a sold-out crowd. This will be the 98th matc up between the two teams, and this year’s edition has a lot riding on it, as a loss for both teams would eliminate them from College Football Playoff contention.
This matchup started in 1927 and was played annually through 2019, making it the longest uninterrupted intersectional rivalry in college football, as well as the third-longest college football rivalry overall. The streak was broken in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, despite both teams still playing a full schedule. Notre Dame leads the series 81-13-1, with the longest winning streak coming from the Irish claiming 43 straight meetings before a triple-overtime loss in 2007. The two will be competing for the Rip Miller Trophy, named after Edgar “Rip” Miller who played as a tackle for Notre Dame from 1922-1924 before serving as head coach at Navy from 1931-1933, line coach from 1934-1947 and as assistant athletic director from 1948-1974.
This rivalry is also unique because it has never been played in Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Navy’s traditional home stadium, due to its small size compared to the game’s large popularity. The Midshipmen instead host the game at a handful of stadiums across the Eastern Seaboard, notably Baltimore’s M&T Bank Stadium and New York’s MetLife Stadium or even West Coast stadiums such as San Diego’s SDCCU Stadium, due to the city’s large naval fleet. Notre Dame has also hosted the game away from its campus, as both teams have traveled to Dublin to face-off in 1996 at Croke Park and in 2012 and 2023 at Aviva Stadium.
Despite a long rivalry, there have been few standout games, as it is usually a routine win on Notre Dame’s schedule. However, the first iconic game was in 1933 as Miller guided Navy to their first victory over Notre Dame by a score of 7-0. The Irish would win a majority of the games in the belly of this showdown, but Navy would pull out another win in 1963 by a score of 35-14, as eventual Heisman Trophy winner Roger Staubach dominated the Irish defense. 1964 began Notre Dame’s infamous 43-game unbeaten run with a complete 40-0 shutout thanks to 1964 Heisman winner John Huarte, and the Irish would only continue to dominate for the next three decades.
In 1991, Notre Dame achieved its 700th all-time victory in a 38-0 defeat of Navy. The back half of the ‘90s almost saw an Irish setback, but Notre Dame’s Allen Rossum saved the 1997 game and knocked Navy out-of-bounds one yard short of a touchdown, keeping their streak intact. Just two years later, Notre Dame converted on a fourth and nine with a little over a minute left to score a touchdown and escape with a 28-24 win. Even into the 2000s the meetings were close, with their matchup in 2003 coming down to a buzzer-beating field goal made by Notre Dame kicker D.J. Fitzpatrick. After 43 years of heartbreak, Navy finally snapped the streak in a triple overtime 46-44 triumph in 2007, with a massive defensive stuff to stop Notre Dame’s two-point try and secure the win for the Midshipmen. Since then, Navy has won three more times, but the Notre Dame win streak is currently at seven games.
To both of these schools, this tradition is less about a football game and more about mutual respect for history and tradition. The good news for fans of the Irish and Midshipmen is that the two programs have signed an agreement to continue playing through 2032, embodying the consistency and honor these two teams hold for each other and their country.
Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at Notre Dame Stadium.
