Notre Dame vs. Navy was the longest uninterrupted intersectional rivalry in college football from 1927 to 2019, until the COVID-19 pandemic caused a cancellation in 2020. It also holds up as the third-longest uninterrupted college football rivalry overall. With this history, fans have been privy to historic games over the years. This season sets up the 6-2, No. 10 Irish against the 7-1, unranked Midshipmen in South Bend for the first night game in this series’ history.
This series has more than just historical significance and is even considered by many fans of both teams to be a sacred tradition between the two universities. Navy and Notre Dame have strong football roots dating back to the late 19th century, but reasons outside of the lines brought these schools together.
Notre Dame struggled with financial difficulties during World War II, especially with the strictly male student body. During this challenge, the U.S. Navy dubbed Notre Dame a training facility for V-12 candidates and paid the University for the usage of its campus to keep the school running. Notre Dame returned the favor by keeping an open invitation for Navy to play the Irish in football every season. The annual repayment of the debt served the University and the country.
This rivalry, while largely one-sided in results (83-13-1 in favor of Notre Dame), is characterized by mutual respect between the schools. Both teams stand at attention throughout the playing of their respective alma maters after the game, beginning in 2005. The renewal of the rivalry may as well be a formality at this point, as it is officially slated to continue through 2032.
Flipping back through the history books, it is easy to find memorable moments on both sides. In 1963, the Midshipmen routed the Irish 35-14 behind the play of Hesiman Trophy-winning quarterback Roger Staubach. One season later, the Irish began what would become a 43-game winning streak with a 40-0 bombshell on the reigning Heisman Staubach. The 1964 winner, Notre Dame quarterback John Huarte, led the effort for the Irish.
Notre Dame set its single-game school record of offensive yards in 1969 with 720 total yards en route to a 47-0 win. In 1976, the Irish held on 27-21 as defensive back Dave Waymer swatted a fourth-down pass from the endzone to preserve the tight victory. Seven years later, John Carney’s field goal helped erase a 17-7 deficit as the Irish hung on to win 18-17. In 1991, Notre Dame earned its 700th school victory against the Midshipmen.
Then, in 2007, the streak was broken. In a back-and-forth contest, Navy took the Irish to three overtimes in a game filled with everything a football fan could ask for. At the end of regulation on fourth and eight at the Irish 26-yard line, Navy linebacker Ram Villa leapt over the line of scrimmage, going airborne to sack Notre Dame quarterback Evan Sharpley and send the game to overtime. The teams traded touchdowns until, in triple overtime, the Irish trailed by eight with the ball. Needing to respond with a touchdown, Sharpley led the tying drive, setting up a critical two-point conversion to keep the marathon going. After a pass interference call on the first attempt, the Irish were gifted another chance. Looking to the flats, Sharpley threw a pass that was deflected, causing the attempt to fail and the streak to end.
The most recent Notre Dame loss against the Midshipmen came in 2016 in Jacksonville, Florida. Navy’s triple option moved the ball extremely effectively in a contest that it controlled through the second half. The Irish managed to get within one point, 27-28, with just over seven minutes to go in the fourth. Navy, however, ran out the entire clock in a long, leeching drive that included a fourth and six conversion from the Irish 30-yard line. This victory is the most recent, but many other games have been close.
In 2022, Notre Dame took on Navy in Baltimore, Maryland and felt comfortable heading into halftime after a one-minute scoring drive contributed to a 35-13 lead. From there, Navy scored 19 unanswered with a field goal and two touchdowns, both accompanied by two-point conversions, to bring the score to 35-32 with just over a minute left in the game. The Irish recovered a desperate onside kick attempt and kneeled out the clock, surviving a near collapse and epic come-from-behind effort from the 3-7 Midshipmen.
Punctuated by drama, spectacle, history and mutual respect, these two teams have produced blowouts and unforgettable finishes, reminding fans that the game is more than the product on the field. On Saturday in South Bend, Navy will take on the Irish for the first night game in the history of the series, hoping to add another token moment to the record books in the cathedral of college football. It will take discipline, heart, character and a little bit of magic for the Midshipmen to keep the contest close. Then again, that’s what this rivalry is made of.
