Seven days after finding itself in a one-score game late against a one-win Boston College team, Notre Dame didn’t mess with its food on Saturday.
Behind a hyper-efficient effort from CJ Carr and the offense, the Irish put the game away in the third quarter to take down Navy, 49-10 in South Bend.
While the dominating effort was a much needed palate cleanser after last week, Notre Dame didn’t go up against the best version of the Midshipmen. Just an hour before kickoff, Navy star quarterback Blake Horvath was ruled out due to an upper-body injury.
In his place, Braxton Woodson took over as quarterback, and while he did prove to be an effective runner, his arm wasn’t good enough to keep pace with Carr.
Carr and the passing game was electric on Saturday, throwing 13-for-16 for 218 yards and three touchdowns. Malachi Fields had a big day with four catches for 97 yards. KK Smith added in an explosive play with a 34-yard touchdown reception to blow the game open in the third quarter.
Jeremiyah Love added two more touchdowns on 121 total yards, including another special explosive touchdown run to bring his career total to 37.
With Horvath out, Woodson took the reins as the Navy signal caller. The Midshipmen didn’t stray away from giving the ball to Woodson as the quarterback.
In the first half he touched the ball 20 times for 108 yards and a score.
The Irish did have success stopping Navy on their first drive as Adon Shuler jumped a pitch to bring down the runner on third down.
Much like last week against Boston College, Navy staked the box to take away the running game. Carr took advantage of the soft coverage to hit Love for 27 yards and hit Malachi Fields with a dart for 52 yards.
Fields had a massive first half, hauling in four catches for 97 yards.
Love ended the inaugural offensive drive with a one-yard score to give Notre Dame a lead it never relinquished.
In the early stages of the second quarter, the Midshipmen’s running attack finally broke through. Navy capitalized off a short field, using four different rushers to churn down the field. Woodson plunged into the endzone for a two-yard score.
Once again finding themselves in a tight game against an opponent that Las Vegas thought they would beat by 30, the Irish offense got going again.
Notre Dame sprinted down the field thanks to Carr and Fields. The quarterback found the receiver on their first three plays for 45 fast yards.
The drive wasn’t without its challenges though as inside the red zone the Irish were once again faced with a short yardage fourth down scenario. Carr soothed the worries of Irish fans, rolling right and quickly finding Jordan Faison for nine yards and the first.
Jadarian Price finished off the drive with a two-yard touchdown run to make the Irish lead 14-7.
Carr continued his hot start on the next drive, hitting Will Pauling for 27 yards, and executing a perfect quick throw to Faison for a five-yard score.
The freshman resembled the best version of himself, despite the wet conditions, in the first half, going 10-for-12 for 164 yards and the touchdown.
Notre Dame’s defense didn’t shut the door like it probably wanted to at the end of the first half as Woodson found daylight, running free for 41 yards. Navy kicker Nathan Kirkwood knocked through a 33-yard field goal to make the halftime score 21-10.
While Navy was able to stem the tide against Notre Dame in the first half, much to the thanks of its ability to control the clock, it couldn’t keep the Irish in check for very long in the third quarter.
In a career full of memorable runs, Love added another to his highlight reel. This time the junior spun over a tackle, managing to regain his footing and sprinting down the right sideline for a 48-yard touchdown.
And on the very next play on offense for the Irish? Another touchdown.
This time Carr went over the top of the defense to hit Smith on a 34-yard touchdown.
Carr wrapped up his efficient day of work on the next drive, finding Ty Washington for a four-yard touchdown pass, his third of the game. The score marked Washington's first in South Bend.
With the offense rolling it gave plenty of opportunity for the kicking game to figure itself out. Erik Schmidt was given the place kicking duties and was perfect, hitting all seven of his attempts.
The defense tightened up the screws against the nation’s leading rushing attack in the third quarter, allowing just 21 yards on the ground after giving up 154 in the first two quarters.
Next up for Notre Dame is what may very well be its last tough test against No. 24 Pitt on the road. Kickoff is set for 12:00 p.m. on Nov. 15 in Acrisure Stadium.
