Navy–Notre Dame football rivalry

The Navy–Notre Dame football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Navy Midshipmen football team of the United States Naval Academy and Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team of the University of Notre Dame. It was played annually from 1927 to 2019, which made it the longest uninterrupted intersectional rivalry in college football,^[2] the third-longest uninterrupted college football rivalry overall, as well as the second-longest never-interrupted rivalry in Division I college football (FBS). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 game was canceled, ending these lengthy streaks, even though both schools still played a fall season schedule in 2020.

Navy–Notre Dame football rivalry

Navy Midshipmen Notre Dame Fighting Irish
First meeting	October 15, 1927
Latest meeting	November 12, 2022
Next meeting	August 26, 2023 in Dublin, Ireland
Stadiums	Notre Dame Stadium (2019, 2021) M&T Bank Stadium (2022) Aviva Stadium (2023) MetLife Stadium (2024)
Trophy	None (1927–2010) Rip Miller Trophy (2011–present)
Statistics
Meetings total	95
All-time series	Notre Dame leads, 79–13–1 (.855)^[1]
Trophy series	Notre Dame leads, 9–1 (.909)
Largest victory	Notre Dame, 56–7 (1970)
Longest win streak	Notre Dame, 43 (1964–2006)
Current win streak	Notre Dame, 5 (2017–present)

[Interactive fullscreen map]

Locations of Notre Dame and Navy

Notre Dame leads the series 79–13–1.^[3] Before Navy won a 46–44 triple-overtime contest in 2007, Notre Dame had a 43-game winning streak that was the longest series win streak between two annual opponents in the history of Division I FBS football.^[4] Navy's previous win came in 1963, 35–14 with future Heisman Trophy winner and NFL quarterback Roger Staubach at the helm. Navy had come close to winning on numerous occasions before 2007. The Midshipmen subsequently won again in 2009, 2010 and 2016.

Host sites

Though the game is often played at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend whenever Notre Dame is the home team, it has never been played at Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis due to its relatively small size. Instead, Navy usually hosts the game at larger facilities such as Baltimore's old Memorial Stadium or current M&T Bank Stadium,^[5][6] FedExField in Landover, Maryland,^[7] or at Giants Stadium or MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.^[8][9] From 1960 to 1970, the Midshipmen hosted the game at John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, and they hosted the 1972, 1974 and 1993 games at Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium.^[10]

On occasion, the rivalry took place in other stadiums away from the East Coast, particularly in cities with large populations of United States Navy personnel. Cleveland Stadium hosted games between 1932 and 1978 as Cleveland, Ohio, had a considerable swath of naval officers, while the 2016 game was held at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Florida, where Naval Air Station Jacksonville is located.^[11][12] Navy's 2018 home game was played at SDCCU Stadium in San Diego, California, which has multiple military installations and the largest naval fleet in the world, in the rivalry's first meeting west of the Mississippi River.^[13]

The game has been played twice in Dublin, Ireland—in 1996 at Croke Park and 2012 at Aviva Stadium.^[14] A return to Aviva in 2020 was called off due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the game first being moved to Annapolis before finally being canceled altogether; this would have been the first time the game was played at Navy's home stadium.^[15] A new date at Aviva was set in 2023.^[16]

History

Despite the one-sided result the last few decades, most Notre Dame and Navy fans consider the series a sacred tradition for historical reasons. Both schools have strong football traditions going back to the beginnings of the sport. Notre Dame, like many colleges, faced severe financial difficulties during World War II, which were exacerbated by the fact that it was then still an all-male institution. The US Navy made Notre Dame a training center for V-12 candidates and paid enough for usage of the facilities to keep the University afloat. Notre Dame has since extended an open invitation for Navy to play the Fighting Irish in football and considers the game annual repayment on a debt of honor.

The series is marked by mutual respect, as evidenced by each team standing at attention during the playing of the other's alma mater after the game, a tradition that started in 2005. Navy's athletic director Chet Gladchuk Jr., on renewing the series through 2016, remarked "...it is of great interest to our collective national audience of Fighting Irish fans, Naval Academy alumni, and the Navy family at large."^[2] The series is scheduled to continue indefinitely; renewals are a mere formality.^[2] On August 6, 2020, Navy and Notre Dame signed an agreement continuing their rivalry series for the next 12 seasons, from 2021 through 2032.^[17]

The 2020 game was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting disruption to college football schedules. Notre Dame opted to play an Atlantic Coast Conference schedule for that one season only. The ACC allowed each team to play one non-conference game, which had to be in the school's home state. Western Michigan originally agreed to make the short trip from Kalamazoo to South Bend on September 19, but the Broncos subsequently canceled their entire fall season. Notre Dame subsequently scheduled a home game on that date against South Florida of the American Athletic Conference instead. Notre Dame won that game 52–0. Meanwhile, The Midshipmen opted to play independent BYU instead of Notre Dame, in Annapolis; BYU routed Navy 55–3 behind closed doors.^[18]

The Streak

Notre Dame's NCAA-record 43-game win streak against Navy began in 1964:

• 1964 – Notre Dame 40, Navy 0: Notre Dame came in at 5–0 under first year coach Ara Parseghian and shut out the Midshipmen in a game that pitted 1963 Heisman Trophy winner Roger Staubach against 1964 winner John Huarte.
• 1969 – Notre Dame 47, Navy 0: The Irish set a still-standing, single-game school record of 720 total offensive yards.
• 1974 – Notre Dame 14, Navy 6: For three quarters, Navy kept the Fighting Irish offense in check with its punting game and led 6–0 going into the fourth quarter. Notre Dame quarterback Tom Clements threw a touchdown pass to Pete Demmerle to put the Fighting Irish in front, then Randy Harrison added an insurance touchdown with an interception return. Unbeknownst to anyone at the time, Irish coach Ara Parseghian privately decided to resign at the end of the season after this game.
• 1976 – Notre Dame 27, Navy 21: Irish defensive back Dave Waymer tipped away a fourth down pass in the end zone late in the game to preserve the win for Notre Dame.
• 1984 – Notre Dame 18, Navy 17: John Carney's field goal with 14 seconds left erased a 17–7 deficit.
• 1991 – Notre Dame 38, Navy 0: Notre Dame's 700th victory.
• 1997 – Notre Dame 21, Navy 17: Allen Rossum saved the day for the Fighting Irish, knocking Navy receiver Pat McGrew out of bounds at the 1-yard line on a 69-yard pass as time ran out.
• 1999 – Notre Dame 28, Navy 24: Notre Dame needed a 1st down on 4th and 9 with 1:37 left. They failed to convert but an errant spot allowed the Irish to keep possession and eventually score to escape with a 28–24 win.
• 2002 – Notre Dame 30, Navy 23: Notre Dame, coming off a 14–7 upset loss to Boston College, scored 15 unanswered points late in the fourth quarter to win under first-year head coach Tyrone Willingham.
• 2003 – Notre Dame 27, Navy 24: D. J. Fitzpatrick's 40-yard field goal as time expired lifted the Fighting Irish over Navy.
• 2007 – Navy 46, Notre Dame 44 (3OT) – After 43 years, Navy beat Notre Dame in triple overtime.

Game results

Navy victories

Notre Dame victories

Tie games

Vacated wins^[n 1]

No. Date Location Winner Score 1 October 15, 1927 Baltimore, MD Notre Dame 19–6 2 October 13, 1928 Chicago, IL Notre Dame 7–0 3 October 12, 1929 Baltimore, MD Notre Dame 14–7 4 October 11, 1930 South Bend, IN Notre Dame 26–2 5 November 14, 1931 Baltimore, MD Notre Dame 20–0 6 November 19, 1932 Cleveland, OH Notre Dame 12–0 7 November 4, 1933 Baltimore, MD Navy 7–0 8 November 10, 1934 Cleveland, OH Navy 10–6 9 October 26, 1935 Baltimore, MD Notre Dame 14–0 10 November 7, 1936 Baltimore, MD Navy 3–0 11 October 23, 1937 South Bend, IN Notre Dame 9–7 12 November 5, 1938 Baltimore, MD #4 Notre Dame 15–0 13 October 21, 1939 Cleveland, OH #2 Notre Dame 14–7 14 November 9, 1940 Baltimore, MD #7 Notre Dame 13–7 15 November 8, 1941 Baltimore, MD #7 Notre Dame 20–13 16 October 31, 1942 Cleveland, OH #4 Notre Dame 9–0 17 October 30, 1943 Cleveland, OH #1 Notre Dame 33–6 18 November 4, 1944 Baltimore, MD #6 Navy 32–13 19 November 3, 1945 Cleveland, OH Tie 6–6 20 November 2, 1946 Baltimore, MD #2 Notre Dame 28–0 21 November 1, 1947 Cleveland, OH #1 Notre Dame 27–0 22 October 30, 1948 Baltimore, MD #2 Notre Dame 41–7 23 October 29, 1949 Baltimore, MD #1 Notre Dame 40–0 24 November 4, 1950 Cleveland, OH Notre Dame 19–10 25 November 3, 1951 Baltimore, MD #13 Notre Dame 19–0 26 November 1, 1952 Cleveland, OH #13 Notre Dame 17–6 27 October 31, 1953 South Bend, IN #1 Notre Dame 38–7 28 October 30, 1954 Baltimore, MD #6 Notre Dame 6–0 29 October 29, 1955 South Bend, IN #9 Notre Dame 21–7 30 November 3, 1956 Baltimore, MD Navy 33–7 31 November 2, 1957 South Bend, IN #16 Navy 20–6 32 November 1, 1958 Baltimore, MD Notre Dame 40–20 33 October 31, 1959 South Bend, IN Notre Dame 25–22 34 October 29, 1960 Philadelphia, PA #4 Navy 14–7 35 November 4, 1961 South Bend, IN Navy 13–10 36 November 3, 1962 Philadelphia, PA Notre Dame 20–12 37 November 2, 1963 South Bend, IN #4 Navy 35–14 38 October 31, 1964 Philadelphia, PA #2 Notre Dame 40–0 39 October 30, 1965 South Bend, IN #4 Notre Dame 29–3 40 October 29, 1966 Philadelphia, PA #1 Notre Dame 31–7 41 November 4, 1967 South Bend, IN #10 Notre Dame 43–14 42 November 2, 1968 Philadelphia, PA #12 Notre Dame 45–14 43 November 1, 1969 South Bend, IN #10 Notre Dame 47–0 44 October 31, 1970 Philadelphia, PA #3 Notre Dame 56–7 45 October 30, 1971 South Bend, IN #12 Notre Dame 21–0 46 November 4, 1972 Philadelphia, PA #12 Notre Dame 42–23 47 November 3, 1973 South Bend, IN #5 Notre Dame 44–7 48 November 2, 1974 Philadelphia, PA #7 Notre Dame 14–6 49 November 1, 1975 South Bend, IN #15 Notre Dame 31–10 No. Date Location Winner Score 50 October 30, 1976 Cleveland, OH #11 Notre Dame 27–21 51 October 29, 1977 South Bend, IN #5 Notre Dame 43–10 52 November 4, 1978 Cleveland, OH #15 Notre Dame 27–7 53 November 3, 1979 South Bend, IN #13 Notre Dame 14–0 54 November 1, 1980 East Rutherford, NJ #3 Notre Dame 33–0 55 October 31, 1981 South Bend, IN Notre Dame 38–0 56 October 30, 1982 East Rutherford, NJ Notre Dame 27–10 57 October 29, 1983 South Bend, IN #19 Notre Dame 28–12 58 November 3, 1984 East Rutherford, NJ Notre Dame 18–17 59 November 2, 1985 South Bend, IN Notre Dame 41–17 60 November 1, 1986 Baltimore, MD Notre Dame 33–14 61 October 31, 1987 South Bend, IN #9 Notre Dame 56–13 62 October 29, 1988 Baltimore, MD #2 Notre Dame 22–7 63 November 4, 1989 South Bend, IN #1 Notre Dame 41–0 64 November 3, 1990 East Rutherford, NJ #2 Notre Dame 52–31 65 November 2, 1991 South Bend, IN #5 Notre Dame 38–0 66 October 31, 1992 East Rutherford, NJ #10 Notre Dame 38–7 67 October 30, 1993 Philadelphia, PA #2 Notre Dame 58–27 68 October 29, 1994 South Bend, IN Notre Dame 58–21 69 November 4, 1995 South Bend, IN #8 Notre Dame 35–17 70 November 2, 1996 Dublin, Ireland #19 Notre Dame 54–27 71 November 1, 1997 South Bend, IN Notre Dame 21–17 72 November 14, 1998 Landover, MD #12 Notre Dame 30–0 73 October 30, 1999 South Bend, IN Notre Dame 28–24 74 October 14, 2000 Orlando, FL #20 Notre Dame 45–14 75 November 17, 2001 South Bend, IN Notre Dame 34–16 76 November 9, 2002 Baltimore, MD #9 Notre Dame 30–23 77 November 8, 2003 South Bend, IN Notre Dame 27–24 78 October 16, 2004 East Rutherford, NJ Notre Dame 27–9 79 November 12, 2005 South Bend, IN #7 Notre Dame 42–21 80 October 28, 2006 Baltimore, MD #11 Notre Dame 38–14 81 November 3, 2007 South Bend, IN Navy 46–44^3OT 82 November 15, 2008 Baltimore, MD Notre Dame 27–21 83 November 7, 2009 South Bend, IN Navy 23–21 84 October 23, 2010 East Rutherford, NJ Navy 35–17 85 October 29, 2011 South Bend, IN Notre Dame 56–14 86 September 1, 2012 Dublin, Ireland Notre Dame† 50–10 87 November 2, 2013 South Bend, IN #25 Notre Dame† 38–34 88 November 1, 2014 Landover, MD #10 Notre Dame 49–39 89 October 10, 2015 South Bend, IN #15 Notre Dame 41–24 90 November 5, 2016 Jacksonville, FL Navy 28–27 91 November 18, 2017 South Bend, IN #8 Notre Dame 24–17 92 October 27, 2018 San Diego, CA #3 Notre Dame 44–22 93 November 16, 2019 South Bend, IN #16 Notre Dame 52–20 94 November 6, 2021 South Bend, IN #10 Notre Dame 34–6 95 November 12, 2022 Baltimore, MD #20 Notre Dame 35–32 Series: Notre Dame leads 79–13–1 † Vacated by Notre Dame^[23]

Television

In years when Navy hosts (even-numbered), ESPN holds rights to the game as part of an expanded deal with Navy's American Athletic Conference to take effect in the 2020–21 season.^[24]

In years when Notre Dame hosts (odd-numbered), it is carried on NBC as are other Notre Dame home games.

See also

•  American football portal
•  College football portal

• List of NCAA college football rivalry games

Notes

1. Notre Dame's wins in 2012 and 2013 were vacated as a result of NCAA sanctions against the Notre Dame football program issued on November 22, 2016 after the NCAA found that a student-trainer committed academic misconduct for two football players and provided six other players with impermissible academic extra benefits. The NCAA also rejected Notre Dame's appeal on February 13, 2018. This win is not included in Notre Dame's all-time record, nor is it counted in the series record between the two teams.^[20] See Wikipedia:WikiProject College football/Vacated victories for an explanation of how vacated victories are recorded.^[21][22]

References

1. "Winsipedia - Navy Midshipmen vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish football series history". Winsipedia.
2. "Notre Dame And Navy Extend Series 10 More Years". und.cstv.com. 2005-11-10. Retrieved 2008-05-05.
3. "#16 Irish Cruise To 52-20 Victory Over #23 Navy". Notre Dame Fighting Irish - Official Athletics Website. November 16, 2019.
4. "Notre Dame's NCAA-record 43-game win streak over Navy ends". espn.com. Retrieved 2008-05-05.
5. Gildea, William (October 29, 1988). "Navy-Notre Dame recalls Baltimore's football past". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
6. Todd, Bijan (May 17, 2021). "2022 Navy-Notre Dame game to be played at M&T Bank Stadium". NBC Sports Washington. NBC Sports. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
7. Wagner, Bill (November 4, 2014). "Mids miffed by turnout for Notre Dame game". The Capital. Capital Gazette. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
8. "Navy To Host Notre Dame At PSINet Stadium and Giants Stadium". Navy Midshipmen. October 10, 2001. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
9. "Notre Dame to play Navy in college football game at MetLife Stadium in 2024". ESPN.com. ESPN. AP. August 5, 2021. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
10. "Navy Football Has A Long History In Philadelphia". Navy Midshipmen. November 1, 2017. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
11. Lillstrung, Chris (April 19, 2020). "Notre Dame, Navy waged top-three football clash in 1943 in Cleveland". The News-Herald. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
12. "Navy-Notre Dame Football Game To Be Played In Jacksonville In 2016". Navy Midshipmen. July 8, 2015. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
13. Wagner, Bill (October 22, 2018). "Navy travels to San Diego to take on third-ranked Notre Dame". The Capital. Capital Gazette. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
14. "Aviva Stadium To Host The 2012 Navy-Notre Dame Game". navysports.com. 2010-09-01. Retrieved 2010-09-23.
15. "2020 Navy-Notre Dame Football Game Will Not Be Played in Ireland". Naval Academy Athletics.
16. Riordan, Emmet (November 5, 2021). "Notre Dame v Navy fixture to go ahead at the Aviva Stadium in August 2023". The Irish Times. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
17. "Longtime Navy-N. Dame game on hold for virus". ESPN.com. August 6, 2020.
18. "Navy falls to BYU in the season opener". Naval Academy Athletics.
19. "NCAA orders Notre Dame to vacate wins from 2012, 2013 over academic misconduct".
20. NCAA orders Notre Dame Fighting Irish to vacate wins from 2012, 2013 seasons. ESPN, 2016-11-22.
21. Low, Chris (June 16, 2009). "What does vacating wins really mean?". ESPN.com. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved July 9, 2011.
22. Taylor, John (July 4, 2009). "Vacated Wins Do Not Equal Forfeits". NBCSports.com. NBC Sports. Retrieved July 9, 2011.
23. "Forfeits and Vacated Games". College Football at Sports-Reference.com.
24. "American Athletic Conference and ESPN Agree to 12-Year Media Rights Extension". www.theamerican.org.