The 10th-ranked University of Notre Dame football team (8-2) was efficient on offense and suffocating on defense to earn a 49-10 victory over Navy (7-2) in a cold, rainy and eventual snowy sold-out Notre Dame Stadium. The Irish big play offense showed up against the Midshipmen, posting scoring plays of 48, 34 and 54 yards in the second half.
CJ Carr completed 13 out of 16 passes for 218 yards and three touchdowns before exiting the game before the end of the third quarter as the Irish had built a 42-10 lead. Jeremiyah Love rushed for 94 yards, including a spectacular 48-yard scoring run in which he broke a series of tackles and kept his balance on the back of a defender before sprinting for paydirt.
Jaiden Ausberry highlighted Notre Dame’s group defensive effort against the Naval offensive attack. The sophomore linebacker piled up eight tackles, a sack, forced fumble and two tackles for loss. The Irish held the Navy offense to 228 total yards with just 22 coming on three completed passes.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Navy started the game without their starting quarterback Blake Horvath who was on the sideline in street clothes after suffering an injury last week against North Texas. The Midshipmen won the toss and took possession of the ball. They earned one first down before an Adon Shuler stop on third down forced a punt just over the Navy 40.
A well-positioned punt pinned Notre Dame at its own six-yard line.
Two Jeremiyah Love rushes earned little, but CJ Carr found him on third and long for 27 yards to get Notre Dame out of the hole. On the next snap, Carr play-faked to Love and threw long for Malachi Fields who had beaten his man off the line and snagged the pass clean for a 52-yard pass to the Navy 15.
Love then gained 11 yards up the middle before powering in from a yard out one play later to give the home team a 7-0 lead.
Backup Navy quarterback Braxton Woodson provided a couple first downs on designed runs and moved the ball over midfield. It was there that the Irish defense made their stand. DeVonta Smith started a streak of key plays with an open field tackle of Woodson. The quarterback then tried the other side where Tae Johnson drilled him for a loss. Navy then attempted their first pass of the game, broken up by Smith and the Midshipmen punted again.
Notre Dame quickly went three-and-out and a short punt put Navy in perfect position to even the game. Runs of 15, six and 13 yards moved the ball into the Irish red zone. A well-called reverse for 11 yards positioned the ball at the three yard line and Woodson powered in two plays later. Four minutes into the second quarter the game was even at 7-7.
As the weather turned worse in a driving rain the Irish offense would not let the conditions affect their efficiency. Fields caught a slant on the first play and fought for nine more yards after the catch to get the ball to midfield. Fields then got 13 on a catch followed by a Jadarian Price six-yard run. Carr found Fields yet again for 12 yards before Price rushed for seven before Notre Dame faced a fourth down deep into Navy territory.
Carr looked to Jordan Faison for his first catch of the game and he delivered, completing the catch and breaking two tackles to earn a first down at the two-yard line. On the next play Price scored behind key blocks from Sullivan Absher, Joe Otting and Anthonie Knapp to put the Irish up 14-7.
Notre Dame’s defense stepped up to force its first three-and-out of the game on Navy’s next possession. Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa put the Midshipmen behind the sticks with a tackle-for-loss on the first play, then Leonard Moore stuffed the pitch man for just two yards. Navy attempted its second pass of the game which was overthrown and the punt team came onto the field.
Notre Dame took over and on third-and-seven and Love spun through the middle and fought for 16 yards. Carr then looked deep to Fields again who almost made the catch while being interfered with at the goal line. The defensive pass interference penalty moved the ball to the Navy 34.
Will Pauling stepped up on third-and-10 with a huge play, breaking two tackles and earning 19 yards after his reception to move the ball to the Navy five-yard line. Carr then found Faison on the next play for the score as the Irish wideout broke inside, then outside, easily beating the defense to the endzone. The Irish were up 21-7 with 1:42 left in the first half.
Woodson escaped for a 41-yard scramble to enable Navy to get three points before halftime. The Navy signal caller then completed a key 17-yard pass on third down to extend the drive. Notre Dame’s defense stiffened from there, however. A Junior Tuihalamaka sack forced another third and long and this time the Irish held. Joshua Burnham pressured the quarterback and deflected his offering to bring on the Navy field goal unit. The 33-yard kick moved the score to 21-10 at halftime.
The Irish scored quickly on their first drive of the half due to the spectacular athletic ability of Jeremiyah Love. Jordan Faison kept the drive going on third down with a 16-yard catch. Love took a hand off to the right on the next play and was bottled up by two Navy defenders, while going to the ground he kept his balance and his knee never touched the ground as he spun around on the back of the defensive player. He regained his footing and took off for the end zone and 48 yards later the Irish owned a 28-10 lead.
YOU CAN'T DENY LOVE 🫶#GoIrish☘️ | @JeremiyahLove pic.twitter.com/P0jKoSspPP
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) November 9, 2025
Notre Dame’s defense kept the momentum going. Pushing Navy into a fourth-and-two at their own 33, Vilamu-Asa and freshman Madden Faraimo combined to stuff Woodson for just a single yard and give the Irish the ball back.
The Irish struck quickly again. Carr dropped back and found KK Smith wide open behind the Navy defense for a 34-yard touchdown pass.
Navy had nowhere to go on their next series. Jaiden Ausberry sacked Woodson on the second play of the series and forced a fumble recovered by the Midshipmen. An incomplete pass on third-and-long forced another Navy punt which was caught at the Middies’ 49-yard line.
The Irish would make it six touchdowns in eight possessions (which included a kneel down before halftime) on the next drive. A Price first down run kept the drive going and Carr dropped back to find Cam Williams in the end zone. The Navy defender wiped out Williams before he could make the catch and the 15-yard penalty moved the ball to the 18-yard line.
A Price 12-yard run put the ball at the six and two plays later Carr found Ty Washington for his first Notre Dame touchdown reception for a 42-10 lead.
Notre Dame’s ground game, with its second string in the game, added to the lead. Kenny Minchey, in relief of Carr, scrambled for a first down. Aneyas Williams did the rest, rushing for 72 yards on five carries that included a 54-yard rush on fourth-and-three for his second touchdown of the season.
The Irish finished off the 49-10 victory and ended the game without a penalty, matching the program record and finishing off the first game without a flag since a victory at No. 11 LSU in 1997.