GAME DAY AT A GLANCE
- Saturday afternoon in New England will mark the 99th Notre Dame-Navy meeting. The series stands with an 84-13-1 Notre Dame advantage all-time.
- It is the fourth meeting between Marcus Freeman and Brian Newberry as head coaches. Under Freeman, the Irish are 4-0 against the Midshipmen overall and 3-0 against Newberry-led Navy squads.
- The Irish and Midshipmen met a season ago; it was the first true home game at Notre Dame Stadium against Navy in the Freeman Era. No. 10 Notre Dame won 49-10.
- The last time the two teams met at a neutral site, it was a clash of top 25 opponents; No. 12 Notre Dame claimed a 51-14 win at MetLife Stadium over No. 24 Navy on October 26, 2024.
- The Irish are 142-23-5 against American Athletic Conference opponents all-time.
- Notre Dame is 6-0 against AAC members under Freeman.
- The Notre Dame-Navy series (99) is the most-played series in program history.
- The two sides have faced one another every year since 1927 with the exception of the 2020 season.
- The teams play for the Rip Miller Trophy. An unconventional rivalry trophy, the Rip Miller Trophy is composed of two symmetric halves. Each program maintains possession of its half and is inscribed with the names of the team’s captains for each year. The two pieces are reunited whenever possible for the weekend of the annual rivalry contest.
- The Rip Miller Trophy is named after NFF Hall of Fame inductee Edgar "Rip" Miller. He was a member of the Notre Dame football team from 1922-24 and was one of the Seven Mules on the offensive line who blocked for the legendary Four Horsemen. He went on to coach at Navy before serving as assistant director of athletics at Navy until 1974 for 48 years of service at the Naval Academy.