No. 12 Notre Dame knocks error-prone No. 24 Navy from unbeaten ranks

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Notre Dame came into its nationally ranked showdown with Navy looking to create turnovers, and the Midshipmen uncharacteristically complied.

Jeremiyah Love ran for 102 yards and two touchdowns, extending his streak of rushing for a TD to eight games, as No. 12 Notre Dame took advantage of six turnovers and beat previously unbeaten and No. 24 Navy 51-14 on Saturday.

“That was a point of emphasis. This team is No. 2 in the country in turnover margin,” Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said after the Irish (7-1) beat Navy (6-1) for the seventh straight time. “To be plus-6 in turnovers is a straight reflection of complementary football.”

Navy coach Brian Newberry said the Irish were a better team in every way, and he was blunt saying playing at MetLife Stadium roughly five miles from New York City might have been too big a stage for the Midshipmen.

“Sometimes you want something so bad you play outside yourself, and I think we did that today,” said Newbery, whose team had not lost a fumble all season.

Love scored on runs of 64 and 2 yards and quarterback Riley Leonard ran for a touchdown and threw two more in this 97th meeting between the rivals.

“I’m still trying to figure out whether we got it or not,” Leonard said. “Having that little bit of fear of there’s always more in the tank. It’s been a work in progress obviously, but I think we’re getting better every week.”

The Midshipmen lost five fumbles and had six turnovers overall that led to 28 points for the Irish, with Jaylen Sneed recovering a Blake Horvath fumble in the end zone for a touchdown.

Love’s shorter TD run, a 6-yard TD pass from Leonard to Kris Mitchell and a late 4-yard TD run by Kedren Young also followed turnovers, including two on muffed punts.

Leonard finished 13-for-21 for 178 yards, adding a 37-yard TD toss to Beaux Collins in helping the Irish win their sixth straight following a stunning loss to Northern Illinois in Week 2.

The Irish led 31-7 at the half.

Horvath scored on a 47-yard run for Navy and finished with 129 yards on 14 carries. Eli Heidenreich scored on a short run for the other touchdown.

“When you look at almost every single turnover or fumble, it was something we did,” Horvath said. “They almost didn’t touch the ball. That is the most frustrating piece from our point. We wanted it really bad, and we bit ourselves.”

Notre Dame outgained Navy 466-310. The 51 points were the most allowed by the Midshipmen this season.