Notre Dame vs. Navy

Looking through the annals of Notre Dame football, back to the World War II years, fans will notice that the Irish played some interesting competitors in those days. Teams from places such as Great Lakes Naval Base in the northern suburbs of Chicago, or the Iowa Pre-Flight Academy provided some fierce competition for the Irish. In fact, the "Blue Jackets" of Great Lakes were the only squad to defeat the national champion Irish of 1943, while the Iowa Pre-Flight Seahawks were on the losing end of Notre Dame's second #1 vs. #2 game of that 1943 campaign. The strength of these military training facilities in the world of college football belied a fundamental change in the reality of the sport during World War II. Traditional football powers throughout the country saw prime talent leave their campuses for training bases in order to prepare for the massive military mobilization that the nation underwent in those years.

Despite this reality of the World War II era, Notre Dame continued to flourish, both on the gridiron, and as a university as a whole. In fact, during the four seasons of World War II (1942-45), the Irish went a combined 31-7-3 (.7927), despite only playing nine home games in those four seasons, due in large part to travel restrictions in place during those years. Five of the seven losses, and two of the three ties in that period came at the hands of Army, Navy, or Great Lakes. Meanwhile, the university as a whole continued to function as well as could be expected with the tremendous diversion of so many college-aged men into the armed forces. In great measure, this could be attributed to the U.S. Department of the Navy selecting Notre Dame as one of its five stations for the training of officers during the war. This move by the Navy essentially spared the university from financial ruin during the lean war years. As the story goes, as a sign of gratitude and goodwill, since World War II Notre Dame has left open on its football schedule a spot for the Naval Academy, a gesture that Navy continues to accept each year.

Of course, the Notre Dame-Navy series dates further back than World War II. Every year since 1927, when the Irish and the Midshipmen first met in Baltimore at Municipal Stadium, these two schools have squared off on the gridiron, making Notre Dame-Navy the longest continuous intersectional series in the country. The Irish have met no opponent more frequently than the Middies; this Saturday marks the 80th meeting between the schools. Overall, the Irish hold a 69-9-1 record over Navy. The 69 wins over Navy are the most for the Irish over any one opponent. Since junior QB Roger Staubach led the Middies to a 35-14 win over the Irish in South Bend in 1963, Notre Dame has won every game between the schools. The 42 consecutive wins by the Irish over the Midshipmen marks the longest such streak by one opponent over another in the history of major college football.

The early years of this series were marked by titanic battles between powerful teams. Navy was the opponent for the Dedication Game at the original Notre Dame Stadium in 1930. Between 1944 and 1950, Navy was one of only two teams to defeat the Irish (Army was the other). In more recent times, the disparity of talent between the schools has become more accentuated, but Navy frequently finds a way to give Notre Dame a tough game. During the teams' last meeting in Baltimore in 2002, the Irish needed to come back in the fourth quarter to pull out a 30-23 meeting. Irish QB Carlyle Holiday completed two fourth quarter TD passes to WR Omar Jenkins, giving #9 Notre Dame the come-from-behind victory. Two seasons ago, in the last neutral site game in the series, Notre Dame dispatched Navy with little difficulty, winning 27-9 at Giants Stadium in New Jersey.

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Other notes:

-The Irish last started 7-1 in 1998.

-Charlie Weis holds a 15-4 record through his first 19 games as Irish coach, just one game off the 16-3 standard of excellence for modern coaches set by Ara Parseghian in 1964-65.

-Notre Dame faces all three service academies this season. Overall, the Irish hold a 126-22-5 record against Air Force, Army, and Navy.

-Notre Dame holds a 43-6-1 record over Navy in games played at neutral sites.

-Saturday marks the 21st meeting between the schools in Baltimore. The Irish are 16-4 in the previous 20 series games played in Baltimore. Navy's last win over N.D. in Baltimore came in 1956 (33-7).

-The Irish have won 22 consecutive games against Navy played at neutral sites.

-Interestingly, the Middies have never hosted the Irish at their home stadium in Annapolis.

-The Irish are 33-1 against service academies since the start of the Holtz Era in 1986. The sole defeat was the overtime loss to Air Force at home in 1996.

-The Irish have scored 2,140 points against Navy, making them Notre Dame's most scored-against opponent.

-These teams will continue to meet annually, as they have each year since 1927.

-In the ongoing competition between Michigan and Notre Dame for college football's all-time best winning percentage, here is how things stand after last weekend:

#2 Michigan defeated unranked Iowa at home, 20-6, moving their record to 857-280-36 for an all-time winning percentage of .7460. This week, #2 Michigan hosts unranked Northwestern.

#10 Notre Dame came back to defeat unranked UCLA at home, 20-17, moving their record to 817-267-42 for an all-time winning percentage of .7442. This week, #11 Notre Dame meets unranked Navy in Baltimore.

Michigan's lead stands at a shade over 17/10,000ths of a point.

The Irish look to make it 43 in a row this weekend. The game kicks off at noon EDT on CBS.

Go Irish! Beat Navy!

Big Mike

copyright Michael D. McAllister 2006