Navy hopes its time has come
NEW YORK — For four decades, the routine has been pretty much the same: Notre Dame players and coaches talk up the Navy Midshipmen during the week and beat them up on game day.
It’s often been hard to take the Fighting Irish seriously when they’ve tried to convince others — and maybe even themselves — that defeating Navy would be a problem.
Recently, though, things have changed. Now, when the Irish say Navy will be a challenge, nobody questions their sincerity.
Notre Dame (4-2) has won an NCAA record 40 straight games against Navy (5-0) heading into today’s game at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, N.J., but the last two were thrillers. The Middies have clearly closed the gap on their tormentors.
“Those games don’t have anything to do with this game,” Notre Dame coach Tyrone Willingham said. “We’re going to play a Navy team that is a very good football team. It’s an undefeated team. That’s the team we will face. We’ve got to be prepared to play that team and play very well.”
The last time Navy beat Notre Dame was 1963, with Heisman Trophy winner Roger Staubach leading the Middies to a 35-14 victory. Notre Dame leads the overall series 67-9-1.
The reason for the dominance is obvious.
“We don’t have anybody on our team that Notre Dame recruited,” Navy coach Paul Johnson said. “I don’t know if we have anybody on our team that Notre Dame sent a letter to. They’re supposed to win.”
With a few exceptions, the Irish have done so with ease.
Navy played Notre Dame tight in 1997, falling 21-17, and again in ‘99 (28-24).
The Irish restored order in 2000 and 2001, winning by a combined 79-30 against two woeful Navy teams. After winning just one game combined in those two seasons, Navy hired Johnson from Georgia Southern, where he went 62-10 with two Division I-AA championships in five years.
Navy won twice in 2002, but a change was evident in the Notre Dame game.
The Middies had a 23-15 lead in the fourth quarter before the Irish rallied with two late touchdowns for a 30-23 victory.
Last season, Navy’s turnaround was one of the best in the nation. The Midshipmen went 8-5 and played in the Houston Bowl. Notre Dame slumped to 5-7, but still managed to beat Navy when D.J. Fitzpatrick kicked a 40-yard field goal as time expired for a 27-24 victory in South Bend.
“I’ve been hearing for three years that maybe this will be the time we finally beat them. It’s getting old,” senior safety and co-captain Josh Smith said. “It’s about time we put a complete game together instead of playing well for 3 1/2 quarters and letting them beat us at the end.”
As much as Willingham has tried to dismiss the relevance of the streak, some of his players acknowledged there is a certain pressure that comes with it.
“In the back of your mind you don’t want to be known as the team to relinquish that streak against Navy,” Notre Dame defensive end Justin Tuck said. “So it does put a little pressure on us.”
Tuck and the Irish defense will have to contend with a Navy offense that ranks sixth in the nation in rushing, averaging 267 yards per game.
Fullback Kyle Eckel (78 yards rushing per game and six TDs) and quarterback Aaron Polanco (93 yrpg and seven TDs) fuel the Middies’ triple-option attack.
“A team like Notre Dame is always going to have great size and speed. We can’t match them athletically, but we can match them execution-wise,” Polanco said.
Notre Dame appears to be making progress with its West Coast offense behind quarterback Brady Quinn, although the Irish are still far from explosive, averaging 374 yards and 20.5 points per game.
Quinn left last week’s win over Stanford with a concussion but is expected to play against Navy.
The Midshipmen are the only unranked unbeaten team. That could change if they get past Notre Dame, and with a very manageable schedule after today — home for Rice, Delaware and Rutgers, at Tulane and the finale against Army — a perfect season looks possible.
But first there’s this 40-year drought with which to contend.