Nolan James Jr. rushed for 107 yards and two touchdowns as slow-starting No. 5 Notre Dame dominated the second half to repel an upset bid by Navy, 35-13, in the 99th meeting of the teams, Saturday in Foxborough, Mass.
CJ Carr completed 19 of 29 passes for 210 yards and two touchdowns as the Fighting Irish (7-1) overcame a six-point deficit late in the first half along with a massive time-of-possession deficit against the ball-control Midshipmen.
Jonaz Walton carried 12 times for 51 yards and a touchdown as Notre Dame, coming off a bye week, rebounded from a 28-24 loss at then-No. 8 BYU.
Saturday’s key play against Navy came when James scored on a 52-yard burst with 1:02 left in the first half to give Notre Dame the lead for good, 14-13.
In the second half, the Fighting Irish cashed in with touchdowns on their first three possessions to roll to a 35-13 lead.
Jackson Gutierrez rushed 28 times for 110 yards and a touchdown as Navy (2-6) lost for the sixth time in its last seven games, its worst stretch since 2021.
With crafty runs out of Navy’s spread offense, Gutierrez dominated the first half, paving the way for a 23:33 to 6:27 time-of-possession edge for the Midshipmen.
On the game’s opening possession, the Midshipmen bled 8:17 off the clock, leading to a 38-yard field goal by Noah Bartley.
Notre Dame answered with a 75-yard touchdown drive capped by an 11-yard pass from Carr to Micah Gilbert that gave the Irish a 7-3 lead.
On its next possession, Navy milked 8:43 from the clock to set up a 26-yard field goal by Bartley.
Then after a Fighting Irish three-and-out, the Midshipmen pieced together a 63-yard touchdown drive, culminated by a 2-yard run by Gutierrez which made it 13-7.
But from there, it was all Irish as they solved the confounding offense of the Midshipmen and reeled off 28 straight points.
Walton’s touchdown run, a 3-yard plunge, capped a 78-yard Notre Dame drive that opened the second half. James followed with a 23-yard touchdown sprint, which put the Irish up 28-13.
During a run of 11 straight completions, Carr threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to Jerome Bettis Jr. on the first play of the fourth quarter to stretch Notre Dame’s lead to 35-13.
It was the first touchdown for Bettis (six receptions, 78 yards) in his college career.
The Notre Dame defense excelled without starting cornerbacks DJ McKinney and Leonard Morre, who was dressed and available but remained on the sideline. The Fighting Irish also lost linebacker Drayk Bowen to a leg injury late in the first half.
–Field Level Media
