Navy beats Irish with a punishing ground game

Associated Press

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.

The only thing shocking about this Notre Dame loss to Navy was the ease with which the Midshipmen handled Brian Kelly’s Fighting Irish.

Ricky Dobbs scored three touchdowns and Alexander Teich ran for 210 yards to lead Navy to its third victory against the Irish in the last four seasons, a 35-17 rout on Saturday at the New Meadowlands Stadium.

The 84-year old series, which Notre Dame (4-4) once owned like no other in college football history, now belongs to Navy (5-2).

In 2007, the Midshipmen snapped their NCAA record 43-game losing streak to Notre Dame with a 46-44 win in overtime at South Bend, Ind. Last year, Navy did it again, winning 23-21 at Notre Dame Stadium, the first of four straight losses that ended the Charlie Weis era.

Add this one and Dobbs and his fellow seniors are now the third class at Navy to beat Notre Dame three times, joining the 1937 and ’64 classes.

Navy tweaked the blocking scheme and emphasized the inside run by the fullback Teich in its triple-option. And Notre Dame looked helpless to stop it.

“We always have new wrinkles,” Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo said. “We do the same thing over and over but there is subtle stuff. This is what we are, an option team.”