#24 Navy doomed by 6 turnovers in 51-14 loss to #12 Notre Dame

Navy's undefeated start to the season came to an end on Saturday. The #24 Midshipmen lost to the #12 Notre Dame Fighting Irish by a final score of 51-14 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. After failing to turn the ball over in its last five games, Navy's five lost fumbles and one interception marked the most turnovers for Navy since 2002.

It's hard to say exactly how big a factor it was, but Navy quarterback Blake Horvath was clearly affected by a thumb injury early in the game. He completed seven passes on 13 attempts for 88 yards and one interception. While he had 14 carries for 129 rushing yards and a touchdown, he was also credited with two lost fumbles. Horvath also dropped a touchdown catch in the end zone on a trick play in the second half.

Three different Navy players were credited with two lost fumbles as the Midshipmen totaled 310 yards of offense, their second-lowest total of the season. The Midshipmen also lost fumbles on two punt returns, both of which Notre Dame turned into touchdowns. Notre Dame trailed by 13 points on turnovers and one defensive touchdown on the day.

Q1 – An early hole

It was a difficult start to the day for the Midshipmen. After Notre Dame scored on their first possession, Navy's first offensive attack was disastrous. Alex Tecza dropped a pitch from Horvath, which the Irish returned inside the ten-yard line. This was Navy's first offensive loss since Week 1 against Bucknell. Riley Leonard found FIU transfer Kris Mitchell in the end zone a few plays later. Then, just as Navy seemed to have some momentum on offense, a personal foul pushed them into their own territory, where Horvath fumbled the ball into the Irish's hands. Notre Dame missed a short field goal attempt and maintained its lead at 14-0 at the end of the first quarter.

F2 – Too many errors

Early in the second quarter, Navy found some footing when Horvath fended off a 47-yard touchdown rush, cutting the lead to seven points. However, the Irish countered with a 64-yard score from Jeremiyah Love. Later, after forcing a Notre Dame punt, the Midshipmen failed to return, allowing the Irish to continue a drive that ultimately ended with Love's second touchdown of the day. The Irish led 28-7. A long Horvath run brought the Mids back into Notre Dame territory, but the drive stalled and resulted in a missed field goal attempt from the Irish 23. Leonard quickly pulled off a nine-play, 63-yard drive to make up three Putting more points on the board before halftime gave Notre Dame a 31-7 lead.

Q3 – A Navy touchdown, but more mistakes

Navy took over the second half kickoff and got back into the end zone with a 12-play drive that took up nearly half of the third quarter. On Notre Dame's next possession, a defensive miscommunication for Navy left Beaux Collins free in the end zone for a 37-yard touchdown pass. When Navy failed to score on the ensuing kickoff, they got the ball at their own four-yard line. Horvath fumbled again and Jaylen Sneed jumped on it in the end zone, extending the Irish lead to 44-14, missing an extra point.

Q4 – The white flag is raised after another fumble

The Midshipmen's first possession of the first quarter made it into the red zone, but the ball was picked off by the Irish in the end zone. Again, the Navy defense forced a punt when Leonard was subbed out for the day… but the Midshipmen fumbled the punt, giving Notre Dame backup quarterback Steve Angeli a possession in the red zone. That eventually sparked a four-yard touchdown rush for running back Kedren Young. Braxton Woodson came into the game at quarterback for Navy at this point as both teams were running out of time.

Navy returns to AAC play at Rice next weekend as they fall to 6-1 overall. The Midshipmen's Conference title hopes are still in play as they remain 4-0 in that category. With the loss, Navy will likely drop out of the Week 10 rankings.

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