FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Navy dominated time of possession in the first half and held a 13-7 lead late in the second quarter, but fifth-ranked Notre Dame scored 28 unanswered points to defeat the Midshipmen 35-13 Saturday afternoon before 61,293 fans at Gillette Stadium.
The Midshipmen (2-6) controlled the football for an astounding 23:33 of the first half and scored on each of their first three possessions against a Notre Dame defense that entered the contest ranked among the nation's best.
Navy rushed for 212 yards on 48 carries, the most rushing yards allowed by Notre Dame this season. The Fighting Irish entered the game ranked third nationally in rushing defense, surrendering just 67.3 yards per contest.
"We knew that we were going to have to play our best football," said Navy head coach Brian Newberry. "We didn't feel like we had to play perfect, but that we had to be at our very best. At times we looked pretty good. You look at that first half and the way the first half went is how we knew it needed to go for us to have a chance to win the game."
Junior quarterback Jackson Gutierrez led the Navy offense with 110 yards rushing and a touchdown on 28 carries, marking his fourth consecutive 100-yard rushing performance and fifth of his career. Junior snipe Michael Barrow added 65 yards on 11 carries, his fourth consecutive game with at least 60 yards rushing.
Notre Dame (7-1) was led by running back Nolan James Jr., who rushed for 107 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries. Quarterback CJ Carr completed 19 of 29 passes for 210 yards and two touchdowns as the Irish finished with 426 yards of total offense.
Navy established the tone on its opening possession, marching 44 yards in 14 plays while consuming 8:17 off the clock. The Midshipmen converted a fourth-and-3 at the Notre Dame 43 on a 3-yard run by Gutierrez before freshman kicker Nolan Bartley connected on a career-long 38-yard field goal to give Navy a 3-0 lead with 6:43 remaining in the first quarter.
Notre Dame answered with an 11-play, 75-yard drive, taking a 7-3 lead on Carr's 11-yard touchdown pass to Micah Gilbert with 1:47 remaining in the opening period.
The Midshipmen responded with their longest drive of the season by time and plays, moving 66 yards in 16 plays and taking 8:43 off the clock before Bartley converted a 26-yard field goal with 8:04 remaining in the half to pull Navy within 7-6.
After the Navy defense forced a three-and-out on Notre Dame's ensuing possession, the Midshipmen took over at their own 37-yard line and marched 63 yards in 11 plays.
Gutierrez capped the 5:38 drive with a 2-yard touchdown run, giving Navy a 13-7 advantage with 1:52 remaining in the half.
Navy's ability to control the football was particularly impressive against one of the nation's top defenses. The Midshipmen became just the third opponent during Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman's tenure to score on their first three possessions, joining Northern Illinois in 2024 and Ohio State in the January 2025 national championship game.
"I think we were playing clean Navy football," said Barrow. "We were hitting them with everything and we were getting a good push off the ball by our linemen and we were moving them very well. If anything, it looked like they were shocked a little bit and on their heels when we started off and that plays into our favor."
The Irish, however, needed just 50 seconds to regain the lead.
James broke free for a 52-yard touchdown run with 55 seconds remaining in the second quarter, putting Notre Dame ahead 14-13 at halftime despite the Irish possessing the football for just 6:27 in the opening 30 minutes.
"I wouldn't say it was deflating," said Navy senior safety Giuseppe Sessi. "We still came in at halftime and thought we were in a good spot. I think our team still had a good mentality in the locker room."
Notre Dame carried that momentum into the second half, taking the opening kickoff and marching 78 yards in 11 plays. Jonaz Walton scored on a 3-yard run with 9:15 remaining in the third quarter to extend the Irish lead to 21-13.
After forcing Navy to punt on its first possession of the second half, Notre Dame drove 69 yards in seven plays, with James scoring on a 23-yard run to make it 28-13 with 3:09 remaining in the third quarter.
The Irish added their final touchdown on the opening play of the fourth quarter when Carr connected with Jerome Bettis Jr. on a 31-yard scoring pass, extending the lead to 35-13.
After controlling the football for nearly 24 minutes in the first half, Navy managed just 9:07 of possession over the final two quarters. The Midshipmen were held scoreless in the second half.
"In the second half it was just the opposite," said Newberry. "I think the eight penalties, a lot of those were on the offense that put us in first and 20s. Those are drive killers for us. We can't make those mistakes. We had to hold on to the ball. We weren't able to do that in the second half."
Gutierrez echoed his coach's assessment.
"We were efficient in the first half," said Gutierrez. "I think in the second half we had a lot of penalties that put us behind the chains a little bit and forced us to press a little bit, trying to get those first downs. We just can't do that. Can't have the penalties, can't have the fumbled snap. We just shot ourselves in the foot."
Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman credited his team's halftime adjustments.
"It's a challenge to play those guys every year, especially defensively," said Freeman. "I told their coach (Brian Newberry) after the game that they just keep enhancing what they do offensively and it's a challenge. I'm really pleased with the way our coaches and players adjusted to the new things they were doing and we really did a great job in the second half of executing on a higher level."
Navy finished with 245 yards of total offense, including 212 on the ground and 33 through the air. The Midshipmen completed five of nine passes, with Gutierrez connecting on four of seven attempts for 25 yards. Senior quarterback Braxton Woodson completed one of two passes for eight yards, connecting with Gutierrez for a first down.
Notre Dame finished with 204 rushing yards and 222 passing yards. The 222 passing yards were the fewest by the Irish in a game this season.
Defensively, Sessi and junior linebacker MarcAnthony Parker led Navy with eight tackles apiece. Parker also recorded a tackle for loss and a pass breakup, while junior safety Aaron Rose and senior linebacker Nolan McCamy added seven tackles each.
Navy's offensive line did not surrender a sack for the fifth time in eight games this season.
"I've been so impressed by Jackson the last four or five weeks," said Newberry. "He just continues to get better and he's tough, runs the ball hard, is making better decisions. He gives us a chance to win every week, really proud of how he played, love the way he plays the game."
Newberry also praised Navy's offensive line for its performance against one of the nation's top defensive units.
"I also thought the o-line did some really good stuff in the first half," said Newberry. "For us to move the ball the way we did in the first half was really impressive."
The Midshipmen wore special commemorative uniforms honoring the 100th anniversary of Navy's 1926 national championship team, which finished 9-0-1 and captured a share of the national title. The uniforms featured nine chevron stripes representing the nine victories recorded by that team.
The victory was Notre Dame's ninth consecutive in the series and extended its all-time advantage to 85-13-1.
Despite the loss, Gutierrez said Navy's performance against the fifth-ranked team in the country reinforced the Midshipmen's confidence moving forward.
"We have confidence in every person in the locker room, and we know we can play with the best," said Gutierrez. "Notre Dame's a really good football team and they have a really good defense. We went out there and showed that we can play with them."
Navy returns home next Saturday, Nov. 7, to face Temple at 3:30 p.m.
