Navy–Notre Dame football rivalry

The Navy–Notre Dame football rivalry is a college football rivalry game between the United States Naval Academy Midshipmen and the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The series has been played annually since 1914, making it the longest uninterrupted intersectional series in college football. Notre Dame holds a 73-12-1 series edge. Before Navy won a 46-44 triple-overtime contest in 2007, Notre Dame had a 43-game winning streak that was the longest series win streak between two annual opponents in the history of Division I FBS football. Navy's previous win came in 1963, 35-14 with future Heisman Trophy winner and NFL QB Roger Staubach at the helm. Navy had come close to winning on numerous occasions before 2007:
 * 1984: Notre Dame pulled out a last-second 18-17 win on a field goal that should've been disallowed because the play clock expired before the snap and no officials noticed.
 * 1997: A Navy receiver was knocked out of bounds at the 1-yard line with no time left, keeping him from scoring the touchdown that would have ended the streak and preserving a 21-17 Notre Dame win.
 * 1999: Notre Dame needed a controversial first down call on 4th and 9 with 1:37 left to escape with a 28-24 win.
 * 2003: A last-second Fighting Irish field goal kept the game from going to overtime and gave Notre Dame a 27-24 victory.

Navy subsequently won the game again in 2009 and 2010.

Though the game is often played at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, it has not been played at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis in more than 50 years. Games have been played at Memorial Stadium and M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, John F. Kennedy Stadium and Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Cleveland Stadium in Cleveland and the Citrus Bowl Stadium in Orlando. The 1996 and 2012 games were played in Dublin, Ireland.

History
Despite the one-sided result the last few decades, most Notre Dame and Navy fans consider the series a sacred tradition for historical reasons. Both schools have strong football traditions going back to the beginnings of the sport. Notre Dame, like many colleges, faced severe financial difficulties during World War II. The US Navy made Notre Dame a training center and paid enough for usage of the facilities to keep the University afloat. Notre Dame has since extended an open invitation for Navy to play the Fighting Irish in football and considers the game annual repayment on a debt of honor. The series is marked by mutual respect, as evidenced by each team standing at attention during the playing of the other's alma mater after the game, a tradition that started in 2005. Navy's athletic director, on renewing the series through 2016, remarked "...it is of great interest to our collective national audience of Fighting Irish fans, Naval Academy alumni, and the Navy family at large." The series is scheduled to continue indefinitely; renewals are a mere formality.

Streak
Notre Dame's NCAA-record 43-game win streak against Navy began in 1964:
 * 1964 - Notre Dame 40, Navy 0: Notre Dame came in at 5-0 under first year coach Ara Parseghian and proceeded to shut out the injury-riddled Mids in a game that pitted 1963 Heisman Trophy winner Roger Staubach against 1964 winner John Huarte.
 * 1965 - Notre Dame 29, Navy 3
 * 1966 - Notre Dame 31, Navy 7: Notre Dame was 5-0 and ranked #1 heading into this year's showdown, having shut out their three previous opponents. Navy's only score came on a blocked punt that was returned for a touchdown, one of only five touchdowns the Fighting Irish would give up all year en route to a national championship.
 * 1967 - Notre Dame 43, Navy 14: This game is remembered for a heavy snowstorm in the second half, at which point the Notre Dame student body began chanting, "Ara stop the snow! Ara stop the snow!"
 * 1968 - Notre Dame 45, Navy 14: This was the last game that Fighting Irish quarterback Terry Hanratty would play in during his college career. He suffered a severe knee injury during practice the following week, paving the way for Joe Theismann to take the reins.
 * 1969 - Notre Dame 47, Navy 0: Notre Dame amassed 720 yards of total offense, a school record that still stands.
 * 1970 - Notre Dame 56, Navy 7: The game was tied at 7 before the Fighting Irish pulled away. Leading the nation in total offense for most of the season behind Heisman Trophy runner-up Joe Theismann, Notre Dame gained 600 yards of total offense.
 * 1971 - Notre Dame 21, Navy 0
 * 1972 - Notre Dame 42, Navy 23: Notre Dame's Gary Diminick returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown and the Fighting Irish never looked back.
 * 1973 - Notre Dame 44, Navy 7: Notre Dame was 6-0 and coming off a big win over USC. They would finish the season undefeated and win the AP national championship with a 24-23 win over Alabama in the Sugar Bowl.
 * 1974 - Notre Dame 14, Navy 6: For three quarters, Navy kept the Fighting Irish offense in check with a prodigious punting game and led 6-0 going into the fourth quarter. Notre Dame quarterback Tom Clements managed to throw a touchdown pass to Pete Demmerle to put the Fighting Irish in front, then Randy Harrison added an insurance touchdown with an interception return. Although no one knew it at the time, Ara Parseghian made up his mind during the trip back to South Bend to resign as head coach at the end of the season.
 * 1975 - Notre Dame 31, Navy 10: Notre Dame came into this game at 5-2 under first-year coach Dan Devine. Joe Montana was lost for the rest of the season when he suffered a broken finger.
 * 1976 - Notre Dame 27, Navy 21: Dave Waymer tipped away a fourth down pass in the end zone late in the game to preserve the win for the Fighting Irish.
 * 1977 - Notre Dame 43, Navy 10: Coming off an emotional win over USC, Notre Dame picked up right where they left off. They would go on to win the national championship that season.
 * 1978 - Notre Dame 27, Navy 7
 * 1979 - Notre Dame 14, Navy 0: Notre Dame celebrated the 50th year of service for Notre Dame Stadium during this game.
 * 1980 - Notre Dame 33, Navy 0: Notre Dame came in undefeated and would be voted #1 after top-ranked Alabama lost. It proved to be short-lived, as the Fighting Irish were tied by Georgia Tech the following week, 3-3.
 * 1981 - Notre Dame 38, Navy 0: Notre Dame was 2-4 coming in under first-year head coach Gerry Faust. They would finish 5-6.
 * 1982 - Notre Dame 27, Navy 10
 * 1983 - Notre Dame 28, Navy 12
 * 1984 - Notre Dame 18, Navy 17: John Carney's field goal with 14 seconds left erased a 17-7 deficit. The officials didn't see the play clock expire before the ball was snapped for the kick.
 * 1985 - Notre Dame 41, Navy 17
 * 1986 - Notre Dame 33, Navy 14: Notre Dame was 2-4 under first-year head coach Lou Holtz and coming off a bye week. They led at the half, 28-0 and coasted the rest of the way.
 * 1987 - Notre Dame 56, Navy 13: Notre Dame's offense gains over 400 rushing yards in a blowout win.
 * 1988 - Notre Dame 22, Navy 7: Notre Dame came in at 7-0 and ranked #2 behind UCLA. This game was much closer than the score would indicate, as the Fighting Irish were out of sync all afternoon after arriving at their hotel at 11:00 PM the previous night. They were voted #1 after UCLA lost on that same afternoon and would stay there for the rest of the season, winning the national championship.
 * 1989 - Notre Dame 41, Navy 0: Notre Dame came in ranked #1 and riding a 20-game winning streak. They would set a new school record for consecutive wins the following week. This was their first shutout of an opponent under coach Lou Holtz.
 * 1990 - Notre Dame 52, Navy 31: Navy coach George Chaump pulled out all the stops for this game, dusting off the wishbone after discarding it at the start of the season. It wasn't enough, although it kept things interesting for a while.
 * 1991 - Notre Dame 38, Navy 0: Notre Dame's 700th victory.
 * 1992 - Notre Dame 38, Navy 7
 * 1993 - Notre Dame 58, Navy 27: Navy actually led at halftime before Notre Dame got going and pulled away in the second half.
 * 1994 - Notre Dame 58, Navy 21
 * 1995 - Notre Dame 35, Navy 17: Fighting Irish quarterback Ron Powlus suffered a broken arm in the second half with Notre Dame trailing. Thomas Krug stepped in and engineered a comeback win. This was the last game played at Notre Dame Stadium prior to the start of expansion.
 * 1996 - Notre Dame 54, Navy 27: This game was played at Croke Park in Dublin, Ireland, only the second time Notre Dame had played a game overseas.
 * 1997 - Notre Dame 21, Navy 17: Allen Rossum saved the day for the Fighting Irish, knocking Navy receiver Pat McGrew out of bounds at the Notre Dame 1-yard line on a 69-yard pass as time ran out.
 * 1998 - Notre Dame 30, Navy 0
 * 1999 - Notre Dame 28, Navy 24: A controversial spot on a fourth down play late in the game allowed Notre Dame to maintain possession and score the winning touchdown.
 * 2000 - Notre Dame 45, Navy 14: This game was played at the Florida Citrus Bowl for the first time.
 * 2001 - Notre Dame 34, Navy 16
 * 2002 - Notre Dame 30, Navy 23: The Fighting Irish, coming off a devastating loss to Boston College, scored 15 unanswered points late in the fourth quarter to pull this one out under first-year head coach Tyrone Willingham.
 * 2003 - Notre Dame 27, Navy 24: D. J. Fitzpatrick's 40-yard field goal as time expired lifted the Fighting Irish over the Middies in an otherwise dismal season for Notre Dame, who entered the game at 2-6.
 * 2004 - Notre Dame 27, Navy 9
 * 2005 - Notre Dame 42, Navy 21
 * 2006 - Notre Dame 38, Navy 14
 * 2007 - Navy 46, Notre Dame 44 (3OT) - After 43 years, Navy breaks the streak in a triple overtime thriller.

Location
The series is a "home and home" series with the schools alternating the home team. Due to the relatively small size of the football stadium in Annapolis, the two teams have never met there. Instead, Navy usually hosts the game at larger facilities such as Baltimore's old Memorial Stadium or current M&T Bank Stadium, FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland, Veterans Stadium and later Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, or at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. During the 1960s, the Midshipmen hosted the game at John F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Philadelphia. The game has been played twice in Dublin, Ireland—in 1996 at Croke Park and 2012 at Aviva Stadium. The game was also occasionally played at old Cleveland Stadium.

Television
In years when Navy hosts (even-numbered), it is one of few non-Southeastern Conference games aired on CBS. In years when Notre Dame hosts (odd-numbered), it is carried on NBC as are other Notre Dame home games.

Notable games

 * 2007 Navy vs. Notre Dame football game
 * Emerald Isle Classic