A look back at the history of the Notre Dame-Navy football rivalry

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WNDU) – Notre Dame vs. Navy is one of the most played rivalries in all of college football and has been for nearly a century.

It started back in 1927 when the two teams met for the first time in Baltimore, Maryland. The Irish won 19-6.

From then on, the two teams just kept playing. While they had a rivalry on the gridiron, they banded together as academic institutions, and a defining moment came in 1942.

As World War II raged and many American men fought for their country, Notre Dame—still an all-male institution—struggled with serious financial problems. But the U.S. Navy turned the campus into a training center for the V-7 program, paying the university enough money to keep it afloat and save Notre Dame.

The two football teams continued to play every year. In 1963, Roger Staubach led the Midshipmen to a 35-14 victory over the Irish. But in 1964, No. 2 Notre Dame got revenge with a 40-0 win.

Over the next 43 years, Notre Dame set a Division I record and won 43 consecutive meetings in an annual rivalry. That all ended in 2007 when Navy beat Notre Dame 46-44 in triple overtime.

The two continued to play annually until COVID forced 2020, the first year the rivalry was canceled since it began in 1927. But in 2021 they picked it up again and have gone back to playing annually ever since.

The Irish most recently defeated Navy in Ireland 42-3 last season. But with both teams now ranked in the top 25 (Notre Dame at No. 12, Navy at No. 24), this year’s matchup is sure to go down in the record books.

“It’s great. “It’s a great rivalry that goes back many years and has a lot of history behind it,” Notre Dame football coach Marcus Freeman said. “Just a shout out to the work Coach (Brian) Newberry has done with this program, from where it was last year to where it is now. To be 6-0 and do the things it’s doing is an honor for them.” Program. So, I love it. We are looking forward to a great challenge.

“As a head coach, you’d rather play against a 6-0 team than an 0-6 team because it doesn’t take much to motivate your guys,” Freeman added. “You know the opponent. You know the challenge that lies ahead of us. So we’re looking forward to the opportunity, it should be a great clash and we’ll get back to focusing on preparation and getting ready for it.”

It’s a rivalry marked by respect, and Notre Dame continues to carry it on to thank the Navy for saving the university financially in the 1940s, making this game its place as one of the most important rivalries of the can keep college football.

Kickoff for Saturday’s game, which will be played at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. EDT. You can watch the 97th all-time matchup between these two programs on ABC/ESPN+.

Copyright 2024 WNDU. All rights reserved.