FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — CJ Carr passed for 210 yards and two touchdowns, and Nolan James Jr. added TD runs of 52 and 23 yards to help No. 5 Notre Dame pull away for its ninth straight victory over Navy 35-13 Saturday.
James finished with nine carries for 107 yards. Jonaz Walton added a 3-yard touchdown run, and Jerome Bettis Jr. had a 31-yard TD catch for the Fighting Irish (7-1), who successfully bounced back after their road loss at BYU two weeks ago. Notre Dame finished with 426 yards, its fifth time amassing 400-plus yards this season.
Quarterback Jackson Gutierrez rushed 28 times for 110 yards for the Midshipmen (2-6), who haven’t won a game in the long-running series since 2016.
It was also the second straight loss for Navy in neutral site games played at Gillette Stadium, home to the NFL’s New England Patriots. The Midshipmen also lost to Army in Foxborough in their 2023 meeting.
Leading 14-13 at halftime, Notre Dame scored on each of its first three possessions of the second half to take control.
Notre Dame’s defense came in allowing only 67.3 yards per game on the ground. Gutierrez surpassed that in the second quarter.
It helped the Midshipmen, who entered as 29.5-point underdogs, both to eat up the clock and keep the ball out of the Notre Dame offense’s hands. The Irish had only three possessions in the half, holding the ball for a scant 6:27.
But after Navy took a 13-7 lead on Gutierrez’s 2-yard TD run with 1:52 to play in the first half, the Irish needed only 50 seconds to jump back in front via Nolan James Jr.‘s 52-yard touchdown run.
The Irish had the ball first after halftime and moved quickly, increasing their edge to 21-13 after Walton punctuated a 78-yard drive with a 3-yard TD run. Following a Navy punt, James’ second touchdown pushed the lead 28-13.
The Takeaway
It took a while for the Irish’s defense to handle the nuances of Navy’s multifaceted, hybrid option-spread attack coming off their bye last week. But it could also serve as a needed jolt for a unit that will need to be at its best with next week’s matchup against top-ranked Miami looming.
Up next
Notre Dame: Hosts No. 1 ranked Miami next Saturday.
Navy: Hosts Temple next Saturday.
___
Sign up for Top 25 poll alerts here, visit the Top 25 here and see AP’s full college football coverage here
