As soon as history crash-landed on a patch of mottled grass, as soon as Navy defenders swallowed Notre Dame tailback Travis Thomas and overthrew the Irish’s dominion, 43 years of angst came to a hard stop.
Irish guard Eric Olson lay face down on the turf, motionless. Half the Notre Dame offense stood statue-still as the Midshipmen’s helmets flew into the air. The entire team stood rigid and vacant as, per tradition, it joined Navy as the service academy’s band played “Anchors Aweigh” afterward.
A 46-44 triple-overtime loss to Navy on Saturday extinguished Notre Dame’s almost preposterous 43-game winning streak in the series. But the historical significance contained a particular gloom for the present: There is nothing even of thematic significance left for these Irish to accomplish.
“I thought it was a bad dream for a while,” Irish defensive end Trevor Laws said. “But it wasn’t.”
It certainly was a surreal moment for the Midshipmen (5-4), who were spirited but hardly any different than the Irish could have expected. The triple-option offense, which was ranked 19th in the nation in scoring, vexed the Notre Dame defense for 338 yards and scoring drives of 19, 11 and 15 plays in regulation.
The smallish, injury-ravaged, 105th-ranked defense, meanwhile, wavered and wobbled. Irish tailbacks James Aldridge, and Armando Allen found ample room to roam. Of the eight Notre Dame possessions in regulation, seven produced either a score or a legitimate chance at putting points on the board.
That the Irish even found themselves riding a violent overtime pendulum with Navy, then watched as their seemingly eternal flame of dominance was snuffed out, seemed the worst dose of reality.
“The reason I think it’s hitting us all that hard is we thought we were playing a team we could beat, and we didn’t,” Irish linebacker Joe Brockington said. “They just made more plays than we did.”
Specifically, two plays, both by the otherwise nondescript defense.
Early in the fourth quarter, Navy’s Michael Walsh stripped Irish quarterback Evan Sharpley on a sack. Midshipman Chris Kuhar-Pitters gladly picked up the fumble and returned it 16 yards for a touchdown. In a game where empty offensive possessions were nearly fatal, the swing was palpable.
“It was huge,” Navy coach Paul Johnson said. “We needed a break like that.”
Then came the third overtime, in which Navy quarterback Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada hit Reggie Campbell on a 25-yard touchdown pass on the first play and passed to him for the extra points and a 48-40 lead.
The Irish answered with Thomas scoring from 5 yards out. Then, on its two-point try, Notre Dame got a pass-interference call to set up another chance from 1 1/2 yards.
Thomas got the call but was met before he really could get going with Navy literally sending all 11 defenders to the ball. He went down far short of the goal line, and the Midshipmen’s frenzy began.
“It’s the best feeling in the world,” Navy’s Shun White said. “Coming off 43 years straight, beating Notre Dame at Notre Dame — it’s a great feeling.”
Especially after the Notre Dame Stadium crowd voiced its displeasure with choices to twice shun field goals from a reasonable distance in the game — including what would have been a go-ahead 41-yarder with less than a minute to go in regulation.
In any case, Navy achieved its goal of writing history and celebrated as such. Thanks to the exuberant postgame scrum, one Navy staff member went from hug to hug with a fresh, bloody gash on his forehead — smiling all the while.
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In the tunnel after the game, Navy assistant Jeff Monken paused on his way to the locker room to unfurl one visceral salute.
“We just beat the Irish, in South Bend!” Monken screeched. “Whoooooooo!”
And that sentiment echoed back a good 43 years.
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