SOUTH BEND, Ind. — CJ Carr threw for 218 yards and three touchdowns, and No. 10 Notre Dame beat Navy 49-10 on a snowy Saturday night for its seventh consecutive victory.
Carr completed 13 of 16 passes and Notre Dame (7-2) led 42-10 when he gave way to backup quarterback Kenny Minchey late in the third quarter.
Carr wasn’t bothered by the steady rain that later became snow.
“I love it,” Carr said. “Being from Michigan, I played in the rain and the snow. You’d rather play in the sunshine, but I can handle it.”
Jeremiyah Love ran for 94 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries. He scored on a stunning 48-yard run on which he went down but didn’t touch the turf, rolling off a defender and racing to the end zone after regaining his footing.
Aneyas Williams added a 54-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
“I’m obviously proud of the way our guys battled,” Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said. “It’s always a great challenge when you get ready to play Navy just because of the uniqueness of their schemes on both sides of the ball. It is difficult to prepare for because it’s not something you see every week and it’s a good team.”
Navy (7-2) played without quarterback Blake Horvath after he was injured last week in a 31-17 loss to North Texas.
“We didn’t want to put him in harm’s way and make something worse,” Navy coach Brian Newberry said. “I didn’t feel comfortable putting him out there. Hopefully he’ll be out there next week.”
Braxton Woodson started in place of Horvath and gained 101 yards on 23 carries. He scored Navy’s lone touchdown on a 2-yard run that tied it at 7.
Navy entered the game leading the nation in rushing (317 yards per game). The Midshipmen gained 154 yards on the ground in the first half but were limited to 52 in the second.
“I really didn’t think it would be as lopsided as it was,” Newberry said. “I thought we came out in the first half and played relatively well. They had a couple of explosive passes. We were able to stop the run for the most part. The difference was on defense, not being able to get off the field on third downs.”
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Giving out some Heisman Love
Freeman believes Love deserves to be in the Heisman Trophy conversation. He was impressed by yet another highlight-reel moment with Love’s 48-yard touchdown run that looked like an imminent tackle for a loss.
“You talk about one of the best players in the country, if he’s not one of them, then … it’s hard to believe how many other players are that special,” Freeman said.
Woodson hits milestone
Woodson is the first opposing player to rush for more than 100 yards against Notre Dame this season. Newberry didn’t think the start at Notre Dame was a moment that was too big for Woodson.
“I thought he played well in the first half,” Newberry said. “He certainly didn’t play perfect. He came out in the third quarter and missed some reads. I was pleased with the way Braxton played in the first half, how he handled being in an environment like this, his second time as a starter.”
The takeaway
Notre Dame: The Irish picked up style points with the dominating victory.
Navy: The Midshipmen look to regroup after back-to-back losses.
Up next
Notre Dame: At Pittsburgh on Saturday
Navy: Plays host to South Florida on Saturday.