Navy Show Jet Lag In 42-3 loss to Notre Dame in Ireland

A cold rainy day in Dublin, Ireland beget an emphatic Navy loss in the opening game of the 2023 college football season.

Notre Dame, playing host on the Emerald Isle, dominated the Midshipmen to the tune of 42-3 on Saturday afternoon. It was also the first game for new head coach Brian Newberry at the helm.

“That’s a heck of a football team we played tonight” said Newberry after the game. “ I’m disappointed. It’s not what we hoped for, not what we expected. I didn’t think it would take a miracle to win the game, but I knew we would have to play our best. I don’t think we did.”

Navy finished the contest with just two trips to the red zone and scored their only points with three and a half minutes left in the game.

While Navy’s new offense promised a slightly larger emphasis on moving the ball through the air, it didn’t quite workout that way. The Mids’ first pass play of the year ended with two Navy players running into each other while trying to catch the ball. The play resulted in an incompletion. Navy finished with 43 pass yards from three completions on seven attempts.

Their total offensive output was just 169 net yards despite having the ball for 12 more minutes than the Irish.

The Irish were incredibly efficient on offense, converting on four out of five red zone trips with 444 total net yards.

Frankly, Navy’s best play of the night may have been a Notre Dame missed field goal. That came just after a Navy pass break up that was a micro-reaction away from being a pick six in the third quarter.

Navy continue their 2023 campaign stateside on September 9 when they host FCS Wagner on CBS Sports Network.

Notre Dame also host an FCS opponent for their next game when Tennessee State heads to South Bend on September 2.