EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Jeremiyah Love ran for 102 yards and two touchdowns in leading No. 12 Notre Dame to a 51-14 victory over No. 24 Navy on Saturday, knocking the uncharacteristically mistake-prone Midshipmen from the unbeaten ranks.
Love extended his streak of rushing for a touchdown to eight games, scoring on runs of 64 and 2 yards, and quarterback Riley Leonard ran for a touchdown and threw two more as the Fighting Irish (7-1) beat Navy (6-1) for the seventh straight time in this 97th meeting, which was played at MetLife Stadium.
The Midshipmen, who had not lost a fumble all season, lost five and that led to 28 points for the Irish, with Jaylen Sneed recovering a Blake Horvath fumble in the end zone for a touchdown.
Love’s shorter touchdown run, a 6-yard TD pass from Leonard to Kris Mitchell and a late 4-yard scoring run by Kedren Young also followed turnovers, including two on muffed punts.
Leonard finished 13 of 21 for 178 yards, adding a 37-yard touchdown toss to Beaux Collins to help the Irish win their sixth straight following a stunning loss to Northern Illinois in Week 2.
The Irish led 31-7 at the half and never were threatened.
Horvath scored on a 47-yard run for Navy and finished with 129 yards on 14 carries. Eli Heidenreich scored on a short run for the other touchdown.
Notre Dame, which extended its streak of scoring at least 30 points to four games, outgained Navy 466-310 with the 51 points being the most allowed by the Midshipmen this season.
Up next
Norte Dame: Is off next week and returns Nov. 9 at home against Florida State.
Navy: Plays at Rice on Saturday.