SOUTH BEND, Ind. — C.J. Carr passed for 218 yards and three touchdowns on 13-of-16 completions, leading No. 10 Notre Dame to a 49-10 victory over Navy on Nov. 8, 2025, in a snowy clash at Notre Dame Stadium that extended the Irish’s winning streak to seven games. The win improved Notre Dame to 8-2 overall and 6-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, bolstering its position in the initial College Football Playoff rankings released earlier in the week.
Carr directed the offense with precision before yielding to backup Kenny Minchey late in the third quarter, with Notre Dame ahead 42-10. The Irish offense racked up 502 total yards, including 249 on the ground, against a Navy rush attack that entered ranked first nationally at 317 yards per game. Navy managed 206 rushing yards but just 52 after halftime, finishing with 228 total yards in a game controlled by Notre Dame for 30 minutes and 37 seconds of possession time.
Jeremiyah Love paced the ground game with 94 yards on 13 carries and two scores, including a 48-yard burst in the third quarter where he rolled off a defender without touching the snow-covered turf before sprinting untouched to paydirt. Aneyas Williams capped the rushing attack with a 54-yard touchdown scamper in the fourth quarter. Jadarian Price added a 2-yard run for Notre Dame’s other ground score, while Jordan Faison, KK Smith and Ty Washington hauled in Carr’s touchdown passes of 5, 34 and 4 yards, respectively.
Navy, playing without starting quarterback Blake Horvath due to an injury sustained in a 31-17 loss to North Texas the previous week, turned to Braxton Woodson at signal-caller. Woodson completed 3-of-? passes for 22 yards while rushing 23 times for 101 yards, including a 2-yard touchdown in the second quarter that briefly tied the score at 7. Nathan Kirkwood booted a 33-yard field goal later in the half for Navy’s other points. Jackson Gutierrez saw limited action behind center, completing none of his attempts. The Midshipmen, now 7-2 and 6-1 in the American Athletic Conference, host South Florida on Nov. 15.
The game unfolded under falling snow that began midway through the first quarter, turning the field slick and favoring Notre Dame’s balanced attack. The Irish struck first on a 1-yard run by Love following a 94-yard, seven-play drive that consumed 4:06. Navy answered with an 8-play, 53-yard march capped by Woodson’s short plunge, knotting the score at 7 with 11:02 left in the second quarter.
Notre Dame responded with a 9-play, 71-yard drive ending in Price’s 2-yard score, then added Faison’s 5-yard reception on a 7-play, 68-yard possession to forge a 21-7 halftime lead. The Irish pulled away in the third with Love’s highlight-reel run, covering 65 yards in four plays, followed immediately by Smith’s 34-yard strike on a quick slant that went 34 yards in one snap. Washington’s 4-yard score came on a 6-play, 49-yard sequence.
Williams’ long run provided the final margin on a 9-play, 93-yard drive. Notre Dame converted 7 of 10 third downs and both fourth-down attempts, while Navy managed 3 of 11 on third down. The Irish committed no penalties for 70 yards, a rare feat not seen since 2019. Navy drew six penalties for 57 yards.
This matchup marked the 96th meeting in college football’s longest continuously played intersectional rivalry, dating uninterrupted from 1927 until the COVID-19 pandemic paused it in 2020. Notre Dame holds an 88-9-1 all-time edge, including eight straight wins since Navy’s last victory in 2016. The series, renewed annually since 1927 except for that one-year gap, underscores Notre Dame’s commitment to service academies, with proceeds from the game supporting the National Forest Foundation and Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society.
The victory positions Notre Dame favorably in the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff format, where the top four conference champions receive byes and seeds five through 12 host first-round games on campus sites. At No. 10 in the inaugural Nov. 5 rankings, the Irish need wins in their final three games — at Pittsburgh on Nov. 15, home against Syracuse on Nov. 22 and at Stanford on Nov. 29 — to secure an at-large bid or ACC title game berth. A loss to Navy could have jeopardized that path, especially against a Midshipmen triple-option offense that averages 300 rushing yards but sputtered in the second half under snow and Irish defensive pressure led by All-American safety Xavier Watts.
Navy’s back-to-back defeats drop it from contention for an AAC championship game, though a win over Army on Dec. 13 remains a motivator in the storied service academy rivalry. The Midshipmen, who shocked the nation with a 7-1 start fueled by Horvath’s dual-threat play, now regroup under coach Brian Newberry, emphasizing ball security after three turnovers in the loss.
Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman praised Carr’s poise in postgame remarks, noting the true freshman’s command of a spread offense that contrasts Navy’s veer scheme. “C.J. made smart decisions in tough weather,” Freeman said, per game notes. The Irish defense, ranked 12th nationally in scoring allowance at 16.8 points per game, held Navy to 3.4 yards per carry after the break.
