Navy cornerback Blake Carter has only vague memories of the Mids’ 2007 upset of Notre Dame that broke an NCAA-record 43-game losing streak to the Irish, “a figment of my imagination,” Carter said last week.
But now Carter has a fresh memory of another South Bend upset. Navy’s 23-21 win over Notre Dame on Saturday is not only more recent, but has a less surreal quality.
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Although Notre Dame (6-3) was ranked No. 17, Navy (7-3) wasn’t awestruck. Playing on even terms with Ohio State in a 31-27 season-opening loss in Columbus gave the Mids the belief.
“We felt like we had them in a perfect situation, similar to Ohio State,” said Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo. “We’re a pretty good team too. We’ve had tough losses, but we fell like every ballgame we’ve been in, we’ve had a chance to win.”
Navy may not be stunned, but Notre Dame is. In the South Bend Tribune, columnist Eric Hansen pointed out that Charlie Weis is the first Irish coach in history to lose back-to-back home games to Navy and that his 35-24 record is one loss shy of the mark compiled by former Notre Dame coach Bob Davie when he was fired.
Contrast the panic in South Bend to the calm in Annapolis. When Navy players checked in Sunday to get medical help for their bumps and bruises, it was all business.
“Nothing different,” said linebacker Craig Schaefer. “I think it’s pretty cool that nobody’s making a big deal of this. It wasn’t unexpected.”
