To call the Navy-Notre Dame football series one-sided would be an understatement.
Notre Dame, which holds a 69-9-1 advantage in the rivalry, has won the last 42 meetings. The Midshipmen’s last win over the Fighting Irish was a 35-14 victory in 1963, when Navy coach Paul Johnson was in first grade.
Despite the lopsided nature of the series, the Midshipmen (5-2) enter Saturday’s contest at M&T Bank Stadium with a positive, nothing-to-loseattitude. They understand that beating Notre Dame (6-1) would put them in a class all by themselves in the program’s history.
“Our guys are excited to play,” Johnson said. “That’s why a lot of them came to school here, because they wanted to measure themselves against great Division I players and they are going to get a chance. Everybody is going to get themselves ready in their own way, but we have nothing to lose. Our guys need to go out there and just play. Nobody gives us a chance to win anyway, so we have nothing to lose.”
Navy?s hope of pulling off an upset also stems from the number of close games the schools have played against each other in recent years. In 2002, the last time the two teams met in Baltimore, Navy lost, 30-23, after leading, 23-15, with five minutes remaining.
Senior linebacker Rob Caldwell, perhaps more than most of his teammates, can’t wait to step onto the field against Notre Dame. A Navy co-captain along with center James Rossi, Caldwell is a St. John, Ind., native who grew up as a big Fighting Irish fan. He had 14 tackles in last year’s 42-21 loss to Notre Dame.
“Playing Notre Dame is always huge,” said Caldwell, who has a team-high 60 tackles and three force fumbles. “They’ve won 42 in a row against us, but it only takes a few breaks for us to win that one game.”
Like Caldwell, Rossi views beating Notre Dame as the one piece of unfinished business left for Navy’s senior class, which has gone 31-13, a record that includes winning the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy three straight years and qualifying for a bowl game in each of those seasons.
“I can’t imagine anything more unbelievable than beating Notre Dame,” Rossi said. “It’s something that would be on national TV, and it would be something I can talk about for a long time.”
