Notre Dame Routs Navy: Instant Takeaways as Irish Continue CFP March

Make it seven straight wins for Notre Dame as the Fighting Irish routed Navy 49-10 on Saturday night, moving to 7-2 on the year and one step closer to returning to the College Football Playoff.

It was close for a half before one of Jeremiyah Love's more impressive plays to date resulted in a 48-yard touchdown run and a 28-10 Notre Dame advantage.

From there, the rout was on as less than 10 minutes into the second half the lead swelled from 21-10 to 42-10.

So what especially stood out from Notre Dame's blowout victory and what left us wanting more?

Here are the instant takeaways from Saturday night's blowout victory in South Bend.

CJ Carr Threw at Will Against Navy

Notre Dame's passing attack started with a pair of early big pass plays to Malachi Fields, but by night's end it was pretty much every receiver getting in on the action. Navy did a lot to try to slow down Notre Dame's rushing attack and understandably so, but it simply didn't have the manpower to matchup with Fighting Irish wide receivers.

As a result, CJ Carr picked apart the Navy defense to the tune of 218 yards and three touchdowns, along with three touchdown passes.

Defense Steps Up as Game Goes On

You saw early how the Navy offense can make life so challenging. It chewed up clock early, kept things close, but ultimately didn't have the firepower to challenge for an upset. After allowing a Navy touchdown on its second possession of the game, Notre Dame didn't allow another.

The end result was a 49-10 Notre Dame victory.

Notre Dame's defense continues to shine in a big way as the season continues.

Star Defender: Jaiden Ausberry

In the Navy game, an unusual suspect generally steps up on Notre Dame's defense. This week it was Jaiden Ausberry who led Notre Dame with eight total tackles, a sack, and a pair of tackles for loss. That caps a big week for the Ausberry's, as Jaiden's father Verge had the interim tag removed and was named athletic director at LSU.

Jeremiyah Love's Heisman Moment?

With Notre Dame not having a huge game left on the schedule, Jeremiyah Love's Heisman Trophy campaign depends largely on the spectacular the rest of the way. It won't outshine Indiana's Fernando Mendoza leading a last-second, game-winning scoring drive at Penn State on Saturday, but Love's touchdown run early in the second half was something that physically shouldn't be possible.

YOU CAN'T DENY LOVE 🫶#GoIrish☘️ | @JeremiyahLove pic.twitter.com/P0jKoSspPP
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) November 9, 2025

For the second week in a row, Love was largely held in check outside his huge run, but did break off what was the most impressive play of the night.

Love finished the night just shy of the century mark in rushing yards (94) and 12 yards shy of the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the year.

Perfect Night of Kicking for Notre Dame

Erik Schmidt went a perfect 6-for-6 on extra points Saturday night, a far cry from a week ago when Notre Dame missed two extra points and short field goal attempt. The snapping and holding operation wasn't amazing on what wound up being a soaking wet night in South Bend, but it was a big night for that part of special teams.

Bonus points for not kicking any kickoffs out of bounds tonight, either.

Notre Dame's Domination of Navy Continues

In 2022, Notre Dame had to hang on for dear life against Navy, to win 35-32 in Baltimore. Since then, Notre Dame has outscored the Midshipmen 142-27. It feels like a lifetime ago that Notre Dame dropped four games in 10 years to Navy, as it did from 2007-2016.

Biggest Remaining Test Next Week for Notre Dame

Just three games remain now for Notre Dame, with the toughest of those coming next week at Pittsburgh. The Panthers will enter the game 7-2 and relatively fresh, having had this past weekend off.