Notre Dame vs. Navy Game Balls
Playing out of character, Navy was sloppy with the football Saturday and Notre Dame made them pay in a 51-14 win, the seventh straight victory in the series for the Irish.
After entering the game with only two total giveaways through 6 games this season, the Midshipmen turned the ball over six times against the Irish.
The miscues helped Notre Dame build a 31-7 halftime lead that only swelled in the second half.
A balanced offensive and defensive performance for Notre Dame provided plenty of game ball candidates. Here are the three we settled on.
Quarterback Riley Leonard
In a little more than three quarters of play, the Irish senior went 13-of-21 passing for 178 yards with 2 touchdowns, and added 10 carries for 83 yards with another touchdown on the ground, his 11th of the season.
As he has frequently done this season, Leonard got off to a hot start in the game.
Through the entire first and early second quarters, Leonard went 7-of-7 passing for 73 yards with 1 touchdown.
Navy marked the fourth time in the last five games that Leonard has thrown multiple touchdown passes after he managed only one scoring toss total in his first four games this season.
Linebacker Jaylen Sneed
In a game-ball that seemed a long-time coming, the Irish junior enjoyed his best game at Notre Dame with a career-high 9 tackles, that also tied for a team best, including 0.5 for loss, and a big-play moment that he’ll never forget.
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Sneed’s already terrific game in rush defense was emphasized in the third quarter when he fell on a fumble by Navy quarterback Blake Horvath in the end zone that gave Sneed his first career fumble recovery and his first touchdown.
Sneed, the highest-rated recruit in the 2022 Notre Dame recruiting class, had only made more than 3 tackles four times in his career.
Running back Jeremiyah Love
The Irish sophomore led all Irish rushers with 102 yards on 12 carries with 2 touchdowns, for an 8.5-yard per-carry average.
Love did most of his work in the first half while Notre Dame built a 31-7 lead, finishing the first and second quarters with 92 rushing yards on 10 carries with 2 touchdowns, including a 64-yard scoring scamper, the longest of his career. His other touchdown came on a 2-yard surge late in the second quarter that gave the Irish a comfortable 28-7 lead.
Somewhat surprisingly, this marked only second career 100-yard rushing game for Love.
