JACKSONVILLE, FLA. – Will Worth ran for 175 yards and two touchdowns, his eighth consecutive game with a rushing score, and the Midshipmen beat the Fighting Irish 28-27 Saturday in the nation's longest-running intersectional rivalry.
Navy (6-2) won only its fourth game against Notre Dame since 1963. The Irish (3-6) had won five in a row in the series.
"I've been here a long time. We've had some crushing defeats to these guys," coach Ken Niumatalolo said. "To be able to finally come out on top, it feels so good."
Trailing 28-24 with a little more than seven minutes to go, the Irish kicked a 31-yard field goal instead of trying to convert a fourth-and-4 at the Navy 14, even though Notre Dame hadn't forced a punt all day.
"In hindsight, it's something that we didn't get the ball back. But 28-27 made sense to me at the time," Irish coach Brian Kelly said. "Even if they score a touchdown, we still have the opportunity to score and get the two-point conversion. ... But those are the decisions you got to make".
Associated Press
