Navy football has turned the tables on Notre Dame

For a lengthy stretch in Navy football history, no player or member of the coaching staff could talk firsthand about the exhilaration of beating Notre Dame. The conversation instead included the tiresome questions of "When?" and "How soon?" Such were the consequences of having lost 43 straight to the Fighting Irish from 1964 to 2006, the most lopsided streak in college football history.

This year's senior class knows little of that anguish, other than yarns from former players or press clippings detailing blowouts, near misses and everything in between. For players such as Navy co-captains Ricky Dobbs and Wyatt Middleton, beating Notre Dame has been a regular function of their college football experience, a far cry from the beleaguered track record of their predecessors.

"We've been able to play great games against them," said senior left tackle Jeff Battipaglia, who is scheduled to make his 34th consecutive start on Saturday against the Fighting Irish at New Meadowlands Stadium. "It's been amazing to play college football and be able to play them four times, you know, the storied Notre Dame program. Being my senior year, there's a lot more to it now than ever before, and it really means a lot."

Before the class of 2011 removed the aura of invincibility from Notre Dame, previous players could be certain of being reminded that Navy had not beaten the Fighting Irish since Roger Staubach's junior year, when he won the Heisman Trophy and led the Midshipmen to the Cotton Bowl. In subsequent years, Navy had brushes with victory against college football's most recognized brand, but nothing more.

Then came 2007, when the Midshipmen outlasted Notre Dame in triple overtime, 46-44, in one of the most riveting games in series history. Navy entered the game with a 4-4 record but was mired in somewhat of a tailspin after losing two straight, including 59-52 to division I-AA Delaware a week earlier. Notre Dame, meantime, had begun the season 0-5 for the first time in program history under then-coach Charlie Weis, whose job security became a weekly issue.

The Fighting Irish were 1-7 heading into their home game against Navy, whose coach at the time was Paul Johnson, now at Georgia Tech.

The game went back and forth, with Notre Dame leading first before Navy went ahead 28-21 in the fourth quarter. The Fighting Irish tied it and had moved to the Midshipmen 24-yard line with 45 seconds to play. Facing fourth and eight, Weis eschewed a field goal try and went for it, but Navy sacked quarterback Evan Sharpley to force overtime.

Both teams scored a touchdown in the first overtime and a field goal in the second. In the third overtime of college football, both teams are required to go for the two-point conversion, and after Navy scored the first touchdown, quarterback Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada completed a pass to Reggie Campbell for a 46-38 lead.

The Fighting Irish scored a touchdown as well, and on the two-point conversion, Navy was called for pass interference. With the ball just inside the 2, Notre Dame's subsequent running attempt went nowhere thanks to a Navy surge, and the Midshipmen celebrated wildly at Notre Dame Stadium.

At the same site last year, Navy triumphed, 23-21. Linebacker Craig Schaefer sacked quarterback Jimmy Clausen for a safety to expand the lead to 23-14 with a minute to play, proving decisive after Notre Dame got a 31-yard touchdown pass from Clausen to wide receiver Golden Tate with 24 seconds to play.

"You can't take it for granted," junior fullback Alexander Teich said of Navy's recent accomplishments against Notre Dame. "Those years have past. This is a new season, a new team. They have a new team. They have a new coach. It's a different mind-set out there."

The Fighting Irish's new coach is Brian Kelly, who guided Cincinnati to consecutive BCS bowl games before leaving for South Bend. His record with the Bearcats was 34-6, and he began his tenure at Notre Dame with bold statements about how the Fighting Irish can be a national champion again in short order.

It didn't begin as Kelly envisioned, with Notre Dame going 1-3 to open the season. But since a 37-14 loss to Stanford, the Fighting Irish have reeled off three straight wins, including a 44-20 triumph last week against Western Michigan.

"You can see they're getting more and more familiar with their system both offensively and defensively and also special teams-wise," Navy Coach Ken Niumatalolo said. "This is going to be a tough game for us obviously."