​Dublin saw Notre Dame stamp its authority in a game that, in football terms, was as unusual as Notre Dame appearing on a foreign playing field. The Irish dominated the ground game from the opening whistle and rolled to a 50-10 season-opening victory over Navy at Aviva Stadium, marking a commanding start to the year. Fueled by a dominant two-pronged rushing attack, Notre Dame (1-0) extended its recent run of success against the Midshipmen, handily beating Navy (0-1) for the second straight time after a rough stretch against the service academy in the preceding five seasons.
“I think the story for me was being able to control both lines offensively and defensively,” said Irish coach Brian Kelly. His team nearly doubled Navy’s rushing yardage, finishing with 293 rushing yards to Navy’s 149. Notre Dame’s defense wasn’t perfect, but it held firm for most of the day, forcing four turnovers and recording a pivotal fourth-down stop early on.
With the Irish up 6-0 in the first quarter, sophomore Ishaq Williams forced a crucial stop at the Navy 30, bringing down quarterback Trey Miller one yard short of a first down on a key tackle. A sequence later, seniors Manti Te’o and Dan Fox pushed Miller back for no gain, flipping possession back to Notre Dame. “I think we’re just carrying on where we were last year as a defense that’s very stingy against the run,” Kelly said. “That’s a huge reason why. We’re very blessed with a physical group, a great scheme, they’re well-coached and it’s not often you can hold Navy down to 10 points.”
moments later, the turnover sparked a breakout play. Four plays after Navy’s punt, sophomore George Atkinson broke free for a 56-yard scoring run, giving the Irish a 13-0 lead they would not relinquish.
“We felt the strength of our football team laid up front,” Kelly said. “We believe we’ve got physical backs, with home run ability with George. Theo Riddick ran physical and has great instincts. Cam McDaniel came in and, of course, you can’t forget Robby Toma’s run, because he’s going to talk about it for the next six months.”
Atkinson finished with 99 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries, while Riddick tallied 107 yards on 19 carries with two scores in the absence of starting running back Cierre Wood, who was suspended for two games last week. In his first start at quarterback, sophomore Everett Golson completed 12 of 18 passes for 144 yards, a touchdown and an interception. “I thought he managed the game and made one bad decision when he threw the interception, but the great thing about Everett is he picks it up,” Kelly said. “He’s not going to make the same mistake twice. Other than that, I was really pleased with the leadership, the ability to get in the right plays and keep our offense moving. We knew what we were getting with Everett. It’s not like we didn’t know what we were getting.”
Golson connected on a five-yard touchdown pass to senior tight end Tyler Eifert early in the second quarter, widening the lead to 20-0. It was the second consecutive game abroad for the Irish, and the tone was set early as Notre Dame established control both on the ground and through the air, setting the stage for a dominant season opener.