11/8/2003 - Football
Notre Dame 27, Navy 24

South Bend, IN (Sports Network) - D.J. Fitzpatrick nailed a career-best 40- yard field goal as time expired to give the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame a much-needed 27-24 victory over the Midshipmen of Navy at home. The victory for the Irish (3-6) not only broke the team's three-game slide at home, but also extended the NCAA record for consecutive wins over one opponent to 40 games. Running back Julius Jones generated 221 yards rushing and a pair of touchdowns on 33 attempts in the win. Kyle Eckel finished the contest with 13 carries for 53 yards and a couple of scores in the losing effort for the Middies (6-4), who have now lost two of their last three outings. Notre Dame put the first points on the board thanks to a 48-yard touchdown run by Julius Jones just under 10 minutes into the opening period. Just seconds later Navy's Tony Lane rumbled 65 yards into the end zone to tie the contest at 7-7. The Middies took a brief lead at 10-7 thanks to a 35-yard field goal by Eric Rolfs early in the second period, but before the end of the half Brady Quinn found Rhema McKnight with a two-yard scoring pass to give the Irish a 14-10 edge at the break. Navy bounced back on top in the third when Eckel posted a five-yard rushing touchdown. However, Notre Dame wasted little time in regaining the advantage with a 12-yard touchdown run by Jones, leaving the score 21-17 in favor of the Irish after three periods of play. The seesaw battle continued into the fourth with Eckel posting his second score of the contest on a one-yard run, giving the Midshipmen a 24-21 lead with just under 10 minutes to play in the game. Later in the period Fitzpatrick connected on a 30-yard field goal to tie the contest at 24-24, setting the stage for his game-winner. The Irish produced 417 yards of total offense, with Quinn putting up 137 yards on 14-of-27 through the air. Navy signal-caller Craig Candeto attempted just five passes, completing four, for a total of 46 yards in the loss. While it was Navy that entered the weekend as the top-ranked rushing team in the nation with 309.6 ypg, it was Notre Dame who got the better production on the ground with 280 yards on 48 attempts, compared to 238 yards on 53 total carries for the Middies. The last time the Middies defeated Notre Dame was November of 1963 when Roger Staubach was at the helm and claimed the Heisman Trophy.