No. 13 Notre Dame routs Navy, 42-3, in college football season opener in Dublin behind transfer QB Sam Hartman

DUBLIN — Whenever encountering visiting Navy and Notre Dame fans around the city, Dublin residents would inevitably ask: “Are you in town for the match?”

College football might be a game in America, but that term is never used in Ireland.

As has been the case so many times during this lopsided series, this meeting of the Midshipmen and Fighting Irish was a mismatch.

First-year starting quarterback Sam Hartman flawlessly directed an offense that was unstoppable and No. 13 Notre Dame scored early and often on the way to routing Navy, 42-3, before a sellout crowd at Aviva Stadium.

“Disappointed. It’s not what we hoped for or what we expected,” first-year Navy coach Brian Newberry said. “That’s a good football team and we knew it. We didn’t think it would take a miracle to win the game, but we knew we had to be at our best and I don’t think we were.”

Hartman, a graduate student transfer from Wake Forest playing his sixth season of college football, was as good as advertised. He was sharp passing in completing 19 of 23 attempts for 266 yards and four touchdowns while executing a balanced attack to perfection.

“I thought Sam Hartman played extremely well. I don’t know that he missed a whole lot tonight,” Newberry said. “He’s a smart player who sees the field really well. He was able to ID things we were doing really well then put the ball in the right places when he did.”

Tailback Audric Estime rushed for 93 yards and a touchdown for Notre Dame, which scored on five straight possessions to start the game in taking a commanding 35-0 lead.

While it was a spectacular performance for Hartman in his Notre Dame debut, it marked a disappointing start to the Newberry era at Navy. The first-year coach, who replaced the fired Ken Niumatalolo, suffered the type of result so many of his predecessors have when playing Notre Dame.

Newberry is the first Navy coach to lose in his debut since Elliott Uzelac in 1987. With a 39-point margin, he endured the most lopsided opening loss of any first-year Midshipmen coach, surpassing the 45-22 loss Rick Forzano suffered to Penn State in 1969.

“We have to go back to work and we have to get better, and we will. This game won’t define our season,” Newberry said. “I don’t feel any different about our football team right now than I did before the game.”

Newberry went for it on fourth down on Navy’s opening possession and an incompletion led to a turnover on downs. That was the first of many missed opportunities for the Midshipmen, who trailed 28-0 at halftime after being outgained 297-114 in the first half.

Navy faced fourth-and-3 from the Notre Dame 37-yard line when Newberry decided to roll the dice. Quarterback Tai Lavatai rolled out and had two potential targets open, but they were both in the same area. Wide receiver Camar Wilkerson ran into slotback Amin Hassan as the latter was attempting to make the catch and the ball bounced to the turf.

“We had a bust on a route there. That’s why you saw two receivers so close together,” Newberry said. “If we had run the right route, we may hit that and it’s a huge play.”

Notre Dame quarterback Sam Hartman (10) throws against Navy during an NCAA college football game in Dublin, Ireland, Aug. 26, 2023. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison) (Peter Morrison/AP)

An opportunity to gain some positive early momentum was lost and the Fighting Irish made the Mids pay. Freshman tailback Jadarian Price made his first career carry a memorable one, bursting through a big hole up the middle and racing untouched 19 yards into the end zone to give Notre Dame a 14-0 lead with 1:03 remaining in the first quarter.

Hartman dropped a perfect pass into the arms of freshman wide receiver Jaden Greathouse for a 35-yard scoring strike and suddenly it was 21-0. Hartman then connected with Jayden Thomas for a 29-yard touchdown pass, and the rout was on.

Navy sent kicker Evan Warren out to attempt a 36-yard field goal in hopes of getting on the board before halftime. Warren missed wide right on the second attempt of his career and that capped another miserable first half in recent season openers for the Mids.

Navy has now been outscored 87-0 in the first half of its last four season openers with Notre Dame joining BYU (31-0 in 2020) in inflicting the most damage.

First-year offensive coordinator Grant Chesnut talked throughout the offseason about implementing a quick passing game that would enable Navy to be more balanced. For one game at least, the offense was every bit as ground-oriented as it was under Niumatalolo.

Lavatai got the start at quarterback and did not attempt a pass in the first half. Navy did unveil some new offensive wrinkles, most noticeable of which was multiple formations and lots of presnap motion.

A quick pitch to the fullback has always been part of the Navy triple-option package, but was utilized far more often in this game. Both starter Daba Fofana and backup Alex Tecza had big gains off the play, which provides a creative way to get the ball on the perimeter — a Chesnut priority.

Navy fullback Daba Fofana (45) runs around Notre Dame defensive lineman Nana Osafo-Mensah (31) during the second half. (Peter Morrison/AP)

When all was said and done, the Navy offense was pretty pedestrian and overall ineffective — managing only 169 yards, most of which came on the ground. Fofana and Tecza accounted for most of that, combining for 70 yards on 24 carries. Sophomore slotback Brandon Chatman, making his varsity debut, ran hard in gaining 30 yards on eight carries.

Lavatai, a senior making his 20th career start, completed 2 of 5 passes for 41 yards and added 23 rushing yards on 10 keepers. Sophomore Blake Horvath, who was atop the depth chart for most of preseason practice and was expected to make his varsity debut, did not play.

Lavatai stepped up into the pocket and threw a strike to wide receiver Regis Velez along the left sideline for a 39-yard completion deep into Notre Dame territory midway through the fourth quarter. Two plays later, Lavatai converted on fourth-and-1 to set up first-and-goal from the 5-yard line.

It appeared the Midshipmen were finally going to score a touchdown.

However, a trick play on first down went awry and resulted in a 9-yard loss. Senior quarterback Xavier Arline lined up as a receiver then came in motion and took a handoff from Lavatai. It appeared Arline wanted to throw back to Lavatai, but the latter was covered and the former was sacked.

Chesnut called a similar play on third down with Arline again taking a handoff and this time looking to throw into the end zone. His pass was batted down and the Midshipmen settled for their second field goal attempt of the game.

This time, Warren booted the ball through the middle of the uprights from 31 yards out and the Mids avoided the shutout.

Home opener

Wagner at Navy

Saturday, Sept. 9, 3:30 p.m.

TV: CBS Sports Network

Radio: 1430 AM

Originally Published: Aug 26, 2023 at 5:49 pm