Navy entered Saturday’s game at MetLife Stadium with no fumbles and just two turnovers on the season.

It sure didn’t end that way for the 24th-ranked Midshipmen.

Six turnovers, five of them on fumbles, led to #12 Notre Dame cruising past its longtime rival, 51-14 at MetLife Stadium.  Notre Dame wins its sixth consecutive game since losing to Northern Illinois in week two. 

Offensively, Jeremiah Love ran for 102 yards and two touchdowns, including a career-long 64-yard touchdown run in the 2nd quarter to help crack the game open.  Quarterback Riley Leonard completed 13 of 21 passes for 178 yards and two touchdowns, as well as rushing for 83 yards and a score.

Meanwhile, Notre Dame’s defense held the nation’s fourth-best scoring offense to a pair of touchdowns, including handing Navy its first red-zone failure of the season.

After driving 75 yards with the opening kickoff for a Leonard touchdown, Notre Dame’s Adon Shuler recovered a fumbled pitch and returned it to the Navy 7. Leonard found Kris Mitchell in the end zone to make it 14-0 Irish.

Navy quarterback Blake Horvath, playing with an injured thumb, serpentined 47 yards through the Irish defense to narrow the gap to 14-7, but Love’s long touchdown scamper quickly answered for the Irish and the game was never in doubt after that.

Irish head coach Marcus Freeman matches the legendary Frank Leahy with his 10th win over a ranked team in his first three seasons. Notre Dame has a bye before returning to the field November 9 vs. Florida State in a night game at Notre Dame Stadium.