No. 12 Notre Dame rolls past No. 24 Navy with 51-14 win

No. 12 Notre Dame rolls past No. 24 Navy with 51-14 win

Riley Leonard passed for two touchdowns and rushed for one more, and No. 12 Notre Dame rolled to a 51-14 win over No. 24 Navy on Saturday afternoon at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.Jeremi

Riley Leonard passed for two touchdowns and rushed for one more, and No. 12 Notre Dame rolled to a 51-14 win over No. 24 Navy on Saturday afternoon at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

Jeremiyah Love added 12 carries for 102 yards and two touchdowns for Notre Dame (7-1), which won its sixth game in a row. Beaux Collins and Kris Mitchell had one touchdown reception apiece, Kedren Young rushed for a score, and Jaylen Sneed had a fumble recovery for a defensive touchdown.

Blake Horvath completed seven of 13 passes for 88 yards and an interception for Navy (6-1), but he proved effective on the ground with 14 carries for 129 yards and a touchdown. Eli Heidenreich had 11 carries for 51 yards and a score.

Navy finished with six turnovers, compared with zero turnovers for Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish outgained the Midshipmen 466-310.

Notre Dame led 14-0 at the end of the first quarter and 31-7 at halftime.

Leonard played a key role in both of the Fighting Irish’s early scores. He rushed for a 1-yard touchdown and threw a 6-yard pass to Mitchell for a touchdown in the first quarter.

Horvath put Navy on the scoreboard with a 47-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter. That cut the deficit to 14-7.

Notre Dame answered with two more touchdowns and a field goal before the half. Love burst through a hole for a 64-yard touchdown and added a second score on a 2-yard run to make it 28-7 with 5:05 left before the break.

Zac Yoakam finished the first-half scoring with a 32-yard field goal.

Navy pulled within 31-14 on Heidenreich’s 1-yard touchdown with 8:44 remaining in the third quarter.

The Fighting Irish piled on three more touchdowns to put the score out of reach.

Leonard hit Collins for a 37-yard touchdown with 5:35 to go in the third quarter.

On the following drive, Horvath fumbled the ball near the end zone. Sneed spotted the loose ball as he rushed the passer and pounced on it for a touchdown to boost Notre Dame’s lead to 44-14.

Young put the Fighting Irish above the 50-point mark with 7:08 remaining. The freshman scored on a 4-yard rush for his first career touchdown.