Looking back on recent upsets of Irish
Former Midshipmen reflect on recent wins in long series
“Total euphoria!”
That was the term Ram Vela used to describe the celebration after Navy finally beat Notre Dame to end its epic losing streak in the series.
For 43 consecutive years the Fighting Irish had always found some way to beat the Midshipmen — many times by blowout, often by the skin of their teeth and occasionally by sheer miracle.
Late in the afternoon of Nov. 3, 2007, as the skies surrounding fabled Notre Dame Stadium grew dark, the horrible hex the Irish held for so long over the Mids was suddenly over.
Navy 46, Notre Dame 44 in triple overtime.
“I will never forget my reaction because I literally threw my helmet in the air out of pure joy,” said Vela, one of the stars of that monumental victory.
“Everyone rushed the field and was jumping up and down. There was so much excitement I almost blacked out. You almost didn’t know what to do with yourself,” Vela added. “There was a ton of running, high-fiving and hugging. It was definitely a state of euphoria.”
Vela, who now lives in Houston and works in finance and information technology for the Vortex Companies, made one of the most memorable plays in that 2007 game. With the game tied at 28 and Notre Dame facing fourth-and-8 from the Navy 24-yard line with 41 seconds left in regulation, defensive coordinator Buddy Green directed the outside linebacker to blitz off the edge.
It was crazy to contemplate because Vela was recruited to Navy as a slotback and had been switched to the secondary during the spring of his freshman year. During a 46-43 loss to Duke earlier in the 2007 season, Green had made the abrupt decision to move the 5-foot-9, 197-pounder to the position known as “striker.”
“Our outside linebackers couldn’t cover Duke’s slot receivers so at halftime Coach Green said ‘I’m going to throw you in at striker.’ He explained that I only needed to worry about doing three play assignments,” Vela said. “I was flying around like crazy in the second half of that game, probably because I was just so pumped about being on the field for the first time. Coach Green thought he had found something, and I never played in the secondary again.”
Pass coverage was Vela’s strong suit, but rushing the quarterback was a gradual learning experience. On several previous blitz calls during the 2007 Notre Dame game, Vela never got near the backfield.
With Notre Dame determined to convert a first down in order to continue its march to the winning touchdown, a defensive assistant asked Vela: “Are you going to finally make a play?” A sudden recollection of a tendency picked up during film study proved crucial to Vela, who noticed that Notre Dame tailback Travis Thomas went low whenever assigned to pass block.
“I had picked up that the back always went for the cut block the majority of time someone blitzed off the edge,” Vela said. “I made the decision before the snap that I was jumping.”
Vela’s flying leap, going almost horizontal, was one of the lasting images and most watched highlights of Navy’s victory. It forever etched Vela’s name into Navy folklore, even though he did not get credit for sacking quarterback Evan Sharpley.
While Vela grabbed the quarterback around the shoulders, it was actually defensive end Chris Kuhar-Pitters who officially made the tackle by taking out both legs.
The Fighting Irish and Midshipmen traded touchdowns in the first overtime then matched field goals in the second extra session. Slotback Reggie Campbell scored off a 25-yard pass from quarterback KaipoNoa Kaheaku-Enhada on the first play of the third overtime and those two hooked up again for a critical two-point conversion.
Thomas scored on a 5-yard run to give Notre Dame a chance to force a fourth overtime, but it was Navy that made the biggest play of the game. The Fighting Irish turned to Thomas again for the required two-point conversion, but he was swarmed under by linebacker Irv Spencer, defensive end Michael Walsh and a host of Midshipmen.
To this day, none of the Navy players on that team will forget the pregame speech delivered by former linebacker Bobby McClarin, a 2005 graduate. McClarin told the Midshipmen that “Notre Dame’s locker room may be filled with five-star recruits, but the brothers in this locker room possess five-star hearts.”
McClarin would wind up founding a company he called the Five Star Heart Project that conducts football camps and clinics with the purpose of influencing and impacting youngsters.
Beating Notre Damewas pretty much the pinnacle of the Paul Johnson era at Navy. Hired as head coach in December 2001, Johnson completely transformed the program and directed five straight winning
seasons capped by bowl berths.
Nov. 7, 2009: Navy 23, Notre Dame 21
A large contingent of seniors on the 2009 squad had been part of the previous victory over Notre Dame as sophomores.
That was especially the case on defense as Walsh and fellow defensive end Matt Nechak, linebackers Craig Schaefer, Ross Pospisil, Tony Haberer and Vela as well as defensive backs Kevin Edwards; Blake Carter and Wyatt Middleton all made appearances in that 2007 contest.
“There were a ton of guys from the 2007 team still around in 2009 and we went into Notre Dame Stadium feeling confident because we had won the last time we were there,” Vela said.
It turns out Notre Dame was in its final season under Charlie Weis, who posted a 35-27 record from 2005 through 2009. The Fighting Irish finished that 2007 season with a 3-9 mark and went 6-6 in 2009.
Notre Dame did have some serious talent as always with quarterback Jimmy Clausen, wide receivers Michael Floyd and Golden Tate, tight end Kyle Rudolph, offensive tackle Sam Young among many future NFL standouts on the roster.
“I’d say that 2009 Notre Dame team was a lot better than the one in 2007,” Vela conceded. “Also, from an execution standpoint, we played a100 percent better overall football game in 2009.”
Fullback Vince Murray rushed for 158 yards and a touchdown, while quarterback Ricky Dobbs contributed 102 yards and a score as Navy moved the ball quite effectively on the ground. The Midshipmen amassed 348 rushing yards with most of the damage coming between the tackles.
Oct. 23, 2010: Navy 35, Notre Dame17
Those narrow upsets in 2007 and 2009 definitely did not foretell what would happen in 2010.
Navy dominated Notre Dame in all three phases in posting one of its most convincing victories in series history. The Midshipmen defeated the Fighting Irish 32-13 in 1944, 33-7 in 1956 and 35-14 in 1963.
What happened before 75,614 fans at the New Meadowlands Stadium in 2010 ranks fourth on the list of lopsided wins by the Midshipmen.
Teich rushed for a career-high 210 yards on 26 carries, while Dobbs ran for 90 yards and three touchdowns as Navy made history on numerous fronts.
It was the first time Navy had beaten Notre Dame in consecutive years since 1960 and ’61. It was the first neutral site victory for the Midshipmen since 1960. It gave Navy’s senior class three wins in four years against Notre Dame, a feat matched only by the football graduating classes of 1937 and 1964.
“I think there was a quiet confidence going into that Notre Dame game,” Teich said. “We knew we could play with them because we had done it before. We darn sure weren’t intimidated. We felt like we belonged on the same field with them.”
Nov. 5, 2016: Navy 28, Notre Dame 27
Brian Kelly has restored some order to the rivalry since suffering that embarrassing loss in his first season at the helm, going 7-1 against Navy from 2011 through 2018.
The Irish have administered some real whippings to the Mids during that time, winning 56-14 in 2011, 50-10 in 2012, 41-24 in 2015 and 44-22 in 2018.
Navy’s lone win in that stretch came in 2016 when executed the game-plan almost to perfection at Everbank Field in Jacksonville, Florida.
Quarterback Will Worth rushed for 175 yards and two touchdowns as Navy held the ball for almost 34 minutes and limited Notre Dame to just six possessions. The Midshipmen were successful on 12 of 18 third or fourth down conversions and never punted.
Notre Dame scored on five of its six possessions with three touchdowns and two field goals. Kelly would regret not going for it on fourth-and-four at the Navy14-yard line, settling for a 31-yard field goal by Justin Yoon.
The Fighting Irish would not get the defensive stop Kelly had anticipated and the Mids escaped with the one-point win.
“We played about as perfect as you can play, and still only beat them by a point,” Niumatalolo said.