2007 Navy Vs. Notre Dame Football Game - Analysis

Analysis

The game ended the longest streak for most consecutive wins by one team over another in college football. Prior to the game, Notre Dame had achieved 43 consecutive wins against Navy since the last loss in 1963, when Roger Staubach was quarterback for the Midshipmen. The game was the fifth straight home loss for the Irish, establishing a new school record.

After the game, Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis was asked whether the game, following Notre Dame's 38–0 loss to USC, was a low point for the Fighting Irish. He said, "A low point is when you get beat 38–0. That's a low point. A low point is when the game is going OK and one team is pulling away from you and making plays when you're not making plays. The low point for me is we didn't win the game."

Navy coach Paul Johnson said, "It's a big win for our program. It's a big win for the academy. I'm happy I don't have to answer anything else about the streak every time we play." Weis, on the other-hand, was not bothered by being the coach of the team that allowed Navy to end the streak. He said the 43-year winning streak had no meaning to him or his team.

ESPN reported, "For Notre Dame, it was its school-record fifth straight home loss, another low point in a season of lows."

With this streak broken, the Kentucky Wildcats held the two longest active losing streaks to an annual opponent in Division I FBS. Their then-current streak of 22 losses to Tennessee reached 26 before the Wildcats ended that streak on November 26, 2011. The Wildcats' losing streak against Florida, which was 20 at the end of the 2006 season and 21 by the time of this Navy–Notre Dame game, stands at 25 as of the end of the 2011 season and is now the longest current such streak in FBS. Temple has a 29-game losing streak to Penn State, with their last win being in 1941. However, this series is not played every year.