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Navy Midshipmen |
Notre Dame Fighting Irish © |
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Played November 3, 1973 at Notre Dame Stadium South Bend, Indiana |
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Teams' Belt Records
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Team |
Belt Reigns |
Overall Record |
Home Record |
Away Record |
Neutral Record |
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W |
L |
T |
PCT |
W |
L |
T |
PCT |
W |
L |
T |
PCT |
W |
L |
T |
PCT |
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| Navy | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 | ||||||||
| Notre Dame © | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | ||||||||
Previous Belt Meetings: None
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1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
Final |
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Navy |
0 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
7 |
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Notre Dame |
7 |
7 |
14 |
16 |
44 |
Navy became the first team to challenge for The Belt twice; they lost to champion Michigan in the 1972 season. First-year Coach George Welsh brought his Midshipmen to South Bend with a 3-4 record to meet the 5th ranked, 6-0 Notre Dame Fighting Irish of coach Ara Parseghian. Fighting Irish's All-American S Mike Townsend anchored Notre Dame’s defense while the offense featured QB Tom Clements & All-American TE Dave Casper. The Fighting Irish lost 6 fumbles but their rushing attack that amassed 447 yards rolled over the Midshipmen winning 44-7 in Notre Dame’s first Belt defense. Notre Dame's RB Eric Penick opened the scoring with a 20-yard touchdown run while RB Al Hunter scored on a 3-yard touchdown run in the 2nd quarter as Notre Dame took a 14-0 halftime lead. In the 3rd quarter, the Fighting Irish got a 1-yard touchdown run from Clements & a 7-yard touchdown run from RB Al Samuel as they pushed the lead to 28-0. Navy's QB Allen Glenny was sacked in the end zone for a safety before finally getting on the scoreboard with a 25-yard touchdown pass to WR Larry Van Loan but Notre Dame still led 30-7. Two more Fighting Irish touchdowns, a 9-yard touchdown pass from QB Cliff Brown to WR Willie Townsend & a 3-yard touchdown run by RB Tom Parise, ended the scoring. Glenny finished with 75 yards passing with a touchdown but 2 interceptions & Van Loan added 5 catches for 101 yards to his score in the loss. Notre Dame finished 11-0 & claimed the National Championship while The Midshipmen finished 4-7 in Welsh’s first season. Navy would play for The Belt again in 1981.
