Saturday marked the 79th consecutive meeting between the Navy Midshipmen and the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. Navy came in with a solid 5-3 mark and were looking for their first victory against the Irish in 41 tries. Not since the days of Roger Staubach had the Midshipmen defeated Notre Dame, and with the foundation that Charlie Weis is building in South Bend, it may be another 40 years before the Naval Academy can claim victory against its long time foe. For a moment, it looked if the Midshipmen (5-4) were going to make a legitimate run at ending their NCAA record 41-game losing streak. Through one period of play, Navy was playing Notre Dame (7-2) close as the long time rivals were all knotted up. Brady Quinn and the Irish would strike first when Quinn hooked up with senior wide out, Maurice Stovall for a fine-looking 31-yard touchdown pass that the 6’5” Stovall made an eloquent one handed grab on.

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For a moment Saturday, it looked like the Vols were going to play the role of spoiler. Then Brady Quinn and the Irish made another stride forward in becoming one of the nation’s top programs. After Tennessee erased an 18-point deficit to tie the game at 21 all, Quinn hit his favorite target Jeff Samardzija for what looked to be a short gain, but turned out to be the decisive moment of the contest. “I felt the biggest play of the game was when it was 21-21 and its third-and-ten and we throw it out there to Jeff (Smardzija) and he takes it up the sidelines,” Head Coach Charlie Weis said. After taking it down to the 2-yard line on the play, Smardzija would then cap off the drive with a 4-yard touchdown catch from Quinn, his third of the afternoon. The score also marked Smardzija’s 12th touchdown reception of the season, breaking Derrick Mayes single season record of 11 set back in 1994.

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