Navy upset Irish for 2nd time in 3 years, 23-21

AP - By TOM COYNE

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Navy's second consecutive victory at Notre Dame Stadium didn't produce the same euphoria for the Midshipmen as the last one.

Just another win as far Navy was concerned -- though this loss to the Midshipmen was much more costly for Notre Dame.

Craig Schaefer sacked Jimmy Clausen in the end zone with 60 seconds left Saturday and Navy held on for a 23-21 victory, its second in three seasons against the 19th-ranked Fighting Irish.

"I wanted to run on the field and jump up and down, but I was kind of tired," said linebacker Ram Vela, who had an interception and fumble recovery. "We'd done it before and we went into this game not really placing as much emphasis or too much importance on it. We just treated it like another game."

Two years ago when Navy beat Notre Dame, the Irish were in the midst of a 3-9 season. The loss Saturday effectively ends any hope Notre Dame (6-3) had for its first Bowl Championship Series appearance since 2006.

Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo said he believed media speculation about Notre Dame chasing a BCS berth, along with the Irish playing at No. 14 Pittsburgh (8-1) next week, helped the Midshipmen.

"We kind of felt like we had them in a perfect storm. Just looking to the postseason, a very, very good Pitt team coming next week, and it's us coming," he said.

The last time an unranked Navy team beat a ranked Notre Dame team was 1936, the first year of the poll, when the Midshipmen won 3-0. Ranked Notre Dame teams had beat unranked Navy 41 straight times.

It's the type of loss that will no doubt fire up the critics of Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis.

"That comes with the territory. The sad part of that is that's this job every week," said Weis, who is 35-24 in five season at Notre Dame. "It's a week to week deal."

Notre Dame (6-3) scored with 24 seconds left on a 31-yard pass from Jimmy Clausen to Golden Tate to cut the lead to two, but the ensuing onside kick went out of bounds.

"I love playing in South Bend," safety Wyatt Middleton said. "I love playing here."

The Midshipmen, who now go to the Texas Bowl, said the win two years ago helped them believe they could do it again. Vela said the biggest difference was the defense played better.

"Everyone put their all into it and rose to the occasion," Vela said. "I think that's what separates this game from the last time we best them."

Ricky Dobbs threw a 52-yard touchdown pass and ran for another and fullback Vince Murray added a 25-yard TD run for Navy to lead the Midshipmen to consecutive wins in South Bend for the first time since 1961 and 1963.