Nov. 9, 2002

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• For just the second time in the 114-year history of Notre Dame football, the Irish are selecting captains on a game-by-game basis. The only other time Notre Dame chose captains in this fashion was 1946 under legendary head coach Frank Leahy. Today’s Irish captains were: WR Arnaz Battle, C Jeff Faine, RE Ryan Roberts and ILB Courtney Watson. It marks the sixth time this season Faine has been chosen as a game captain, while Battle served as a captain for the fifth time, Roberts for the fourth time and Watson for the third time.

• Navy won the toss and elected to receive, while Notre Dame chose to defend the South goal.

• Today’s game marks the 147th sellout in the last 170 games involving Notre Dame.

• Counting postseason play, Notre Dame has now had its last 121 games televised on one of four networks (NBC, ABC, CBS, ESPN), a stretch going back more than nine full seasons. The last time the Irish didn’t appear on one of those four networks was Oct. 31, 1992, when they defeated Navy, 38-7, at Giants Stadium. That game was only shown locally in South Bend on WNDU-TV.

• Notre Dame stretches its winning streak over Navy to 39 games, extending the NCAA record for the most consecutive wins over one opponent in college football history.

• The Irish record their third nine-win season in the last five years. It also is the 33rd nine-win campaign in 114 seasons of Notre Dame football.

• Irish head coach Tyrone Willingham ties Terry Brennan (1954) and Ara Parseghian for the most wins by a first-year Notre Dame head coach. It also is Willingham’s second consecutive nine-win season (he guided Stanford to a 9-3 mark and a berth in the Seattle Bowl last season).

• Notre Dame collects its ninth consecutive win over a service academy and improves to 30-1 (.968) against the academies since 1986, including a 15-0 mark away from home.

• The Irish win their 21st consecutive neutral-site game against Navy, dating back to a 1962 victory over the Midshipmen at Philadelphia’s Municipal Stadium. Notre Dame now is 42-6-1 (.867) at neutral sites in Navy series history, including a 16-4 (.800) mark against the Mids in Baltimore.

• Notre Dame now is 19-2 (.905) in regular-season games played on CBS-TV since the start of the 1988 season. The only losses were a 27-10 defeat at seventh-ranked Miami in 1989, and a 37-27 setback at Pittsburgh in 1999.

• Since opening the 2001 season at 0-3, Notre Dame is 14-4 (.778) in its last 18 games. In all four of those losses (vs. Boston College (2001, 2002), Tennessee (2001) and Stanford (2001)), the Irish had possession with an opportunity to tie or take the lead in the final five minutes.

• Notre Dame tied a school record with its sixth victory by eight points or less this season. The 1939 Irish club went 6-2 in eight-point games.

• The 15 points scored by Notre Dame in the fourth quarter today are the most the Irish have scored in the final period of a game since they tallied 15 in a 25-24 comeback win over USC on Oct. 16, 1999 at Notre Dame Stadium.

• Notre Dame now has scored 30 or more points in 15 of its last 18 games against Navy, dating back to the 1985 contest.

• Junior WR Omar Jenkins 67-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter, and his 62-yarder on Notre Dame’s first offensive play were the longest catches of his career. His previous best was a 47-yard catch, done twice before (2001 at Stanford, 2002 vs. Michigan). Jenkins finished the day with four catches for a career-high 166 yards, his previous personal best was 87 yards vs. Maryland in the 2002 season opener.

• Junior WR Omar Jenkins 166 yards receiving are the most by a Notre Dame player since Raghib “Rocket” Ismail had 173 yards receiving on six catches vs. Navy on Nov. 3, 1990 at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

• The 67-yard game-winning touchdown from Carlyle Holiday to Omar Jenkins with 2:08 remaining marked the second time this season Notre Dame has had a game-winning passing TD of 60 yards or more in the final three minutes. Reserve QB Pat Dillingham hooked up with senior WR Arnaz Battle on a 60-yard touchdown reception with 1:15 left to defeat Michigan State.

• Junior QB Carlyle Holiday threw for a career-high 272 yards this afternoon. His previous best was a 226-yard effort vs. Maryland in the 2002 season opener. Notre Dame’s 272 passing yards as a team were a season-high, surpassing the 235-yard total set last week vs. Boston College.

• Notre Dame scored first when sophomore Carlos Campbell tackled Navy punter John Skaggs in his own end zone for a safety following an errant punt snap. It was the second safety of the season scored by the Irish. Michigan was penalized for holding in its own end zone, giving Notre Dame two points back on Sept. 14.

• Junior WR Ronnie Rodamer and junior TE Billy Palmer caught their first passes of the season late in the first quarter. Rodamer had one catch last season (vs. Navy), while Palmer’s reception was the first of his career. Rodamer and Palmer are the 13th and 14th different Notre Dame players to catch a pass this season.

• Senior FB Tom Lopienski logged the first rushing touchdown of his career on a one-yard run early in the second quarter.

• Senior PK Nicholas Setta converted both of his PAT today, extending his streak of consecutive extra points made to 80, the second-longest streak in school history. Craig Hentrich holds the Irish record with 136 straight extra points made from Sept. 30, 1989 to Sept. 26, 1992. Setta has not missed a PAT since Oct. 7, 2000 vs. Stanford.

• Notre Dame led at halftime of today’s game, 9-7. The Irish now have led at the half in seven of their 10 games, and have been tied in another this season.

• Junior Vontez Duff returned a third-quarter Navy kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown, his third score of the season. Duff is the first player in school history to return an interception, punt and kickoff for a TD in the same season. He earlier had a 76-yard punt return for a score vs. Maryland, and added a 33-yard interception runback for a touchdown a week later vs. Purdue. Today’s kickoff return for a TD also was the second of Duff’s career he had a 96-yard runback in the 2001 season finale at Purdue.

• With five catches today, senior WR Arnaz Battle now has 43 receptions this season. That’s the most by a Notre Dame wideout since Malcolm Johnson also had 43 catches in 1998.

• Notre Dame registered its first two-point conversion of the season when junior QB Carlyle Holiday hooked up with senior WR Arnaz Battle in the fourth quarter. It was the first Irish two-point PAT since Tony Fisher caught a pass from Holiday against Tennessee last season.