updated 11:02 p.m. ET Oct. 24, 2006

Notre Dame hasn’t won all 79 games it has played against Navy since the schools began meeting on an annual basis in 1927 — just the ones over the past two generations.

The 11th-ranked Fighting Irish try to extend the longest Division I-A winning streak one team has over another to 43 games Saturday when they play the Midshipmen at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.

Building a 69-9-1 lead in the all-time series, Notre Dame (6-1) has not lost to Navy (5-2) since Roger Staubach led the Midshipmen to a 35-14 win in 1963. The Irish have had some close calls in recent years, including a 27-24 victory in 2003 and a 30-23 win in 2002, when Navy held a 23-15 lead with 5 minutes to play.

Notre Dame, however, has won the last two matchups by a combined 39 points.

This time around, Charlie Weis’ team is not expected to have much trouble against a Midshipmen squad which must adjust to playing without its starting quarterback. Navy lost Brian Hampton to a season-ending knee injury in its most recent game, a 34-0 loss to No. 16 Rutgers on Oct. 14, and coach Paul Johnson has been practicing with sophomores Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada and Jarod Bryant running Navy’s triple option at full speed.

“If we can move the ball at all we will be fortunate,” Johnson said. “We will take things when it comes, play hard and try and hang around. That’s all you can do, try and hang around.”

Kaheaku-Enada has seen more action this year, totaling 87 rushing yards and a touchdown in four games, while Bryant has just four carries for eight yards in his one game.

Navy is second in the nation in rushing at 316.6 yards per game, but was held to a season-low 113 in the loss to Rutgers in its first game of the season against a ranked opponent.

Notre Dame has limited its last three opponents to a combined 190 rushing yards, and allowed only 26 on 28 attempts by UCLA last Saturday in a 20-17 home win.

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It was the second time during the Irish’s current four-game win streak they needed a late comeback to beat an unranked opponent, having defeated Michigan State 40-37 on Sept. 23.

Last Saturday, quarterback Brady Quinn rallied the Irish to victory by capping a 3-play, 80-yard drive with a 45-yard touchdown pass to Jeff Samardzija with 27 seconds left.

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The happy ending only sugarcoated what Weis felt was an inept performance by Quinn and the offense through the first 59 minutes.

“We turned the ball over on the second play and then we go three-and-out the next possession. That’s just unacceptable,” Weis said. “We were 4-for-19 on third down, which was horrendous. We got into the red zone three times, scored one touchdown. That’s horrendous. Gave up five sacks and nine pressures. That’s horrendous.”

Despite all the shortcomings, Weis felt his team showed resolve in its ability to win another close game, something the team started doing in his first year last season.

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“Until a team learns how to win the close games, it’s almost like they wait for something bad to happen,” Weis said. “I think it started a little bit last year and it had a trickle down effect. Now instead of them waiting for something bad to happen, they’re expecting something good to happen.”

Though Quinn may no longer be a favorite to win the Heisman Trophy, he did throw for more than 300 yards for the third time in four games and did not throw an interception for the third straight contest. He also had two touchdown passes to raise his season total to 18, tied for 11th-most in Division I-A.

Quinn, who topped 10,000 career passing yards last Saturday, threw for 284 yards and four TDs in Notre Dame’s 42-21 victory over Navy last year.

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