Irish Notch 21st Win in a Row : Notre Dame: School record for consecutive victories is tied in 41-0 rout of outmanned Navy.

How does a team win 21 consecutive games? Talent, lots of it. Just ask Navy Coach Elliott Uzelac.

“It was pretty obvious Notre Dame had too many horses for us,” Uzelac said after his Midshipmen lost to top-ranked Notre Dame, 41-0, Saturday.

“I don’t think we played that poorly, but at times they made us look poorly.”

Navy (2-6) remains winless against Notre Dame (9-0) since 1963.

The 21 consecutive victories ties the school record set by teams coached by Frank Leahy, 1946-48, beginning with Army and ending with a tie against USC.

“I didn’t even mention it in the locker room after the game,” Notre Dame Coach Lou Holtz said.

The Irish, whose last loss was to Texas A&M; on Jan. 1, 1988, figures to easily set a school record of 22 consecutive victories next Saturday they play host to Southern Methodist, a struggling team that resumed football this season after a two-year suspension from the NCAA.

“If we want to hold the score down, we’ll pass on every down,” Holtz said.

Against Navy, quarterback Tony Rice completed only one of eight passes for 28 yards with two interceptions.

But Rice led a rushing attack that gained 414 yards. Ricky Watters rushed for 134 yards and one touchdown, becoming the first Irish player this season to rush for more than 100 yards.

Raghib (Rocket) Ismail, Notre Dame’s speedy flanker and return specialist, suffered a groin injury in the first half and did not return.

The shutout was Holtz’s first in his four seasons as coach. The last one for the Irish was a 42-0 victory over Army on Oct. 15, 1983.

Rice ran six yards for a touchdown 1:15 into the game and Rod Culver ran 11 yards for a touchdown on the Irish’s next possession.

Navy’s David Lerch interrupted the next Irish drive by intercepting a pass by Rice, but the Middies’ Alton Grizzard was sacked for a 14-yard loss on third down and Watters rushed for a 48-yard touchdown on the next possession for a 21-0 lead.

Billy Hackett’s 27-yard field goal made it 24-0 at halftime, and he kicked a 39-yarder on Notre Dame’s first drive of the second half.

Navy advanced to the Notre Dame 34 in the third quarter, its deepest penetration, but Grizzard fumbled and Eric Simien recovered for the Irish.

Dorsey Levens’ two-yard touchdown run and Ted McNamara’s one-yard plunge completed the scoring.