It wasn’t pretty by any stretch of the imagination, but Notre Dame held on to beat Navy this afternoon 24-17. The Navy offense controlled the ball for more than two thirds of the game and came within a failed halfback pass on a late 4th down from tying the game and making things really interesting. Notre Dame’s offense struggled early and late in this one as the Irish escaped with the win to improve to 9-2 on the season and keep their New Year’s 6 bowl game hopes alive.