SOUTH BEND – Brandon Wimbush threw two touchdowns and ran for another score as No. 9 Notre Dame rallied to beat Navy 24-17 Saturday.

Wimbush, who threw two interceptions and lost a fumble in Notre Dame’s 41-8 loss at No. 2 Miami last Saturday, connected with Kevin Stepherson twice and added his 14th rushing TD of the year as the Irish scored on three straight possessions late in the longest-running matchup between teams from different regions of the country, dating to 1927.

Running back Josh Adams, who was limited to 62 rushing yards by injuries in Notre Dame’s previous two games against Wake Forest and Miami, topped the century mark for the seventh time, finishing with 106 yards on 18 carries.

The Irish outgained the Midshipmen (6-4) 327-318, but Navy outrushed Notre Dame 277-163 and had a huge advantage in time of possession, 42:42 to 17:18.

Notre Dame, which lost to the Midshipmen last season, didn’t secure the victory until there was 1:28 left in the game. After a timeout on a fourth-and-5 at Notre Dame’s 25, Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo opted for some trickery.

Quarterback Zach Abey pitched the ball to slotback Darryl Bonner, who passed downfield to wide receiver Tyler Carmona, who was open for a moment. But Carmona slipped on the wet Notre Dame Stadium turf, the pass fell incomplete and Notre Dame twice took a knee to run the clock out.

Junior Zach Abey, who sat out Navy’s 43-40 victory over SMU with an injury, returned to direct the triple-option attack and finished with 87 yards rushing, matching fullback Anthony Gargiulo. Abey scored on a 1-yard run and only threw the ball six times for 41 yards, including a 12-yard TD to Craig Scott.

Notre Dame, now 9-2, wraps up the regular season at Stanford next Saturday.