The 6-1 Fighting Irish head to the East Coast to battle with their long-time rival, the 6-0 Navy Midshipmen. This is a rare ranked matchup between the two programs, as both schools are seeking a berth in the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoffs. Navy is hoping to knock off their rival from South Bend for the first time since 2016. It is late October, and this will be one of the most highly anticipated matchups in college football this weekend, as well as the 97-year history of this rivalry.
Essential Game Info:
- Game Time: Saturday, October 26th at 12:00 PM ET on ESPN
- Location: MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
- Matchup History: Notre Dame is 82-13-1 all-time against the Naval Academy (Last Meeting 2024: Irish won 42 to 3)
- Trophy: The Rip Miller Trophy
- Odds: Notre Dame -13.0
Weather
The current game day forecast shows a 15% chance of rain with a high of 66 degrees and low of 45.
Notre Dame – Navy Game Details
- Conference: American Athletic Conference
- Head Coach: Brian Newberry
- 2024 Record: 6-0 (4-0)
- 2023 Record: 5-7 (4-4)
Navy Storylines:
The Midshipmen are off to a 7-0 start. It will be a Top-25 clash this Saturday afternoon as Navy and Notre Dame meet on the gridiron in New Jersey. The Fighting Irish have been battle-tested all season, but this will be the first-ranked opponent for the Midshipmen in 2024.
Last year’s week 0 matchup in Ireland seems like forever ago. Navy has undoubtedly turned a corner since last year’s 42 to 3 defeat in Dublin. You can expect them to be highly motivated to avenge their loss overseas last season.
Quarterback Blake Horvath leads Navy’s Offense. This year, Horvath is 46 for 72 (64%) with 888 passing yards, 10 passing touchdowns, one interception, and 3 sacks taken. Certainly, they were a much more successful passing attack than the past decade. On the ground, the Navy quarterback has 79 carries for 621 yards (8 yards per carry) and ten rushing scores.
The second leading rusher for the Naval Academy is fullback Alex Tecza. This year, Tecza has 49 attempts for 306 yards (6.2 yards per carry) with seven rushing touchdowns. For Irish fans accustomed to this rivalry, stopping the fullback is the first piece to slow down the triple option.
Notre Dame Storylines:
The Fighting Irish enter the “service academy” portion of their schedule. Not only will Marcus Freeman and Al Golden be faced with stopping the triple option against undefeated Navy this weekend, but they will also be matched up against the current undefeated Army at Yankee Stadium on November 23rd.
Lucky for the Irish, Marcus Freeman has seen a lot of the triple option from his time as defensive coordinator at Cincinnati, defensive coordinator for Notre Dame, and now as the head coach in South Bend.
The Notre Dame Defense will be the key to victory. Even with the loss of projected first-round pick Benjamin Morrison, the Irish Defense did not miss a beat against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Besides a “late touchdown”, Notre Dame essentially limited a strong offense to only one touchdown.
Skeptics will argue that the Irish faced a backup quarterback, but no matter who was under center, that was a physical and impressive defensive performance.
The Irish passing inconsistencies continue. Last Saturday, Riley Leonard went 20 for 29, with 203 passing yards, 51 rushing yards, 2 rushing touchdowns, and 1 interception. On the bright side, the Notre Dame Offense did utilize several 50/50 balls last Saturday with Jordan Greathouse and Beaux Collins.
Even as the passing attack has been up and down, the Irish have won their recent matchups fairly easily. If Leonard can put a complete game together and utilize the talented receivers on the Notre Dame roster, then the Fighting Irish will reach another level.
Head-to-Head Matchups:
Notre Dame Offense vs. Navy Defense: The Fighting Irish Offense averages 189 yards per game passing and 210 yards rushing, while the Navy Defense allows 390 yards per contest.
It will be crucial for the Irish Offense to maximize each possession. With Navy’s triple option, this game could resemble the first half of the Georgia Tech contest last week, where both teams had limited possessions.
Notre Dame has the advantage in this matchup.
Advantage: Notre Dame
Navy Offense vs. Notre Dame Defense: The Navy Offense averages 161 yards passing and 275 yards rushing per matchup, while the Fighting Irish Defense allows 279 yards per game.
Al Golden’s defense was able to dominate Navy in Week 0 last season, but this is a well-improved Midshipmen team who have almost perfected the triple option.
However, the triple option is all good and well until it faces an elite defensive line that can beat their one-on-one matchups while getting into the backfield.
Notre Dame has the advantage in this category.
Advantage: Notre Dame
Special Teams: Notre Dame’s Mitch Jeter is 5 or 7 this season, with his longest conversion coming at 48 yards (two misses were blocked). Navy’s Nathan Kirkwood is 3 for 4, with his longest conversion at 46 yards.
Assuming that Jeter can resume the kicking duties, he could be the difference if this game is close in the 4th quarter.
Advantage: Tie
My Prediction:
I know the Navy is undefeated, and the triple option can be a great equalizer, but I can’t see the Irish completely dominating the Midshipmen 42 to 3 in 2023 and losing to them this year. The Naval Academy certainly is a better team this fall, but they haven’t played a top-25 opponent, and their only quality opponent is Memphis.
As I mentioned earlier, getting the Navy Offense off the field and forcing them into passing situations will be vital. They can keep Notre Dame on the sidelines most of the game if they possess the football.
But I do not see this happening against this elite Notre Dame Defense. Coach Freeman and Al Golden have seen this offensive style too many times to not be prepared.
Slow and steady progress has defined this Irish passing attack. Riley Leonard is a great runner, but the passing game has not yet reached its potential. I believe the difference in this game will be the chunk plays that Notre Dame is able to produce. On the Irish defense, it will take Navy a dozen plays to score, and it will be too difficult to sustain the entire game.
I have the Fighting Irish winning by two touchdowns.
Prediction: Notre Dame 38, Navy 24
