Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM OCT. 26, 2024 37 GAME PREVIEW: NAVY discipline on the part of several young Notre Dame players from the linebacker corps and secondary to combat. Being that this is an annual affair, though, Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden should have his group ready to go. This can't be the phase of the game that's the X-factor in what could be a closely contested competition. Advantage: Notre Dame NOTRE DAME RUNNING GAME VS. NAVY RUN DEFENSE Notre Dame's designed gap percentage is a far cry from that of Navy. Remember the Midship- men's mark of 86.3 percent, pacing the country through Week 7? Notre Dame's percentage was down at 65.4 — 110th in the nation. That doesn't mean the Irish can't run the ball, though. They've most certainly got the dudes to do it. Notre Dame's ball carriers had a team-wide stuff percentage of 16.1 through six games, which came in as the 12th-best number in the country. Sophomore tailback Jeremiyah Love and senior quarterback Riley Leonard are two of the most elusive runners in college football. Love had a broken or missed tackle forced on 41.9 percent of his rushes through six games. That was the No. 2 mark in the country at that time behind Anthony Tyus III of Ohio. Yes, it was right ahead of Boise State tailback Ashton Jeanty's percentage of 41.3. Leonard, meanwhile, ranked 20th nationally with his percentage of 32.8. Todd D. Burlage: Notre Dame 32, Navy 21 Ranked in the AP Top 25 for the first time since the final poll of the 2019 season when Navy finished 11-2 and placed No. 20, the No. 25 Midshipmen entered play against Charlotte in Week 8 undefeated and looking to start 6-0 for the first time since 1979. Not surprisingly, the Midshipmen used their rugged triple-option run- ning game under second-year head coach Brian Newberry during the great start to the season. Heading into the Charlotte game, Navy ranked second nationally in rushing at 295.6 yards per game, and fifth in scoring offense at 43.6 points per game. Also of note, the Midshipmen were tied for first in red zone offense, scoring on each of their 19 attempts. They also were third in red zone defense, holding opponents to just 9 scores on 15 trips inside their own 20-yard line, includ- ing only 6 touchdowns. A formidable opponent, for sure, but Notre Dame's talent takes over and leads the Irish to their seventh straight victory in this longstanding rivalry. Steve Downey: Notre Dame 41, Navy 34 The last time Notre Dame and Navy squared off at MetLife Stadium it resulted in a 35-17 win for the Midshipmen in 2010. That seems like forever ago, though, because the Irish have won 11 of the last 12 meetings, seven of which featured a margin of victory between 17 and 42 points. Playing Navy and its triple-option attack is never fun, but it could be even more of a chore than normal because the Midshipmen appear to have their best quarterback since Keenan Reyn- olds — who finished his college career with an NCAA Division I-record 88 career touchdowns and FBS-record 4,559 rushing yards by a quar- terback — left Annapolis in 2015. Junior Blake Horvath has been a revelation for Navy, both running and throwing. During the Midshipmen's 5-0 start, he compiled 1,349 yards of total offense and 17 total touchdowns. The Irish will need to score points to win this game, but they should be able to do so behind steadily improving quarterback Riley Leonard against a Navy defense that was yielding nearly 400 yards per game. Notre Dame has scored at least 34 points in 10 of their last 12 meetings with the Mids and will do so again this year to earn a shootout victory. Kyle Kelly: Notre Dame 31, Navy 20 Regardless of its record, Navy has been known to play the Irish tough. Then, you factor in that this Midshipmen team is much better than the one Notre Dame took down 42-3 last season in Ireland in Week 0 — this game has all the mak- ings of one that has Irish fans sweating much harder than they would have expected before the start of the season. Look for Notre Dame to pull away with a late-fourth-quarter touchdown and a field goal for good measure. Tyler Horka: Notre Dame 35, Navy 21 If there was ever a year for Navy to get a rare win over Notre Dame, this would be it. The Midship- men's option offense is rolling at the rate it was during the height of the Ken Niumatalolo era. He beat the Irish twice in a row after the Irish had previously won 44 of 45 games in the rivalry series. This is Brian Newberry, though, not Niuma- talolo, and this is an Irish defense that is as equipped to slow down what Navy does offen- sively as any. It's tough to totally stymie Navy when it is at its best. That's why I have the Mids putting a few scores on the board. But this is also an Irish offense that is getting better as the sea- son goes along, and that'll be the different. Navy is not set up to stop Notre Dame's potent rushing game and improving pass attack. Give me Notre Dame by two touchdowns. Jack Soble: Notre Dame 42, Navy 26 This one is tough to project, because there are so many unknowns involved. At the top of the list: How will Notre Dame's increasingly young defense deal with Navy's triple option? The Midshipmen can score on anyone, and they should do that enough to give the Irish a scare. But ultimately, Notre Dame's offense has come too far to lose this one. Senior linebacker Colin Ramos led the Midshipmen with 56 total tackles through five games despite being just 5-11 and 209 pounds. PHOTO COURTESY NAVY ATHLETICS Staff Predictions