Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM NOV. 8, 2025 39 GAME PREVIEW: NAVY the Irish's Week 9 bye, which fell in the final full weekend of October right af- ter the Southern Cal game and preced- ing a road matchup with Boston Col- lege, Notre Dame worked on preparing for Navy's option offense. Normally, coaches are adamant about taking one game at a time. In this case, that would have meant sole focus on the Eagles — even though they took a 1-7 record into their home game against the Irish. But there isn't anything normal about Navy, especially when the Midshipmen's of- fense is humming like it has been the last couple of years. Through Week 9 of this season, Navy had the nation's No. 1 rushing offense. The Midshipmen were putting up a gaudy 318.14 yards on the ground per game. And even though it's a volume- based attack — Navy ranked fifth na- tionally going into Week 10 with 48.57 rushing attempts per game — it's also a highly effective and efficient one. No team in college football averaged more rushing yards per attempt than Navy's 6.55 through the Week 9 slate of action. Notre Dame head coach Marcus Free- man said it best before last year's game; this is no gimmicky matchup. To beat Navy in this Newberry-led era, you've got to earn it. "It's going to be a great challenge for our program," Freeman said. "They're putting up big numbers offensively. Their offensive scheme is enhanced from what we saw last year. They've re- ally done a job of enhancing what they do offensively. They've been tremendous in the red zone on offense and defense." It's been a lot of the same for Navy on that side of the ball this year. Horvath is the primary catalyst, but he was one of six players on the roster with at least 10 carries averaging at least 5.0 yards per carry through the Midshipmen's first seven games. A variety of playmakers can hurt a defense on any given play, not just Horvath. It's Eli Heidenreich, with 7.0 yards per carry and 3 touchdowns. It's Alex Tecza, with 5.8 yards per carry and 6 touch- downs. It's Brandon Chatman, with 8.4 yards per carry and a touchdown. Pick Facts & Figures NAVY AT NOTRE DAME Date: Nov. 8, 2025 Site (Capacity): Notre Dame Stadium (77,622) Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. ET Television: NBC Radio: This game can be heard on Notre Dame IMG affiliates. Series Facts: Notre Dame leads 83-13-1. The Fighting Irish have won the last seven meetings, includ- ing a 51-14 game in East Rutherford, N.J., on Oct. 26, 2024. Head coaches: Navy — Brian Newberry (22-11, 3rd season); Notre Dame — Marcus Freeman (38-12, 4th season). Noting Navy: The Midshipmen went into Week 10 versus North Texas with the second-longest active winning streak in the FBS; at 10 games, it was tied with BYU behind Ohio State's No. 1 mark of 11 … Navy had seven plays of 60-plus yards through Week 9, which was tied with Air Force, Old Dominion and UTSA for the most in the nation … Navy had 19 first-time starters in their first seven games, which was the third most in the country at that time … Through Week 10, Navy was top five in both red zone touchdown conversion percentage (.813) and third-down conversion (.538). 2025 NOTRE DAME SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Time (ET)/Result Aug. 31 at Miami L, 27-24 Sept. 13 Texas A&M L, 41-40 Sept. 20 Purdue W, 56-30 Sept. 27 at Arkansas W, 56-13 Oct. 4 Boise State W, 28-7 Oct. 11 NC State W, 36-7 Oct. 18 Southern Cal W, 34-24 Nov. 1 at Boston College W, 25-10 Nov. 8 Navy (NBC) 7:30 p.m. Nov. 15 at Pittsburgh TBA Nov. 22 Syracuse (NBC) 3:30 p.m. Nov. 29 at Stanford TBA 2025 NAVY SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Time (ET)/Result Aug. 30 VMI W, 52-7 Sept. 6 UAB W, 38-24 Sept. 13 at Tulsa W, 42-23 Sept. 27 Rice W, 21-13 Oct. 4 Air Force W, 34-31 Oct. 11 at Temple W, 32-31 Oct. 25 Florida Atlantic W, 42-32 Nov. 1 at North Texas L, 31-17 Nov. 8 at Notre Dame (NBC) 7:30 p.m. Nov. 15 South Florida 12 p.m. Nov. 27 at Memphis (ESPN) 7:30 p.m. Dec. 13 vs. Army* (CBS) 3 p.m. * at MT&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore Head coach Brian Newberry has turned the Midshipmen program around in short order, going 5-7 in his first year and 17-3 in the two seasons since. PHOTO COURTESY NAVY ATHLETICS