Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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44 NOV. 8, 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED GAME PREVIEW: NAVY sensus top-five coach in the sport. But I will say Notre Dame has a first-year defensive coordinator in Chris Ash, and first-year defensive coordinators have not fared well against Navy's triple option. Freeman first faced it with Cincinnati in 2017, and the Midshipmen scored 42 points and won. Former Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden first faced it in 2022, and Navy scored 32 points and came dangerously close to pulling off a comeback win. The Irish still have the edge here, but the first- year defensive coordinator aspect will be a talking point as they prepare for the Midshipmen. Advantage: Notre Dame INTANGIBLES Last year, Navy entered its matchup with Notre Dame undefeated. When the game kicked off, though, the lights were too bright. Newberry ad- mitted as much after the game. "Thought the stage might have been a little big for some of our players today," Newberry said after his team, which had committed only 1 turnover all season leading up to that day, lost the ball 6 times against the Irish. "A lot of mistakes. We had some guys playing afraid to make mistakes. And when you play with fear in your heart like that, that's when mistakes happen." That is less likely to happen again this year, with so many returning contributors — particularly the ones responsible for holding onto the football. But Notre Dame will certainly be ready, especially if Navy is undefeated again coming into Week 11. The nice thing about facing the Midshipmen every year is it's impossible to overlook them, because you know what the option can do to you if you're not careful. With the game at home — and at night, when the game day environment is better — Notre Dame Stadium, with its team in the thick of the College Football Playoff race, will be fired up. Navy will probably score some points, but its path to an upset win is slim. Advantage: Notre Dame Todd D. Burlage: Notre Dame 49, Navy 13 Realizing how difficult and unorthodox Navy can be to defend and defeat, Notre Dame began its prep work for the Midshipmen by working on triple- option rushing defense during the bye week before the Boston College game. The keys for Notre Dame to beat Navy always remain the same against the best rushing offense in the country — avoid offensive turnovers in a game that will keep the clock running, limit offensive possessions, and keep the Midshipmen in disadvantageous down-and-distance situations with good first- and second-down defense. Expect an early tussle until Notre Dame's depth and talent take over. Steve Downey: Notre Dame 42, Navy 20 Playing the Midshipmen and their triple-option attack is always a chore. But after losing three of four matchups from 2007-10, Notre Dame has dominated the series by winning 12 of the last 13 by an average score of 41.8-20.2. Blake Horvath was neutralized last year by Navy's self-inflicted wounds (6 turnovers). Even if the talented signal-caller finds more success this year, though, Navy's defense has not faced an offense anywhere near the talent level Notre Dame possesses. Yet, the Mids entered Week 10 ranked 116th in the country in pass yards allowed per game (256.6) and 54th in scoring de- fense (26.0 points surrendered a contest). This is set up for Irish quarterback CJ Carr to bounce back from his worst outing as a collegian and lead the Irish to a comfortable victory. Eric Hansen: Notre Dame 48, Navy 17 The Midshipmen cracked the coaches poll Oct. 26 and were one spot from inclusion in the AP Top 25 as well, despite only playing one team ranked in The Athletic's top 100 FBS teams in its comprehensive 1-to-136 weekly rank- ings. And that was a one-point victory over No. 75 Temple (32-31). Navy's November/December stretch run, though, is brutal, starting with a road test at one-loss North Texas Nov. 1, then a road trip to Notre Dame Nov. 8, followed by matchups with South Florida, Memphis and rival Army. The Mids' offense, led by quarterback Blake Horvath, is real, including their No. 1 ranking in rushing offense and No. 6 listing in pass efficiency. Their defense, not so much, even with an AP midseason All-American at defensive tackle, Landon Robinson. CJ Carr lights up the night sky at Notre Dame Stadium in this one. Tyler Horka: Notre Dame 42, Navy 14 The Midshipmen aren't going to turn the ball over enough times for the Fighting Irish to hit 50 points like they did last year. However, this is a Navy defense that's been surrendering a lot of points, giving up 98 in its last four contests entering the Florida Atlantic game. And Notre Dame is the best of the bunch in terms of who Navy has played to date. The Mids won't offer enough defensive resistance to make this a game. The beat goes on for the blue and gold. Tyler James: Notre Dame 48, Navy 21 The defensive improvements which have been so valuable for Notre Dame since late September will need to take a different form against Navy's chal- lenging offensive attack. The Midshipmen continue to add more passing options into their game plan, which will likely result in a few big plays against the Irish. But Notre Dame should be able to rally defensively and perhaps cause a couple turnovers to ruin any Navy momentum. The Irish offense can score efficiently in limited possessions against a weak Navy defense. Count on quarterback CJ Carr throwing a few touchdown passes. Kyle Kelly: Notre Dame 49, Navy 21 Since Notre Dame's close call against Navy in 2022 — a three-point Irish victory — it has outscored the Midshipmen 93-17 over the last two games. Also, including the 2021 season when Marcus Freeman served as defensive coordinator, he has had to game plan for Navy four times total. Even though the Irish have a new defensive coordinator Chris Ash — and that might result in an extra touchdown — they should be well-equipped to defend the Navy offense. I like the score to reflect that. Jack Soble: Notre Dame 49, Navy 28 Navy in prime time might sound strange, but this should be a really fun football game. Both Marcus Freeman and Al Golden struggled to stop the Midshipmen in their first go-round as defensive coordinators, and there's no reason to expect Chris Ash's experience to be different against a way better Navy team. I expect points and explosive plays from Blake Horvath and company, who should be better equipped to handle the spotlight than they were last year in East Rutherford, N.J. However, I don't see how Navy stops Notre Dame. This one might be touch-and-go for a while, but the Irish should pull away. Senior linebacker Luke Pirris recorded 52 total stops, 3.5 tackles for loss and 1.6 sacks during Navy's 7-0 start. PHOTO COURTESY NAVY ATHLETICS Staff Predictions