Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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24 NOV. 7, 2026 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 1. Navy Games Aren't For The Faint Of Heart Head coach Marcus Freeman used the word panic more than a handful of times when describ- ing how he didn't want his team to react to the start of Notre Dame's 35-13 victory over Navy. That's exactly the kind of fear that Navy can put into an opponent when its offense repeatedly devours yards and minutes alike. Even in all the bad that came with Navy's first three offensive possessions, the Irish were able to hold the Midshipmen to field goals twice. That hardly gave Notre Dame or its fans any sense of comfort. The first 28-plus minutes of the first half went so poorly that some Irish fans were second- guessing the Irish's decision to defer to the second half after winning the pregame coin toss. Of course, Freeman's decision paid off. Notre Dame's offense scored a touchdown just before halftime and did so again to start the second half, which gave the Irish an eight-point lead. That first half provided a reminder of how slim the margin of error can be against the Midship- men. The second half showed the width of the tal- ent gap between the two teams. Keep both lessons in mind whenever these teams meet. 2. Second Quarters Become A Defensive Prob- lem Notre Dame's defense allowed its opponent to score on its first drive for a second consecutive game, but that's not the biggest concern for how the Irish have opened games. Opposing offenses seem to have figured out how to take advantage of the Irish well into the second quarter before Notre Dame's coaching staff can find halftime solutions. The Irish have allowed 48 points in second quar- ters this season, which is xby far the highest total for a quarter. Notre Dame hasn't allowed more than 20 points in any other quarter across its first eight games. Most of those second-quarter points — 31 to be exact — have come in the last four games: North Carolina 7, BYU 14 and Navy 10. Notre Dame can't let opponents continue to dictate play in first halves. 3. The Running Game Keeps Rolling The biggest regret Notre Dame offensive coordi- nator Mike Denbrock should have from the victory over Navy was the refusal to run the football on Notre Dame's second drive of the game, which ended with a three-and-out. Freshman running back Jonaz Walton replaced sophomore starter Nolan James Jr. for the second drive, but his first carry didn't come until the third quarter because of the three pass attempts on the three-and-out. When the Irish decided to start running the ball with more frequency, the advantage was obvi- ous. James turned 9 carries into 107 yards and 2 touchdowns. Walton rushed 12 times for 51 yards and 1 touchdown. Notre Dame finished with 204 rushing yards and became the first team to pass the 200-yard mark against Navy this season. The previous high of 188 yards came on 59 carries by Air Force. The Irish needed just 29 carries to reach their total. 4. That's What A Fourth Wide Receiver Option Looks Like The discourse on Notre Dame's lack of a rotation at wide receiver lasted nearly two weeks following the loss to BYU. After Notre Dame's offense was on the field for just 19 plays in the first half, the starting trio of seniors Jordan Faison and Jaden Greathouse and junior Micah Gilbert didn't have an exhausting workload. But when a pile of players rolled up on Gilbert's ankle on the first play from scrimmage in the sec- ond half, sophomore Jerome Bettis Jr. received an opportunity to make an impact. Bettis certainly looked like he belonged on the field. He caught 3 passes for 30 yards on Notre Dame's opening possession of the second half. He later caught a 31-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback CJ Carr to start the fourth quarter. The 6-foot-2, 207-pound Bettis finished the game with more receptions (6 for 78 yards) than he had in his career prior to this game (5 for 98). 5. All Mistakes Can Be Forgiven Next Week Even a perfect performance against Navy wasn't going to significantly change Notre Dame's season outlook. The Irish could have scored touchdowns on every possession and forced a turnover on every defensive play, but the celebration would be short-lived because of what lies ahead for Notre Dame. The long-awaited rematch with Miami will finally take place at Notre Dame Stadium Nov. 7. Notre Dame students were chanting expletives about Miami at the home opener in September. Notre Dame's loss to BYU raised the stakes even higher for this Miami game. The Hurricanes made a run to the national cham- pionship game last season after starting their sea- son with a home victory over the Irish. Miami might not need a win over Notre Dame to return to the College Football Playoff, but Notre Dame likely will. The Irish need to match the moment with Col- lege GameDay coming to town. The time to erase the doubts about this team is now. FIVE THOUGHTS BY TYLER JAMES Navy quarterback Jackson Gutierrez rushed for 110 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries, demonstrating how the Midshipmen's option attack can test even an elite defense in Notre Dame's 35-13 victory. PHOTO BY NICK GRACE