A vocal subset of internet Fighting Irish fans insist Notre Dame should end their series with Navy. Their is no value in the game, they say. Playing Navy is a lose-lose situation that holds Notre Dame football back; the Mids are good enough to steal a game from the Irish here and there, but Notre Dame doesn't get much credit for a win. In their estimation, the Irish, with their national championship ambitions, would be better off scheduling an easier win or a marquee game against another powerhouse.

It's a good thing those people haven't gotten their way yet because some of the powerhouses Notre Dame was counting on to give them a playoff-caliber schedule this season haven't lived up to expectations. Florida State and USC both started the season in the Top 25, with the Seminoles in the top 10. Now, they both have losing records, which makes the service academies the only ranked teams left on Notre Dame's schedule.

Of course, Navy has ambitions that don't include simply being a Notre Dame schedule booster. The Mids have Playoff hopes of their own, and a win over their longtime rivals would put them in the driver's seat for an automatic berth. But this isn't the first celebrated Navy team to face Notre Dame with more than pride on the line, and the history doesn't exactly inspire optimism for the lads from Annapolis.

Even when Navy was a national powerhouse, this game was a dream killer. The 1941, 1942, and 1955 teams all had national championship aspirations derailed by the Irish. As Navy's place in the game has evolved, the challenge has only become greater. The '78 Holiday Bowl team was undefeated, coming off a win over #15 Pitt, and ranked higher than the Irish. They lost by 20. The '96 Aloha Bowl team (54-27), the 2015 Lambert Trophy team (41-24), and the 2019 Liberty Bowl team (52-20) all were on the wrong side of lopsided scores. When Navy wins, it's about what's wrong with Notre Dame as much as it's about what the Mids did right. Only one of Navy's four wins in the series since 2007 came against a team with a winning record.

I say this not to be doom and gloom but to illustrate what the Mids are up against on Saturday. I also believe there's something to be learned from the history.

While some of Navy's best teams have been beaten handily by Notre Dame, less accomplished teams have been part of some of the series' closest games. There were close calls in 1984, 1999, 2002, and 2022, and none of those Navy teams had winning records. I think there's a logic to the pattern. In the past, Notre Dame has treated Navy as a "get right" game. If they've struggled to run the ball during the season, they'll pound the rock 40 times against Navy. If they need to get their quarterback on track, they'll air it out against Navy. That's a gamble, though; if the Irish don't get right, they open the door for an upset. But when Navy enters the game highly regarded, Notre Dame doesn't mess around, and the score reflects it.

(How much "What if Navy goes undefeated" content do you think is in the locker room this week?)

If that's the case, the 24th-ranked Midshipmen will get Notre Dame's best shot on Saturday. That's bad news because their best is pretty good.

The problem with looking at Notre Dame from a Navy perspective is that you have to put them into context. The Irish operate on a different plane. They will enter the game as the #12 team in the country. They are 6-1 with wins that include #14 Texas A&M, Louisville, and Georgia Tech. Any discussion about their strengths and weaknesses has to be done with that in mind. Maybe they have flaws that Clemson can exploit, but that doesn't mean Navy could. On the flip side, anything that is a strength you know is really strong. With that in mind, let's take a look.

It's sort of funny to see Marcus Freeman paired up with offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock because it's like they're getting the band back together again. Freeman was the defensive coordinator at Cincinnati from 2017-2020, while Denbrock was the Bearcats' offensive coordinator from 2017-2021. And when you watch Notre Dame, it's like looking at those Cincinnati teams turned up to 11. Cincinnati was the only G5 team to ever go to the four-team Playoff, and they did it by being built unlike other G5 contenders. They weren't one of those teams with a whirlwind offense that hoped to get the last possession in a shootout. This was a team full of maulers with a top-ten defense, an offense with a 1300-yard running back, and a quarterback who wasn't afraid to run. This Notre Dame team is built in much the same way.

It starts with their defense, which is one of the best in the country. Coordinator Al Golden, a long-time Navy foe, has his unit in the top ten in total defense, scoring defense, and stop rate. Last week, they held Georgia Tech, a team that came into the game averaging over 200 yards per game on the ground, to 64 yards. The Yellow Jackets had the ball for only 13:48 after the first quarter. The Irish are even better against the pass, ranking sixth in pass efficiency defense. You can't point to anything that the Irish don't do well.

The talent has a lot to do with that. In an era when transfers and declaring early for the draft are the norm, Notre Dame's defense stands out because of how many of last year's stars came back this year. Safety Xavier Watts, linebacker Jack Kiser, and defensive tackle Howard Cross III all opted to return despite their pro potential. Watts won the Bronco Nagurski Award last year as the nation's best defensive player after grabbing seven interceptions. He's on pace to do it again with three this year. In his sixth year, Kiser provides veteran leadership to a young but athletic linebacking corps. He's second on the team in tackles behind fellow linebacker Drayk Bowen. Up front, Cross is the most athletic defensive tackle Navy will face this year. He was second on the team in 2023 with 66 tackles, which is incredible for an interior lineman. He leads the team in both sacks (4) and tackles for loss (5.5). Even with injuries on the line and in the secondary this year, there is talent at every level.

While Notre Dame's run defense is one of the best in the country, defending the "run" and defending the "option" are two different things. Unfortunately, recent history shows the Irish are just as effective against the latter, especially after the Mids ran for only 129 yards in last year's game. Outside the service academies, Notre Dame might have more experience against the option than any coaching staff in the country. Before Notre Dame, Freeman faced Navy at Cincinnati. Golden faced both Navy and Paul Johnson's Georgia Tech teams in previous stops at Temple and Miami. Of course, while it's good to have experience, that also means there's a track record to study.

The Irish use a hybrid DE/linebacker position ("Vyper") and a hybrid LB/S position ("Rover"), which gives them the ability to line up in a variety of fronts against the option. In recent years, they've used multiple fronts in the same game, essentially combining game plans from both Freeman's and Golden's past. They've alternated between eight-man and five-man fronts, with a six-man front thrown in here and there. In an eight-man front, the deep safety followed the pitch man. When the Irish used two safeties, the DBs usually played man-to-man on the receivers and slotbacks.

All the variety the Irish have used makes it difficult to predict what they'll do this year. I think the most significant factor in their game plan will be how much they respect the Navy passing game. Last year, they didn't. They lined up in most plays with nobody deeper than 9-10 yards back, and that was often with only one safety who was charging to the pitch as soon as the ball was snapped. If they do the same this year, Navy should be in a better position to capitalize with passing, counters, and misdirection. Well, schematically, anyway. The problem with those plays is that they take longer to develop, and you don't want the ball in the backfield any longer than it has to be when playing an opponent as physically talented as Notre Dame.

We may have gotten a sneak preview of that last week. Charlotte frequently slanted the defensive line, and it was disruptive. Golden has always liked to do the same against the option, having both defensive tackles release in the same direction at the snap. For Charlotte, the goal was to shoot gaps. For Golden, the goal was to mess with the fullback's reads. When the fullback reads one defensive tackle releasing outside, he'll cut back inside, where the other defensive tackle meets him.

Navy's answer to this in the past has been to run midline, since slanting makes the DT a predictable read. Back in the 2022 game, Golden seemed to anticipate this. He tried to bait the Mids into running midline. His plan was to have both defensive tackles step outside at the snap. The inside linebackers, expecting the quarterback to read the DTs and hand the ball to the fullback, stepped into the A gap to stop them. The problem is that the DTs playing outside at the snap just made it easier for Navy's interior linemen to get a clean release to block the linebackers. Navy ran the midline just as Golden wanted, but they had no trouble doing so.

Golden scrapped this idea in last year's game for obvious reasons. But with Charlotte having success with this last week, could he give it another go? Maybe, but without the linebacker shenanigans if he does. I think Golden would prefer to keep this game between the tackles as much as possible, especially with the talent he has at defensive tackle. If he can stop the Mids up the middle without bringing extra defenders into the box, that leaves him less vulnerable to whatever unexpected wrinkles Drew Cronic has drawn up on the perimeter and in the passing game.

Offensively, Notre Dame is led by a host of talented ball carriers. Running backs Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price have combined for 791 rushing yards this season, averaging 6.2 yards per carry. Quarterback Riley Leonard, who transferred from Duke, has 1182 passing yards and 456 on the ground. Receiver Jaden Greathouse returns after scoring two touchdowns against Navy last year, and he's joined by transfers Beaux Collins (Clemson) and Kris Mitchell (FIU). Seven receivers have at least ten receptions, including tight end Mitchell Evans, who has been effective in his return from an ACL injury.

Last year, Notre Dame ran for 191 yards against the Mids, and they could have run for a lot more if they wanted to. Notre Dame was a throwback on offense, lining up with two tight ends and a power running game. It was a bad matchup for a defense designed to stop modern spread offenses. When Gerad Parker was named head coach at Troy, Denbrock was brought in to spread the ball around a bit more.

One could argue that even as good as they've been, this offense is a better matchup for Navy than last year's. Navy has a history against Denbrock from his Cincinnati days. In 2021, his Bearcats were ranked #2 in the country when they came to Annapolis, and the Mids limited them to 271 yards. They had only ten rushing yards in the first half. A major reason for this was that the Mids were fearless about involving the secondary in run support.

Now, I don't think there is a direct comparison between Denbrock's Cincinnati offense and what he's doing at Notre Dame. However, I do think there's a lesson here. Cincinnati's quarterback in 2021 was Desmond Ridder, the two-time AAC Offensive Player of the Year who threw for over 3,300 yards and 30 touchdowns. If Navy was willing to take chances with that guy slinging the ball, they absolutely should against Leonard, who has yet to hit 230 passing yards in a game this season. He has, however, proven himself to be a capable downhill runner.

Against Notre Dame, there will always be the temptation to make stopping the big play the priority, and there's definitely that risk. But the Irish are 125th in the country in passes of 20+ yards, with 13. To put that in context, Navy has 21, and they've played one fewer game and throw half as many passes every week. The Mids tried to prevent the big play against Memphis, but it almost burned them. This week, I think they'll be better served by being themselves.

The one hiccup that Notre Dame experienced this year came against Northern Illinois. NIU was a considerable underdog but pulled the upset with a 16-14 stunner in South Bend. On the surface, that game looks like a blueprint for a Navy victory. The Huskies ran for 190 yards in a ball control game where they held the ball for over nine minutes longer than the Irish. They kicked the winning field goal on an 11-play drive that ate up nearly six minutes and left Notre Dame only 31 seconds to work with. That sounds like Navy's wheelhouse, right?

Not really. The old stereotypes haven't applied this year. Navy is 85th nationally in time of possession. Drew Cronic likes to change tempo to make it harder to adjust. I don't think the NIU game is a magic formula, either. If anyone should have been able to reproduce that performance, it would be Georgia Tech. Notre Dame completely shut them down. Changing who you are in your most challenging game of the year doesn't make sense, especially when "who you are" is undefeated.

It would be difficult to overstate the magnitude of this game. In college football, every game you win raises the stakes for the next one, and now we've reached the point where there are legitimate Playoff implications for both teams. The Mids earned the right to be in a game like this. They played their way into this opportunity. Here's hoping they make the most of it.

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