Notre Dame Rush Offense vs. Navy Run Defense

The Irish are strong when it comes to running the ball as they are ranked 17th in the nation averaging 209.6 yards per game with 22 touchdowns and an average of 5.8 yards per rush. Jeremiyah Love leads the Irish with 77 attempts for 462 yards with 7 touchdowns and an average of 6 yards per rush. Quarterback Riley Leonard is not far behind with 75 attempts for 456 yards with 10 touchdowns and an average of 6.1 yards per rush. Jadarian Price has 49 attempts for 329 yards with 3 touchdowns and an average of 6.7 yards per rush. Aneyas Williams continues to see an increase of playing time with 11 attempts for 69 yards with 1 touchdown and an average of 6.3 yards per rush. The Irish have allowed opposing teams to get into the backfield with 31 tackles for loss.

The Midshipmen are not as strong against the run as they are ranked 91st nationally allowing 165 yards per game with 7 touchdowns and an average of 4.2 yards per rush. They did not allow the early opponents, Division 1-AA Bucknell and Temple, to rush for much as they allowed 131 yards and 35 yards in those games. Since then, opposing teams have been able to rush for at least 150 yards in each game with Memphis getting 274 yards and Charlotte getting 200 yards. Navy has been impressive with the amount of times that they have been able to get into opposing backfields with 37 tackles for loss with the top players being Justin Reed who has 7 tackles for loss, Colin Ramos with 5.5 tackles for loss, and Jaxson Campbell having 4.5 tackles for loss.

The Irish had a solid performance running the ball with 168 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns in the win over a defense that has been impressive against the run in Georgia Tech. The Midshipmen started out the season with strong performances against the run, but have since allowed teams to be easily capable of getting impressive numbers on the ground in the last 4 games. With the Irish able to run the ball well against opposing teams so far this season, this is a very favorable matchup. With the Irish playing against a service academy, there will not be as many possessions with the ball, so running the ball effectively will be important to make each possession count.

Edge: Notre Dame

Navy Rush Offense vs. Notre Dame Run Defense

The Midshipmen have a very strong rushing offense that is ranked 4th in the nation that is averaging 274.8 yards per game with 23 touchdowns and an average of 6 yards per rush. It took until last weekend’s game against Charlotte for Navy to rush for less than 200 yards when they had 171 yards in the win. The greatest performance came in the win over Memphis with 361 yards with 5 touchdowns and an average of 9.3 yards per rush. Quarterback Blake Horvath leads the way with 79 attempts for 621 yards with 10 touchdowns and an average of 7.9 yards per rush. Alex Tecza is the next leading rusher who has 49 attempts for 306 yards with 7 touchdowns and an average of 6.2 yards per rush. Eli Heidenreich has 22 attempts for 179 yards with an average of 8.1 yards per rush while Brandon Chatman has 31 attempts for 170 yards with 1 touchdown and an average of 5.5 yards per rush. Daba Fofana has 31 attempts for 157 yards with 2 touchdowns and an average of 5.1 yards per rush. Navy has done well in keeping opposing teams out of the backfield with just 13 tackles for loss allowed so far this season.

The Irish have been solid against the run as they are ranked 29th nationally allowing 113.1 yards per game with 3 touchdowns and an average of 3.3 yards per rush. The Irish have held each opponent under 200 yards this season along with each opponent averaging less than 5 yards per rush. The Irish have held 2 opponents under 100 rushing yards while also doing it away from home as well. The Irish have also done well in getting into opposing backfields with 35 tackles for loss so far this season with Howard Cross leading the way with 5.5 tackles for loss.

The Midshipmen have been quite impressive on the ground this season as they have had 2 games with 300 or more rushing yards and 3 games with 200 or more rushing yards. With Blake Horvath and Alex Tecza getting the bulk of the yards and touchdowns on the ground, stopping them will be extremely important as they combine for most of the rushing touchdowns. Having an extra defender that can play up close or drop into coverage will need to be used as well since Navy does pass a bit more this season than they used to. With the Midshipmen being excellent at minimizing tackles for loss, stopping them in the backfield will help with getting the defense off the field. With the Irish effectively using depth in the defensive line and linebackers, it helps make things more favorable in this matchup.

Edge: Even

Notre Dame Pass Offense vs. Navy Pass Defense

The Irish have shown improvement in the passing game that is ranked 105th in the nation averaging 189 yards per game with 8 touchdowns, 3 interceptions, and a completion rate of 65.5 percent. Riley Leonard has 118 completions of 177 attempts for 1,182 passing yards with 6 touchdowns, 3 interceptions, and a completion rate of 66.7 percent. Steve Angeli has 9 completions on 16 attempts for 123 passing yards with 2 touchdowns and a completion rate of 56.3 percent. Beaux Collins leads the Irish with 26 receptions for 317 yards with 1 touchdown and an average of 12.2 yards per reception. Jaden Greathouse has 17 receptions for 202 yards with 1 touchdown and an average of 11.9 yards per reception. Kris Mitchell has 11 receptions for 108 yards with 1 touchdown and an average of 10.5 yards per reception while Jayden Harrison has 10 receptions for 103 yards with an average of 10.3 yards per reception. Jayden Thomas has 10 receptions for 98 yards with 1 touchdown and an average of 9.8 yards per reception. Mitchell Evans leads the tight ends with 14 receptions for 108 yards with an average of 7.7 yards per reception. Cooper Flanagan has 3 receptions for 53 yards with 1 touchdown with an average of 17.7 yards per reception while Eli Raridon has 6 receptions for 50 yards with 1 touchdown and an average of 8.3 yards per reception. The Irish have been able to minimize on opposing teams getting into the backfield with 9 sacks and 10 quarterback hurries allowed with just 8 passes broken up.

The Midshipmen are below average at pass defense as they are ranked 81st nationally allowing an average of 224.7 passing yards per game with 8 touchdowns, 10 interceptions, and a completion rate of 56.5 percent. It should be noted that they have held the last 2 opponents to below 200 passing yards, but Air Force was one of them who does not pass very much. Navy has allowed only Memphis to pass for more than 300 yards as they passed for 385 on the Navy defense. Of Navy’s 10 interceptions, 3 have been returned for touchdowns with Dashaun Peele having 2 and Rayuan Lane having 1. The Midshipmen have been solid at getting to opposing quarterbacks with 15 sacks and 22 quarterback hurries with 16 passes broken up. Justin Reed leads the Midshipmen in sacks with 4 sacks.

At first glance, it looks like Navy has improved in defending the pass in recent games, but with Air Force being an opponent, it does affect the stats as Air Force is barely next to last in terms of passing yards overall. The Irish have continued to pass for more yards since the win over Louisville. With the Midshipmen having to face a deep receiving unit along with a strong run game, this could make things more favorable for the Irish as they continue to make improvements as the season goes on. With that being said, Navy does have some players that can make plays against the pass and that will certainly be something to keep an eye on. The Irish do continue to lean into this matchup being an even matchup in recent games.

Edge: Even

Navy Pass Offense vs. Notre Dame Pass Defense

The Midshipmen have been more successful at passing than the other service academies and are ranked 125th in the nation averaging 161 passing yards per game with 11 touchdowns, 2 interceptions, and a completion rate of 61.7 percent. They have passed for more than 100 yards in every game and have had games where they passed for 205 yards and 225 yards. They threw 2 interceptions in the season opening win over Bucknell, but have not thrown any interceptions since. Blake Horvath has 46 completions on 72 attempts for 888 yards with 10 touchdowns, 1 interception, and a completion rate of 63.9 percent. The player that leads the team in receiving by an impressive amount is running back Eli Heidenreich who has 23 receptions for 485 yards with 5 touchdowns and an average of 21.1 yards per reception. Another running back is the next leading player in Brandon Chatman who has 9 receptions for 177 yards with 3 touchdowns and an average of 19.7 yards per reception. Nathan Kent has 3 receptions for 95 yards with 1 touchdown and an average of 31.7 yards per reception. Fullback Alex Tecza has been used in the receiving department with 4 receptions for 76 yards with 1 touchdown and an average of 19 yards per reception. Tight End Cody Howard has 3 receptions for 39 yards with 1 touchdown and an average of 13 yards per reception. Navy has also been excellent in pass protection with just 3 sacks allowed and 11 quarterback hurries with just 4 passes broken up.

The Irish have been quite strong against the pass this season as they are ranked 13th in the nation with 165.9 passing yards allowed per game with 6 touchdowns, 9 interceptions (2 returned for touchdowns), and a completion rate of 48.8 percent. The Irish have held all but Louisville and Georgia Tech to below 200 passing yards and every opponent has thrown for a completion rate that is under 60 percent. The Irish have been able to get to opposing quarterbacks with 18 sacks, 27 quarterback hurries with an astounding 33 passes broken up. Howard Cross leads with 4 sacks and Rylee Mills is not far behind with 3 sacks which means that the interior of the defensive line leads with the production of sacks.

The Irish allowed a season high in passing yards in the win over Georgia Tech when they allowed 269 passing yards as the depth in the secondary was tested. However, the Irish are one of the best teams at defending the pass. With this Navy team being better at passing than in times past, it will certainly be an interesting matchup. As Eli Heidenreich and Brandon Chatman have an extremely large amount of the production in receptions, yards, and touchdowns, this means that stopping them will be extremely important for success. As mentioned before, having a player that can be used in run support and be able drop into coverage will be useful with the unique offense that the Midshipmen use.

Edge: Notre Dame

Special Teams

Mitch Jeter missed the last game due to injury and on the season he is 5 of 7 (both misses were blocked) on field goals with an accuracy rate of 71.4 percent with a long of 48. Zac Yoakam filled in and has made all of his extra points and is 1 of 2 on field goals with an accuracy rate of 50 percent with a long of 42. James Rendell has punted 25 times with an average of 40.1 yards. Jayden Harrison has returned 5 kickoffs for 124 yards with an average of 24.8 yards per return. Max Hurleman has returned 8 punts for 66 yards with an average of 8.3 yards per return. The Irish have also been excellent in the blocking department as they have blocked 3 kicks this season while allowing 2 kicks blocked this season.

Nathan Kirkwood is 3 of 4 on field goals with an accuracy rate of 75 percent with a long of 46. Riley Riethman has punted 25 times with an average of 43.3 yards. Isaiah Bryant has returned 8 kickoffs for 197 yards with an average of 24.6 yards per return. Eli Heidenreich has returned 5 punts for 42 yards with an average of 8.4 yards per return. The Midshipmen have blocked 1 kick while allowing 1 kick blocked this season.

Stronger Unit: Even

Final Thoughts

The Irish are coming off a solid 31-13 win over Georgia Tech in a neutral site matchup and are playing another neutral site matchup. Navy comes in undefeated and has a strong offense that is excellent on the ground and (considering they are a service academy) an improved passing offense. Navy has been nearly unchallenged so far this season with the best win being a 56-44 home win over Memphis (which is their only loss). With that being said, the Midshipmen have played an extremely weak schedule so far outside of Memphis. They have played a Division 1-AA team and 4 other schools with losing records with UAB and Air Force each having just 1 win along with Temple having just 2 wins and Charlotte having 3 wins. The Irish will be the biggest challenge for them this season along with matchups against Tulane and Army. With the type of offense that Navy runs, possessions for the Irish might be a bit more limited. This means that scoring on every possession will be extra important. With how physical the blocking is by the Midshipmen, this has led to injuries as well. Staying healthy and avoiding injuries will be important with this being in the second half of the season which means a shorter period of time to recover. The defense has many players that are experienced in playing in this matchup and they will be counted on along with the newcomers as well. Look for the Irish to continue playing well before going into a second bye week.

Prediction: Notre Dame 42, Navy 28

As always, GO IRISH!

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