Notre Dame Football: 3 takeaways from dominant win over Navy

SOUTH BEND, INDIANA - NOVEMBER 16: Chase Claypool #83 and Ian Book #12 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish celebrate after scoring a touchdown in the first quarter against the Navy Midshipmen at Notre Dame Stadium on November 16, 2019 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

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(Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /

2. Navy is still alive

Losing this badly to Notre Dame is going to hurt the Midshipmen significantly, but it doesn’t completely ruin their season. Because this was a non-conference matchup, Navy still has the chance to play in the American Athletic Conference Championship Game. However, they are not in control of their own destiny. Even if Navy wins the rest of their conference games, the possibility of playing in the conference championship game is contingent upon Memphis losing another conference game.

If Navy does find themselves as AAC Conference Champions, and they beat Army at the end of the year, the Midshipmen will have a record of 11-2. The AAC Champion with two losses, one being to Notre Dame, is a very good resume to make a New Year’s Six Bowl.

Yet, some Navy fans may not even want the Mids to play in the AAC Championship Game. This is due to the game being set for the weekend before the Army-Navy Game. To some fans, beating Army is significantly more important than the chance to win the team’s first AAC Championship. Army will have the week prior off and could gain an advantage over Navy with the extra time.

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