Notre Dame football: 3 bold predictions vs. Navy in Ireland

It’s finally here, folks. Notre Dame football kicks off the 2023 season officially with a 2:30 p.m. ET start against Navy on Saturday afternoon to begin Week 0.

The Fighting Irish are ranked No. 13 to begin the season and many believe that they’re going to push for a spot in the College Football Playoff. We’ll get a better idea of what kind of team Notre Dame will have this season on Saturday afternoon when it plays Navy.

Sam Hartman will play his first game for Notre Dame against a Navy team that features a brand-new head coach.

Let’s get bold.

3. Notre Dame holds Navy under 200 rushing yards

Everyone knows that service academies don’t throw the ball a ton and Navy is no exception. The Midshipmen had the fourth-best rushing attack in the nation last season, averaging 241.2 rushing yards per game and they bring back Daba Fofana.

Although Fofana is back and the offense has plenty of rushing weapons, I see Notre Dame’s defense stepping up and slowing them down.

Notre Dame ranked No. 36 nationally against the run last season, holding opponents to 131.3 rushing yards per game. So why do I think that this above-average run defense will hold one of the nation’s top rushing attacks under 200 yards? Because Notre Dame returns five starters in the front seven, including JD Bertrand, Jack Kiser, Marist Liufau, and Howard Cross III.

This defense is going to be even better and it’s going to get off to a really good start on Saturday with a beauty of a performance.