Observations after #12 Notre Dame dismantles #24 Navy

Notre Dame faced the Navy Midshipmen in last year’s season opener. The result in Dublin, Ireland was a dominant win for the Irish. Despite Navy opening up the 2024 season 6-0, the result did not waver. 

Today Notre Dame improved to 7-1 with another resounding victory over the Midshipmen. It was a 51-14 win at the sight of Metlife Stadium in East Rutherford. 

Here’s what I saw…

Overwhelming Turnover Margin…

The turnover margin reads: ND - 0, Navy - 6

Let the stat speak for itself. Navy simply could not hang with Notre Dame's defense.

The Irish started off hot with a 7-0 start. Riley Leonard cashed it in as you would expect, a rushing touchdown. The early lead was crucial for a few reasons. Despite Notre Dame being the clear favorite, they certainly got help from the Midshipmen themselves. 

Notre Dame is prone to slow starts. From the jump, Navy’s offensive scheme was no secret. The Irish had to play on their heels because the Midshipmen would be pulling every tactic out of their playbook. 

Defensive coordinator Al Golden played it well. Through 6 games Brian Newberry has shown the Midshipmen are more than capable of moving the ball. Primarily, Navy is a run-heavy team. Against Notre Dame you need to do more than just run the ball. 

Fortunately for Notre Dame, Navy might have done a little too much. It seemed as if each turnover was a result of nothing more than self-inflicted wounds. 

Coming into today, Navy had a total of zero turnovers through the last five. Today alone, Navy had 5 fumbles and an interception. It’s nearly impossible to win a football game with this monumental turnover difference. The Midshipmen uncharacteristically lost this game for that sole reason. 

It started early and didn’t end onto the clock struck zero. This nightmare gave Notre Dame numerous second chances on offense, and generally allowed the Irish to find a comfortable rhythm. 

Irish Offense Clicking 

As mentioned, the Irish certainly received help from their opponent. Many times the starting field position was ideal, and the Notre Dame held a pretty comfortable lead most of the way. 

When it comes down to it, Notre Dame had an impressive showing of offense. Since the NIU diaster, Notre Dame has been looking to establishing consistency in quarterback Riley Leonard. Today, Leonard played one of his most complete games. He did it on the ground and in the air, and was a major catalyst to Notre Dame’s offensive outpour. 

Notre Dame’s offense is so dynamic in the way defense’s have to account for Leonard’s rushing ability and which ever running back is lined up behind him. Navy very much struggled containing both Leonard and Jerimiyah Love. This opened up the pass game and Notre Dame began clicking on all clyinders. 

Kris Mitchell caught the second touchdown of the game following Blake Horvath’s fumble. A few possessions later, Jeremiyah Love broke a 64-yard touchdown to go up 21-7.

Ultimately it was a complete effort from the stars on Notre Dame’s offense. Leonard passed for 178 yards and threw for 2 touchdowns. He also rushed for 83 yards and a touchdown. Additonally the Irish had three receivers tally over 40 yards receiving in Jaden Greathouse, Beaux Collins, and Jordan Faison. The ground attack was nearly unstopabble behind Love’s 102 yards for 2 touchdowns.

Playing to the strengths 

Strength of Notre Dame: Manpower, pound that rock

Strength of Navy: trickery, trickery, and more trickery

If there’s one takeaway from this game, it’s that Notre Dame had far more manpower than Navy. Regardless of the stats and final score, Navy was a top-25 teams coming into this one. It was the 12th team in the nation against the 24th. Yet, the game was decided in complete and utter dominance. 

Sean McDonough and Greg McElroy said it best, it truly is a shame that this is most people’s first impression of Navy. It’s no mistake that Navy is ranked and undefeated prior to this game. They earned their stripes and have rebuilt in just one year under Brian Newberry. 

Navy has always been run-heavy team. Today, the Midshipmen had to exploit some new tricks to possibly win this game. It wasn’t the fact that Notre Dame sought out the trickery, it was the fact that Navy couldn’t execute. 

Despite this, Notre Dame’s defensive and offensive front dominanted in the trenches and Navy had no answer. It was just an all-around win for Notre Dame who won in all three aspects of the game. 

What’s next: 

Notre Dame - The Irish look to continue their win-streak at home against Florida State (1-6) next week. Notre Dame must win-out to reach the CFP.

Navy - The hopes of reaching the CFP are far-fetched yet still alive. Navy will have to win-out and win the American conference. Navy will face Rice (2-5) next week on the road