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Notre Dame Football: 3 Bold Predictions vs. Navy

By Chase Eyrich

SAN DIEGO, CA - OCTOBER 27: Head coach Brian Kelly of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish walks onto the field at the end of regulation against the Navy Midshipmen at SDCCU Stadium on October 27, 2018 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Kent Horner/Getty Images)
SAN DIEGO, CA - OCTOBER 27: Head coach Brian Kelly of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish walks onto the field at the end of regulation against the Navy Midshipmen at SDCCU Stadium on October 27, 2018 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Kent Horner/Getty Images) /
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DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA – NOVEMBER 09: Chris Finke #10 celebrates with Tony Jones Jr. #6 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish after scoring a touchdown against the Duke Blue Devils during the first quarter of their game at Wallace Wade Stadium on November 09, 2019 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /

Offense scores on over 50 percent of possessions

This prediction more or less comes off of the fact that in order to win, the Irish must do this.

As stated before, the ball will be in Navy’s possession for the majority of the game. Opportunities for the Irish to score will be extremely limited.

In a game like this, it’s likely that Notre Dame will be in the ballpark of 8-10 possessions. It’s vital that the Irish score on at least five of them.

Notre Dame has proven that they can score and have been extremely efficient at it this season. Not only have they averaged over 34 points a game, but they boast a 91 percent efficiency rating in the red zone.

The only reason for concern is that one of the few teams better than Notre Dame in this statistic is Navy. The Midshipmen average 40 points per game and are one of the top teams in the nation at red zone efficiency.

Strength of schedule has to come into factor here, but Navy has put on some extremely dominant performances this season and earned the respect of the playoff committee, who ranked them Midshipmen No. 24 in the initial CFP rankings. They currently sit at No. 23.

With this being said, every snap becomes more and more valuable. This is something that Notre Dame will need to take care of early on. While the Irish have become accustomed to slow starts, they might not be able to afford it this time around.

Efficiency in the beginning of the game will be key for Notre Dame. Navy may have more time of possession, but their opportunities are just as limited thanks to their style of play. If the Irish score early, it pushes Navy to go faster and take them out of their preferred element.

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