Notre Dame football vs. Navy Midshipmen: 3 bold predictions in Week 10

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SOUTH BEND, INDIANA – NOVEMBER 16: Ian Book #12 of the Notre Dame Football runs with the ball while being tackled by Diego Fagot #54 of the Navy Midshipmen in the first quarter at Notre Dame Stadium on November 16, 2019, in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

The Notre Dame football team will take on the Navy Midshipmen on Saturday afternoon, and here are three bold predictions for the matchup.

Notre Dame football lost its annual meeting with Navy in 2020, which was supposed to be played in Dublin, due to the pandemic. It was the first time that the two hadn’t played a game since 1927. For those keeping track, that’s when Knute Rockne was the head coach at Notre Dame.

That history of playing includes Navy saving the University of Notre Dame during World War II and the Irish holding a 43 game winning streak over the Midshipmen.

Most years, Notre Dame is a heavy favorite. This season is no exception, either. The Irish are three-touchdown favorites on Saturday. That’s to be expected given the talent differential, though. After all, Notre Dame recruits future NFL players while Navy recruits future sailors.

Don’t look at that three-score spread or Navy’s 2-6 record, though. This game is always going to present challenges for Notre Dame. Navy is also much better than their record, has shown massive improvements throughout the season, and has unfortunately played a very difficult schedule.

Ever since Navy made the shift from Xavier Arline, who was struggling to make reads in the triple-option quickly enough, to Tai Lavatai, who is a strong runner that knows the offense well, they’ve started to look the way they’re supposed to on offense. So, be ready for this game to be a challenge.

It always is in one way or the other.

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