Saturday night in South Bend is exactly the kind of game that reveals whether Notre Dame is a real playoff contender or just hanging around the conversation.
No. 10 Notre Dame (6–2) returns home riding a six-game win streak to face No. 7 Navy (7–1), a program that had ripped off 10 straight wins dating back to 2024 before getting punched in the mouth by North Texas, 31–17, last weekend.
Brian Newberry has this Navy team playing rugged, confident, and physical football behind a Heisman-caliber season from quarterback Blake Horvath — and a win in primetime at Notre Dame Stadium would reset their momentum instantly.
For Marcus Freeman and defensive coordinator Chris Ash, this is not a “name your score” Saturday. It’s a landmine. Here are the three keys Notre Dame must hit to avoid the upset and make a statement.
Win the Heisman Showdown on the Ground: Let Love & Price Take Over
Blake Horvath isn’t just Navy’s quarterback — he’s one of the most dangerous runners in the country. Through eight games, Horvath has 926 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns on 138 carries (6.7 YPC), plus 1,143 yards and 7 touchdowns through the air, though paired with 5 interceptions.
Navy’s entire identity is built around his legs and a top-tier rushing attack. But Notre Dame has its own Heisman-adjacent weapon.
Jeremiyah Love enters this matchup with 894 rushing yards and 11 rushing touchdowns on 141 carries (6.3 YPC), plus impact as a receiver — production that places him among the most efficient and explosive backs in the FBS.
He’s running behind an offensive line that’s settled in and just paved the way for 136 yards from Love against Boston College. If Notre Dame wants to control this game, it starts with flipping Navy’s script:
- Establish Love early: Wide zone, duo, counters — make Navy’s second level run all night.
- Feature Jadarian Price as the change-up: Perimeter touches, screens, and toss looks stress Navy horizontally and keep Love fresh.
- Own time of possession: Every clock-chewing Irish drive is one fewer possession for Horvath and the option.
Navy’s front has been sound but not suffocating — they sit in the respectable-but-beatable range against the run.
This is where Notre Dame’s physical advantage has to show. If Love crosses 1,000 yards on the season in this game (he should), it likely means Notre Dame controlled tempo, wore Navy down, and forced them out of their comfort zone.
This can’t be a CJ Carr hero-ball night. This needs to be a Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price game where the Irish backs dictate terms.
Notre Dame must make Blake Horvath a quarterback, not a superhero
Horvath is the best rushing quarterback Notre Dame will see all season — and he’s not padding numbers against bad defenses. Navy’s offense has leaned on him to carry them in big moments, and he’s repeatedly delivered chunk plays in the designed run game and RPO world.
But there’s a clear stress point: while efficient overall, Horvath has shown turnover vulnerability through the air, with 5 interceptions already, including two costly picks in the loss at North Texas.
When forced into predictable passing downs, Navy’s passing game becomes mortal. Notre Dame, meanwhile, leads the FBS with 16 interceptions in eight games, giving up just 58.2% completions and picking off more passes than almost anyone in the country.
This is not the secondary you want to test if you’re already flirting with risk.
Chris Ash’s defensive blueprint should be ruthless and simple:
- Win first down: Stuff fullback dive, QB power, and buck sweep. Live in 2nd-and-8, not 2nd-and-4.
- Set hard edges: Don’t let Horvath escape clean on the perimeter; force his cuts back into pursuit.
- Force third-and-long: Anything 3rd-and-7+ is advantage Notre Dame. Bring simulated pressures, rotate late, cloud his reads.
Then let the playmakers eat.
With length, range, and ball skills from Luke Talich, Christian Gray, Adon Schuler, Leonard Moore, Tae Johnson and company, the Irish have the athletes to punish late throws, tip balls, and panic decisions. If Horvath ends this game having to put it in the air 20–25 times in obvious passing situations, that’s almost certainly because Notre Dame is dictating the game.
Chris Ash’s defense has to be perfect in the boring stuff
This game will be decided less by exotic blitzes and more by the unsexy details: eye discipline, leverage, tackling, fits.
Navy’s offense under Newberry and OC Drew Cronic leans into misdirection, angles, and relentless body blows. They’re comfortable grinding 10–14 play drives, bleeding the clock, and betting you’ll bust once. That’s where Ash comes in.
- Front seven discipline:
No getting nosy in the backfield. Defensive tackles must eat double teams and keep linebackers clean. Linebackers — Drayk Bowen, Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, Jaylen Sneed — have to trigger fast but controlled.
- Perimeter tackling:
Navy will test corners and safeties on the edge with option pitches, orbit motion, and play-action flats. Notre Dame’s DBs must be willing tacklers — missed tackles turn modest gains into explosives.
- Alert for shot plays:
Once Notre Dame overcommits, Navy will dial up play-action seams and wheel routes. Safeties and corners must recognize “down and distance + formation” and refuse to give up free explosives.
Ash doesn’t need to reinvent the wheel. His job is to make sure 11 hats are synced on every snap. When Notre Dame forces Navy to execute perfectly for 60 minutes, very few teams can survive that math against this roster.
On the other side, an efficient Irish offense — run-heavy, on-schedule, no careless turnovers — complements that plan by keeping Navy in chase mode rather than dictating pace.
This isn’t just about not slipping up. It’s about Jeremiyah Love announcing himself as the more complete Heisman-caliber back in this game than Horvath is as a dual-threat.
Chris Ash stamping his identity on a primetime broadcast by choking out one of the nation’s most physical rushing attacks. Notre Dame showing they can handle a disciplined, veteran, top-10 opponent without chaos, without panic, and without playing down.
Control the ground game with Love and Price. Force Horvath to be a passer, not a superhero.
Play flawless, assignment-sound defense for four quarters.
Do that, and Notre Dame won’t just beat Navy — they’ll reinforce exactly why they belong in the heart of the playoff conversation.