Notre Dame football schedule deep dive: 97-year old rivalry gets another installment

Notre Dame football will have a chance to work on their run defense in Week 9 against Navy. 

The Notre Dame-Navy game has been played since 1927 and has a rich history. During World War II, Notre Dame was on the verge of shutting its doors due to financial hardships. The U.S. Navy made Notre Dame’s campus a training facility and paid the University for the usage to help keep Notre Dame open. Since then, Notre Dame has extended Navy an invitation to play the game as a way to repay the debt.

Notre Dame leads the all-time series 83-13-1, with Navy’s last win coming in 2016.

The game went international for the third time in 2023, where the Fighting Irish routed the Midshipmen, 42-3, in Sam Hartman's first game in the gold and blue. Hartman went 19-23 for 251 yards and four touchdowns, an impressive Irish debut.

Notre Dame football should breeze through

Navy, much like Army, runs the ball a lot. In 2023, the Midshipmen were a top-20 rushing offense that averaged just under 200 yards on the ground per game. Navy returns its top two rushers, Daba Fofana and Alex Tecza, and picks up 50 commits in their 2024 recruiting class.

I’ll keep this one short and sweet: Expect another Notre Dame win. But the Georgia Tech game the week prior will tell us how this game will go. If the Irish defeat Georgia Tech, the Irish will defeat Navy.

And if they do not, Notre Dame will probably win this game anyway.

Sorry, not much in this one. On to Florida State.