How is that for a statement game? Think that might allow the Notre Dame football to move up a few spots in the playoffs?
The Irish came into Saturday's game against the Navy Midshipmen with a surprising number of national analysts beleiving a loss was a realistic outcome. It seems as though Marcus Freeman, Riley Leonard and company took that personal.
Dominating from the first snap, they ended up with a 51-14 blowout win over the nation's hottest and No. 24 team. Now, Notre Dame football probably needs to be mentioned as one of the hottest teams in the sport.
Truth: Notre Dame football is a national title contender
The Irish came into Saturday with lots of people talking about how they couldn't lose or else they would be out of the playoffs. But the kind of win they got this afternoon is the kind that makes it clear they have both an offense and a defense.
In a year where the other title contenders look mortal (except for maybe Oregon) the Irish look like they are shifting into a higher gear.
Truth: Riley Leonard missing the spring was a bigger deal than we realized
Any concerns over Riley Leonard at quarterback are officially dead after his play today. For a while, the issue was his passing, but after throwing for 178 yards and two touchdowns to go with 83 yards passing and another TD, he's a true dual threat quarterback.
It's pretty clear now that not really being able to practice this offense until the fall was a big reason why he struggled at the beginning of the year. He's now looking like the guy who made people fear Duke in 2022 and will make people fear him for the rest of the season.
Lie: The defense can't keep this up
It's absolutely amazing how Al Golden doesn't get talked about more as one of the best defensive coordinators in the game. Navy came into this game averaging 44.8 points per game on offense. They scored 14 today.
Oh, the Midshipmen also turned the ball over 6 times (5 fumbles and 1 INT). But what's most impressive is that it's not like Navy is the only team the Notre Dame football defense has done that too. They're beating up teams and forcing a ton of turnovers.
This goes back to my first truth. If Notre Dame football's defense keeps doing what it's doing and the defense keeps doing what it's doing, this team is going to scare a lot of teams.