Notre Dame Football Schedule 2024: 5 Things to Know About Navy, October 26

Navy is better this season, and it might just catch Notre Dame looking ahead. What are five things Irish fans should know about the Midshipmen?

Aug 26, 2023; Dublin, IRL; The Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Navy Midshipmen prepare for the snap in the second half at Aviva Stadium. / Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

It's going to take something strange for Navy to beat Notre Dame.

It's not like it can't be done, but this won't be one of the Navy teams of, say, 2016 or 2010 that can option its way up and down the field. But the Irish had to work to win a 35-32 game in 2022, and they might have one giant issue they won't be able to so easily overcome.

Florida State.

The date with the Midshipmen comes in late October in East Rutherford, New Jersey. If all goes according to plan, Notre Dame could be 7-0, should be no worse than 6-1, and will be desperate if its 5-2. If it's any worse than that, the season - and the goal of making the expanded College Football Playoff - is effectively over, and this game takes on a different tone.

But assume the Irish are what we all think they'll be. This is followed up by a week off, and then the Seminoles come to South Bend.

This is a pure focus game. Can Notre Dame get through the dog days of the season and get to the November finishing kick without a ton of stress? Here are the five things Irish fans need to know about Navy.

5. Navy might be on a wee bit of a roll

At least for Navy.

It's been a while since Navy got off to a hot start. Including last year's 42-3 blasting from Notre Dame in Ireland, it started 1-3, just like it did in 2022. It started 1-6 in 2021, and 1-2 in the shortened 2020 season.

It might not be coming into this game 7-1 like it did in 2019 - the Irish won 52-20 - but with Bucknell, Temple, at UAB, and Charlotte in the first part of the season, it should have a decent base of wins. Memphis will be a problem early on, but the date with Air Force will at least be competitive.

Too long thing short, there's a chance Navy has a wee bit of confidence going against a team that, again, might already be thinking about Florida State.

4. Navy has the linebackers

Navy is always plucky, gives the full out effort, doesn't take a play off, and all of that, but it also has a little bit of real talent. It's always tough for the Midshipmen to hold up on the line, but - assuming everyone is healthy - they have a linebacking duo in Colin Ramos and Luke Pirris that should swarm around everything.

They didn't do that in last year's meeting, but they're good enough to crank up the numbers this time around. Throw in safety Rayuan Lane in a secondary that should be a strength, and this shouldn't be the pushover of a D like it was in Ireland.

3. By this point in the season, Navy will be Navy

It's part of the problem with the service acadamy teams. There's so much turnover that sometimes it takes a while to get up to speed.

Last year Navy got Notre Dame in the season opener with a new coach and a few new wrinkles, and it got ugly.

This season the Midshipmen come in with proven depth issues across the board, the offense needs key parts to rise up, and it should take half the year to be dangerous. The timing should be down, so ...

2. Stop the run, stop Navy

Every year the service academies pay lip service about wanting to throw more. More to the point, they want to come in and be more effective at getting the ball down the field.

And every year, if they're not running the ball well, there's a problem.

Navy was 0-4 last season when it didn't at least run for 170 yards, but was 3-1 when it ran for 240 or more. Run well, control the clock, keep the undermanned/undersized D off the field, and ...

1. With Navy, yeah, really, it's still all about the running game

Navy actually did throw with the new coaching staff. It put up 199 passes and had double-digit attempts in every game but one.

It's not about being balanced. It's about trying to hit the big play when teams are loading up against the run. Navy, though will want to make defense think there could be a throw coming more than in past seasons.

But again, Navy has to run well to have a shot.

The running backs are experienced and good, and by this point in the season the quarterback situation should be well settled. If the offense is averaging five yards per carry, Notre Dame will have to work to win this.

Notre Dame vs Navy early summer prediction is ...

The call here goes along with some of the other earlier summer first look predictions on the schedule.

Yes, Notre Dame will win, and yes, it will be looking ahead a wee bit, but it'll also have a few fights on its hands against Louisville, Stanford, and Georgia Tech leading up to this. It probably won't be coasting, like everyone will want, so with a week off after this there will likely be a strong all-around effort.

The Irish will get up fast, but Navy will control the clock just enough to slow things down. That didn't matter much in last year's blowout loss - Navy had the ball almost seven minutes more than the Irish - but it will in this.

The game will be more lopsided than the final score, and then it's on to Florida State.

Notre Dame 34, Navy 13
- Navy 2024 Preview
5 Things To Know
- Aug 31: Texas A&M
- Sept 7: Northern Illinois
- Sept 14: Purdue
- Sept 21: Miami Univ.
- Sept 28: Louisville
- Oct 12: Stanford
- Oct. 19: Georgia Tech