The Navy and Notre Dame will play each other for the 97th time at MetLife Stadium on Saturday and the stakes have never been higher in this matchup.
Both teams are ranked in the top 25 for the first time since 2019 and the game could decide a potential spot in the expanded College Football Playoff.
The No. 24 Midshipmen are one of 10 undefeated FBS teams, reeling off six straight wins to start the season. The 12th-ranked Fighting Irish are 6–1 with an upset loss to Northern Illinois, but still very much alive for the postseason if they can avoid another loss.
Notre Dame leads the all-time series against Navy 82–13–1 and has won the last six matchups. Midshipmen coach Brian Newberry knows his team faces a daunting challenge to beat the Fighting Irish, but they have the talent to win the game.
“It doesn’t take a miracle or something superhuman, but our guys know we’re going to need to play extremely well in all three phases for four quarters just to have a chance. At the same time, our guys believe they can go out and win this game.”
Notre Dame is led by senior quarterback Riley Leonard, who ranks second among all active FBS quarterbacks in career rushing touchdowns with 29. He has 10 rushing touchdowns this season and is the third Notre Dame quarterback to rush for double-digit touchdowns in a season along with Brandon Wimbush, 14 in 2017, and DeShone Kizer, 10 in 2015.
Graduate safety Xavier Watts leads Notre Dame’s defense and was named a Midseason All-American by the Associated Press and The Sporting News. He has 1o career interceptions and is the 19th Notre Dame player to intercept 10 or more passes in a career and is tied for 12th on the all-time list for career interceptions in program history.
Notre Dame is the highest-ranked team on the Midshipmen’s schedule. If they can win this game, they could run the table in the final six games, including a potential appearance in the American Athletic Conference championship game, and make the playoffs.
“It’s a great opportunity for our team and our program. These are the kind of games you want to play in,” Newberry said at his press conference. “That’s one of the great things about coming to Navy. You get to play Notre Dame every year in a big game on a national stage. Our kids are excited. It’s a great challenge, but it’s a great opportunity as well.”
Navy is led by quarterback Blake Horvath, whose 10 passing touchdowns this year are the sixth most in Navy history for a single season, just 3 behind Ricky Dobbs, who had 13 in 2010. Horvath has thrown for at least 100 yards in the first six games of the year—the longest streak by a Navy quarterback since Jim Kubiak did it in 22 consecutive games over the 1993–1994 seasons.
Horvath and Alabama’s Jalen Milroe are the only two quarterbacks in the FBS that have reached double figures in both rushing and passing touchdowns this fall.
The Navy has one of the most prolific rushing attacks in the nation. The Midshipmen averaged 274.8 rushing yards per game, the 4th-best average in the FBS and the program’s best since 2019 when it averaged a school-record 360.5 rushing yards per game.
Midshipmen safety Dashaun Peele became the first player in school history to return two interceptions for a touchdown in the same game in a 51–17 victory over Charlotte on Saturday.
Despite his team’s historical dominance over the Midshipmen, Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman knows his team will have a tough battle in this latest matchup.
