CFB: Notre Dame Fighting Irish Week 10 Preview
By Stiofán Mac Fhilib
A deserved rest week awaits the Fighting Irish after another strong showing against a previously unbeaten Navy side. Our Notre Dame columnist Stiofán Mac Fhilib relives the best bits from that and takes stock of the season so far.
Looking Back at Last Week
Notre Dame’s third encounter of the season with a ranked opponent resulted in a now familiar outcome: an Irish victory, and a 51-14 one at that. Just over halfway through his third season as ND Head Coach, Marcus Freeman is now 10-4 against Top 25 teams. And there’s a good chance the Irish will face one more ranked team before the end of November, though remarkably, it’s unlikely to be Florida State or USC, but rather the Army Black Knights.
Navy came into their ‘home’ game at MetLife Stadium with an unbeaten 6-0 record and having not lost a fumble all season. They also had yet to face a defense as big, fast and talented as Notre Dame’s, and when they fumbled three times on offense and muffed a pair of punts, mostly without direct input from ND players, there were Irish players on hand to capitalise.
From a Notre Dame perspective, and cognisant of not wanting the Midshipmen to control the clock, execute long drives and keep the game tight, the fact the game opened with a sequence of ND TD, Navy fumble, ND TD, Navy fumble was rather helpful indeed. In theory, this Navy team is perhaps a little better suited than usual to play from behind, but in practice…no.
Credit for that is due to the Irish offense, which is picking a good time to hit its best form of the season. They punted only twice (both of which were muffed and subsequently converted into Notre Dame TDs), and Riley Leonard’s evolution in the passing game continued. He threw a pair of TDs (with no INTs) and ran for another—as did Jeremiyah Love, who continued his run of at least one TD per game this season.
It has been interesting to see the balance shift away from designed running plays for Leonard and towards more deep passes. If the Irish harbour any notions of making a run in the playoffs, then increasing the chances of Leonard remaining healthy and making the offense a lot more two-dimensional will be absolutely essential.
The young Notre Dame defense gained some valuable experience in successfully defending the option. It should be grateful for this when they return to the New York area in late November for the Army game at Yankee Stadium. Talented Navy QB, Blake Horvath ran for a couple of TDs, but outside of two runs of 60 and 47 yards, he was held to just 22 yards on his other 12 carries.
The Irish also took away the fullback dive play and held the middies below their average rushing yards and yards per carry. They also only allowed Navy to score once on three trips inside the red zone, a remarkable achievement against a team that entered the game having scored 22 TDs and one FG on its 23 previous such trips this season. When you then factor in the absence of any significant further injuries, all round it was a good day at the office for Al Golden’s unit.
The Rest Of The Regular Season Ahead
Eight games into their season and having risen back up to #8 in the AP Poll with a 7-1 record, Notre Dame now has its second bye week, another opportunity to rest tired and sore limbs and plan how to scheme against the remaining four regular-season opponents.
The 1-7 Florida State and 4-4 Virginia games at Notre Dame Stadium are more straightforward on paper, though FSU is not without talented players who would love to showcase their ability in a nationally televised, prime-time game. The Irish often underwhelm at home on Senior Day, something the Cavaliers may wish to exploit.
But ND’s playoff hopes will most likely hinge on a season-ending pair of games on either coast, in two of America’s most storied and iconic stadiums: Yankee Stadium and the Los Angeles Coliseum.
The 7-0 Army Black Knights should be 9-0 and ranked when they face the Irish in New York City one hundred years after the legendary 1924 encounter, most remembered for Grantland Rice penning the most famous opening paragraph in college football history.
Riley Leonard, Jeremiyah Love, Jadarian Price and Aneyas Williams may not quite be the four horsemen of the apocalypse. Still, if they can form the crest of a South Bend cyclone that sweeps Army and USC over the precipice of their respective stadia, the Irish will surely be playoff bound?
It’s easier said than done, however. USC is a deceiving 4-4. Their losses are by a combined 14 points, and their only home defeat was in overtime to an unbeaten Penn State side. Even in relatively down years, they have given unbeaten Notre Dame teams a tough ride at the Coliseum; 2012, 2018, and 2020 were all much less comfortable evenings than records on paper suggested in advance.
Playoff Picture
After nine weeks of AP and Coaches Polls, the playoff rubber will finally meet the road when the playoff committee gathers this weekend to consider its opening rankings, to be released on a quiet first Tuesday in November. With the annual comings and goings in the makeup of the committee, it is always fascinating to see the first annual rankings to try to understand the priorities and points of emphasis of each new committee.
Notre Dame is in the curious position of having one of the very best wins in all of college football to date – on the road, at night, at apparently the toughest venue in the whole sport, against the Texas A&M team currently sitting proudly at the top of the SEC standings – but also the worst loss of the teams contending for the dozen playoff spots – a two-point, last-minute home loss to a 4-4 MAC team.
In the past, the committee has tended to place more emphasis on the quality of wins than on defeats. Irish fans will hope that this approach continues. In general, they also need to hope that ND’s opponents can win as often as possible, especially A&M, Louisville, Georgia Tech, Navy, Army, and USC. Even Northern Illinois finishing with a winning record would help a little bit.
Looking further down the line, Irish fans should root for the team with the best record in the ACC and Big 12 to win those conferences’ title games. Should the underdog win and get the automatic playoff spot, that would leave the losing team with the best record in those conferences competing with Notre Dame for the at-large spots and reduce the chances of the Irish getting a home game.
STIOFÁN MAC FHILIB
COLLEGE FOOTBALL ANALYST
A VERY LONG-DISTANCE SUBWAY ALUMNUS OF NOTRE DAME, COUNTY ANTRIM-BASED STIOFÁN HAS BEEN A FAN OF THE FIGHTING IRISH SINCE 2000. FOLLOW HIM ON TWITTER @SMACFHILIB.