CFB: Notre Dame Fighting Irish Week 9 Preview
By Stiofán Mac Fhilib
Fresh off their bye week, Notre Dame head to their second NFL stadium of the season to renew their century-old rivalry with the Navy Midshipmen. With the Rip Miller Trophy at stake, the #5 Irish can’t afford to look ahead to #1 Miami next week just yet.
Looking Back at Last Week
A week off from playing gave the team an opportunity to rest and regroup, and the staff the chance to go on the road for some recruiting, as well as some self-scouting and an analysis of how they can improve in some fairly obvious key areas.
Speaking to the media during the week for the first time since the immediate aftermath of the BYU defeat, Head Coach Marcus Freeman addressed the third down and red zone concerns:
“We’ve got to be better on both sides of the ball in the red zone. I think defensively it’s third down – both sides of the ball really is third down. We have to be better on third down in the red zone. You know, QB runs are hurting us a little bit defensively, where they’re getting to the point where it’s a manageable third down. We’ve got to be better in our technique versus some of those third-down passes.
Offensively, it’s the same thing. It’s the third-down situations where, one, we’re either throwing an incomplete pass or it’s a four-down situation where we’re not having an efficient run on third down. So, then I make the decision to say, okay, let’s kick the field goal.”
Regarding the lack of WR rotation in the BYU game and why the backups were not trusted enough to make significant contributions on the night, Freeman explained:
“These guys are ascending, and we have to play them more. I’ve been outspoken about it with the staff, and we’ve got to find ways to get those guys in the game. But it’s also a challenge to them, how do you continue to be more consistent in practice so there’s no hesitation to put you in the game?
I have a lot of confidence in the entire wide receiver’s room. So, we have to be more intentional about getting them the game, but it works twofold. They got to continue to be consistent in practice so there’s no hesitation.”
Focusing on Navy, and the history of the rivalry, and the importance of not looking ahead to the Miami game, Freeman observed:
“Yeah, I think the history of it, the why. It goes way back with the war and the agreement between presidents. It’s something special. Just you think of Notre Dame and Navy, it’s a special game and it’s always a challenging game when you talk about schematically what they do. But you got a lot of respect for their program, the history of their school and what they do, what they stand for, and it means a lot to both programs.”
“You don’t have to watch much film to respect your opponent. Every week matters. Every week matters, man. I think we’ve learned that valuable lesson for me throughout the course of my head coaching career. If you don’t respect the opponent, you’ll get humbled. There’s many examples I can give you. I have no concern that our guys will be looking past this opportunity we have right in front of us.”
The Week Ahead
NAVY MIDSHIPMEN (GILETTE STADIUM, FOXBOROUGH, MA); 12.00PM EST; 4.00PM GMT
With an appearance at the home of the Green Bay Packers already under their belts this year, Notre Dame head to the New England Patriots’ stadium on Saturday for the 99th instalment of one of ND’s most meaningful rivalry games. The Irish lead 84-13-1 in a series that has been played every year – except the COVID season of 2020 – since 1927. And given the role the US Navy played in keeping Notre Dame afloat during WWII, it will continue indefinitely.
Brian Newberry’s team were pre-season favourites for the American Conference, but with a radically overhauled team they have stumbled to a 2-5 start, albeit with only one loss by more than one score. Offensively, they had an uncharacteristically poor start, before improving in recent weeks.
In part, this was due to a change at the Quarterback position. Jackson Gutierrez played as a RB last season but was brought in to start their third game and has remained there since. He leads the team in both passing and rushing yards. As well as a threat with his legs, he has a 7-1 TD-INT ratio to go with passes of 92, 68 and 63 yards. The Irish DBs will need to respect that passing threat on non-obvious passing downs.
One of the main reasons for their struggles on offense, however, has been turnovers from lost fumbles, and Gutierrez himself has coughed the ball up nine times already, including five in the last three games. They do run the ball well, as ever with Navy, but the ND defense is relatively experienced against the option, and ought to be capable of getting the Middies behind the chains and forcing fumbles.
Defense has been a struggle for Navy in 2026, giving up over 30 points per game to FBS opposition, including 49 to the best offense they faced in North Texas. DE Aidan Lychek is their most dangerous threat, with 3.5 sacks, 8 TFLs and 16 pressures so far. As a team, they are better against the run but will likely have difficulty against the Notre Dame passing attack. This ought to be a game where Freeman is able to get his wish and see a much deeper WR rotation.
Special teams is also not a strength for the Midshipmen. K Nolan Bartley is only 4-for-7 on FGs and has yet to make one from over 40 yards. Expect plenty of fourth-down attempts by Navy, so nothing new there.
Game Prediction
NOTRE DAME 45-14 NAVY
CJ Carr will find his groove early, and the Irish passing game will ensure the contest is over by halftime. The fourth quarter should see the Irish backups upping their snap count and present the Middies with their best chance of narrowing the margin.
Where to Watch
DAZN, Disney+; coverage starts at 4.00pm IST/BST
ABC (in the USA)
Playoff Picture
Last week saw the now obligatory loss by a top-two team to an unranked opponent, as BYU went down in overtime at UCF. Elsewhere, #7 Ole Miss, #8 Texas Tech, #11 Tennessee, #15 Iowa and #16 USC all fell too, as college football careers towards a seemingly unavoidable morass of dozens of two- and three-loss teams for the playoff committee to wade through come early December.
This week is something of the calm before the November 7th storm of multiple massive Top 25 encounters. Halloween night, however, is traditionally a night when unranked opponents can rise from the dead to put the fear of God into unsuspecting ranked teams. #1 Miami and #2 Ohio State are both on the road, while #3 Georgia and #4 Indiana host a pair of two-loss teams.
Irish fans will also be cheering on SMU, as they travel to Syracuse, Wisconsin, who head to Iowa, and even BYU, who host the Sun Devils.
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.
