It took Navy five years and five wins to start the season, along with a second-year coach, to get back into the AP Top 25.
That No. 24 ranking will be at stake Saturday when the Midshipmen (6-0) take on No. 12 Notre Dame (6-1) at MetLife Stadium in the New Jersey Meadowlands sports complex.
“It’s a great opportunity for our team and our program,” Navy coach Brian Newberry said. “These are the kind of games you want to play in. It’s a great thing about coming to school here at Navy is you get to play a team like Notre Dame every year: a big game on national stage like that. That’s what you want.”
Winning against Notre Dame will be a tough challenge for Navy, which lost 42-3 to the Irish in Dublin in August 2023. BetMGM Sportsbook has made Notre Dame a 12 1/2-point favorite in this 97th matchup that dates back to 1927.
“We know who we are and what we’re able to do, and we have to control that,” Navy quarterback Blake Horvath said. “There’s nothing that Notre Dame can do that will change who we are. We can beat ourselves and that’s for sure, and that’s something we haven’t done so far this year.”
Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman mentioned that the Irish are facing an opponent that has improved a lot since last season. The Midshipmen are averaging 44.8 points and 435.8 total yards, including 274.8 rushing yards.
“I love it,” said Freeman, whose team won against Georgia Tech 31-13 last weekend. “We’re looking forward to a great challenge. To play a 6-0 team, as the head coach you’d much rather do that than play a team that’s 0-6 because it doesn’t take much to motivate your guys.”
Navy feels just as motivated in a way.
“We can’t treat this like it’s the Super Bowl,” senior linebacker Kyle Jacob said. “It’s the next game.”
Everyone knows the Super Bowl for Navy will be on December 14 against Army at the Washington Commanders’ home stadium in Landover, Maryland. The teams, both 6-0 for the first time since 1926, could also face each other in the American Athletic Conference title game eight days earlier in either Annapolis or West Point.
