Notre Dame Football Primer: #5 Fighting Irish Ship Up to Foxborough to face Navy

After a devastating loss at BYU, Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish return to action off their bye week to take on their historic rival, the Navy Midshipmen. It is no secret #1 Miami is coming to South Bend next weekend, but before they can worry about the Hurricanes, the Irish must first take care of business in New England. Next weekend will be one of the biggest home games this century for the Irish, but this Halloween after will be Navy’s Super Bowl and the Irish cannot overlook their longtime rival the Midshipmen in the 99th all-time meeting!

Essential Game Info:

• Game Time: Saturday, October 31st at 12:00 PM on ABC

Location: Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

• Matchup History: Notre Dame Football is 84-13-1 all-time against the Midshipmen (Last Meeting 2025: Irish 49 won 10)
• Odds: Notre Dame -29.5
• Trophy: Rip Miller Trophy

Details

• Conference: American Athletic Conference
• Head Coach: Brian Newberry
• 2026 Record: 2-5 (1-4)
• 2025 Record: 11-2 (7-1)

Weather Forecast:

At the time this article was written, the current forecast calls for a 5% chance of rain with a high of 64 degrees and low of 40.

Navy Storylines: 

This will be the first time in the history of this rivalry that the two programs square off in Massachusetts. The Naval Academy is 2-5 this Fall with their two victories coming against Towson and Tulsa. In other notable contests, Navy lost at UTSA 38 to 34 and to North Texas 49 to 39. This is definitely not the 7-1 Navy program that the Fighting Irish saw in South Bend last season, but they always rise to the occasion against their rivals.

Quarterback Jackson Gutierrez leads the Navy Offense. This season Gutierrez is 32 for 64 (50%) with 7 passing touchdowns, 1 interception, and 8 sacks taken. On the ground, he has 150 carries for 869 yards (5.8 yards per carry) with 12 rushing scores 

Notre Dame Storylines: 

The Irish must get Jonaz Walton the football. I find it inconceivable that a “mid season” true freshman All-American, who has been the best running back on the team, only had 5 carries against BYU. I am sure that Mike Denbrock is afraid of his maturation as a freshman in pass protection, understanding the plays, or whatever excuse they wanted to use. 

Yes, Nolan James Jr. had a solid game at BYU, but he was on the field an unnecessary amount of time, along with CJ Carr attempting 49 passes. Walton must have more carries the rest of the season. The conservative style of football the Fighting Irish played reminded me of the Brian Kelly era and Denbrock being the coordinator then as well. College football coaches are worried about players they “can trust”, but will be worried watching the playoffs from the couch again if they do not give their best running back the ball.

This season, Walton is averaging 7.5 yards per carry, James Jr. 5.1, and Williams 4.3 yards per attempt. Circumstances are different not having the responsibilities of a starting running back, but those statistics do not lie. I honestly would not be surprised if Walton got the same amount of carries against Navy and Miami the next two weeks, college football coaches sometimes let their egos get the best of them and stick to their same rationale. 

Irish Defense reverts back to their big game narrative. After finishing last year strong and dominating early in 2026, the Notre Dame Defense looked lost against a mobile quarterback at BYU. Both North Carolina and BYU exploited the Irish Defense which is loaded with NFL talent. Fans better hope this group is healthy for Miami, and plays with more physicality and tenacity. 

You play to win the game! Under Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame Football has played their best when they are loose, motivated, and playing aggressive. The Irish team that played in Provo, did not look like a team with their hair on fire, wanting to show the world that they should have not been left out of the playoffs last season. 

The communication was sloppy, play calling was conservative, and the team thought their talent would win the game. If the Irish do not take the fight to Navy this week, and Miami next week, then the season could be over.

Head-to-Head Matchups:

Notre Dame Offense vs. Navy Defense: The Fighting Irish Offense is averaging 445 yards per matchup, while the Midshipmen Defense is allowing  365 yards per game.

Mike Denbrock’s offense will have the clear advantage in this matchup. I expect Navy to put numbers in the box to try to stop the rushing attack, which will give Carr several big plays in the passing game. They might be able to slow down the Irish early, but there are usually a lot of junk plays against the Midshipmen.

Advantage: Notre Dame

Navy Offense vs. Notre Dame Defense: The Navy Offense is averaging 427 yards per contest (308 rushing and 119 passing), while the Notre Dame Defense allows 235 yards per game. 

In their last three games, the Naval Academy has put up 34 points, 34 points, and 39 points. The offense has been dynamic this year and if the Irish get caught looking ahead to Miami, the Navy Offense could surprise them with several scoring drives.

However, during the Marcus Freeman era the Irish have handled the triple option well and I do not expect that to change this weekend.

Advantage: Notre Dame 

Special Teams: Spencer Porath is 10  for 11 this Fall, with his longest make at  52 yards. Conversely, Navy’s Noah Bartley is 4 for 7 with his longest conversion at 34 yards. 

With the better kicker and talent on special teams, I give the slight advantage to the Irish.

Advantage: Notre Dame

My Prediction:

There is no margin for error. Notre Dame fans must enjoy this annual matchup for about three hours on Halloween day, and as soon as the game is over, it is time for the Super Bowl in South Bend. When the #1 Miami Hurricanes come to Notre Dame Stadium, it will be one of the biggest matchups this century for the Fighting Irish.

This game will be reminiscent of the Notre Dame vs. USC game in 2005. Yes, the Irish knocked off #1 Clemson in 2020, but it was essentially in front of the students only during Covid.

Marcus Freeman cannot overlook Navy, but the fans sure can. It does not matter if the Irish win this game by 50 points or 1 point, all that matters is the Irish beating Miami next week. If the Notre Dame fanbase can rally around the matchup with the Hurricanes like they did in 1988 and 1990, the environment can propel the Fighting Irish to a victory and playoff berth.

Prediction: Notre Dame 45 Navy 17