Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. Navy Midshipmen Odds and Predictions

The (#20) Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Navy Midshipmen will square off on Saturday at M&T Bank Stadium, home of the Baltimore Ravens. The Irish are fresh off a huge home win against the then (#4) Clemson Tigers 31-17.

Special teams and defense played a huge role in the victory, with a blocked punt return touchdown to give the Irish a quick 7-0 lead later followed by a pick-six of Clemson quarterback DJ Ulagelelei early in the fourth quarter.

The loss ended a 14-game winning streak by the Tigers, the longest active streak by an FBS team. The Irish leaned heavily on the run, with Logan Diggs, Audric Estime, Chris Tyree, and Drew Pyne rushing for a combined 265 yards on 46 attempts. Pyne finished the game 9-of-17 for 85 yards and a score.

Navy hung tight with a tough Cincinnati Bearcats team on the road in a 20-10 loss. The midshipmen outrushed the Bearcats 176-55 but could not stop Ben Bryant's vertical passing game, who finished 25-of-35 for 299 yards and two scores.

Notre Dame vs. Navy Betting Odds

Team	Spread	Over/Under	Moneyline
Notre Dame Fighting Irish	-17	o41	-950
Navy Midshipmen	+17	u41	+650

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Tale of the Tape

Notre Dame is in year one of the Marcus Freeman era after he took over for longtime head coach Brian Kelly. Freeman was off to a rough start, losing his first four games as the Irish frontman, but has righted the ship tremendously, encapsulated by last week's win over a top-five opponent.

Starting quarterback Tyler Buchner was lost for the season, but backup Drew Pyne has stepped up admirably, throwing for 14 touchdowns against four picks. His name may ring some bells considering he led the Irish to a win over ranked Wisconsin last season. Notre Dame leans heavily on the ground attack, ranking within the top 40 of the FBS in rushing attempts per game and yards per game.

They are one of the best defensive units in the country, allowing 328 yards per game at 5.1 yards per play and are as stout against the pass as they are against the run.

Ken Niumatalolo guides the Navy Midshipmen for his 15th season in 2022. As usual in Annapolis, they run the ball and run it some more. The Midshipmen aren't as efficient as they were in the Keegan Reynolds days, but they still try to grind games out with the run game.

Navy leads the country by a wide margin in rushing attempts per game at 60.2. However, that only equates to 239 yards per game, the ninth-highest in the FBS. Navy joins the other two service academies as the only teams to throw for less than 100 yards per game while completing less than 50% of their passes.

The Midshipmen's defense is full of grit, allowing only 88 rushing yards per game on a measly 3.2 yards per pop. However, they can get exposed by the pass, like they did last week, letting opposing passers toss for nearly 300 yards and 2.5 scores per game.

Notre Dame vs. Navy Prediction

This game has the markings of a low-scoring affair and may even be a letdown spot for the Irish coming off an era-defining win.

However, with Navy playing to the strengths of Notre Dame, the under should be in a comfortable place, as is the Midshipmen with the points.

Navy should be jacked up to play in a game that might as well be their Super Bowl. Meanwhile, Notre Dame may still be thinking about their big win last week.