What the experts are predicting: Notre Dame vs. Navy

“These teams have been playing each other on an annual basis for almost a century. When Notre Dame is ranked and Navy is not, the Fighting Irish are 45-2, and one of those losses came in 1936.

Don’t let Navy’s record fool you, though. The Midshipmen lost by only one possession to each of Cincinnati, Houston and SMU, and aside from some fourth-quarter magic against Wisconsin, Notre Dame’s defense hasn’t been anything special this season.

Just about every week, there’s one game with a spread in the 17-21 point range that just feels way too high, and it usually ends up decided by one score. That might be the case here.”

“The Fighting Irish are undefeated in three games since losing to Cincinnati, but they have not been overly impressive in their wins. Now they welcome in Navy, which has been able to make for ugly games against many of their opponents over the past six games. Notre Dame is still holding onto an outside shot that if things go awry at the top, it could backdoor into a playoff appearance. But the Irish will need to get the Midshipmen to go away from their identity. If Navy is able to make the game ugly and bleed the clock they may not win but they have an excellent opportunity to cover.”

“Rivalry was not played last season when the pandemic altered schedules, snapping a run of 93 straight years.”

“The Irish have won the last two meetings with the Midshipmen by 27 points per game. Navy is 5-1 ATS as a double-digit underdog, and that includes one-score losses against Houston, SMU and Cincinnati. Navy slows this one down just enough to get a cover, too.”