This weekend marks a meeting of one of the most storied series in the NCAA as Notre Dame and Navy will take the field for the 92nd-consecutive time Saturday, this time in San Diego.
The No. 3 Irish (7-0) hold a 75-13-1 lead in the series over the Midshipmen (2-5, 1-3 AAC) and defeated them at home last season on Senior Day. However, the Midshipmen were able to grab a victory the last time the two teams were on the road, when they played in Jacksonville, Florida, in 2016.
With Notre Dame heavily immersed the College Football Playoff picture at the moment, Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo knows that taking down the squad at a neutral site will be a tough task. But he also feels the Midshipmen have been on the up and up in the last few weeks and hopes they will be up to the challenge.
Irish junior receiver Chase Claypool makes a diving catch in front of his Pittsburgh defender during Notre Dame’s 19-14 win over the Panthers on Oct. 13 at Notre Dame Stadium.
The Midshipmen are coming off back-to-back close losses to Temple on Oct. 13 and Houston last weekend, but the simple fact of his players being students at the Naval Academy has helped to prepare to rebound from tough losses, Niumatalolo said.
The Midshipmen boast a unique triple-option offense and employ three quarterbacks, two of whom they have play nearly interchangeably this season in senior Garet Lewis and junior Malcolm Perry. Senior Zach Abey has battled injury, but is also expected to be healthy going into the weekend’s matchup. The three quarterbacks all boast efficiency ratings of well over 100, while Perry is also the squad’s leading rusher with 729 yards on the season, averaging 104.1 yards per game.
Navy’s approach to the game will not stray from its typical gameplan, which is cause for concern for Notre Dame and Irish head coach Brian Kelly, and the Midshipmen are masters of controlling the clock and minimizing their opponents’ possessions.
Navy defensive coordinator Dale Pehrson is particularly concerned about going up against Notre Dame’s offensive line, which he noted is made up of future NFL players, year in and year out.
The Midshipmen are well-aware of the unique position they are in to take down one of the top teams in the nation, turn heads across the country and completely disrupt the playoff picture, but Niumatalolo warned against aiming too high, as he would prefer to not be on the receiving end of the complete opposite result either.
For Kelly, however, the Navy matchup is one that is slightly fear-inducing. Despite the fact that the Irish are coming off a bye week, Kelly cautioned that a team can never feel fully prepared to play the Midshipmen.
The Notre Dame–Navy rivalry is one of the longest-running rivalries in college football history, as the two programs are both respected nationwide. Niumatalolo said he is expecting this high-profile game to bring out the best in his players.
Niumatalolo also said he is excited to get out to the West Coast because of the Naval presence in the San Diego region, and joked that it will help the Midshipmen grab a win from the undefeated Irish.
Kelly reinforced that the most important thing that comes out of the weekend is the continued brotherhood between Notre Dame and Navy.
“They play extremely well against us. We’ll have to be at our best playing a complete football team that plays hard for four quarters,” he said.