Ian Book will lead Notre Dame to San Diego to play the Navy Midshipmen in a Week 9 matchup. The Fighting Irish open as a 22.5-point favorite as they endeavor to continue their undefeated season while enjoying being ranked third in the nation and on the verge of a berth in the College Football Playoff.
- Notre Dame is 1-4 ATS vs Navy in their last five meetings.
- The total has gone OVER in six of Notre Dame’s last eight games vs Navy (avg. combined score: 62.88).
- The road team is 18-5 ATS in the last 23 games in this matchup.
Notre Dame vs Navy Game Center
Fighting Irish Fighting for Playoff Berth
It’s looking more and more like this year’s version of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish is bound for the College Football Playoff this December. They will need to be ready this week against Navy because even though they are coming off a bye, it’s easy to look past a team that you’ve beaten routinely over the years.
Notre Dame is 1-4 ATS in its last five games vs Navy and with games upcoming against Northwestern, Florida State, Syracuse and USC to round out the schedule and clinch the playoff, this could easily turn into a trap game.
Defense has been Key for Notre Dame, Achilles Heel for Navy
The Fighting Irish defense is ranked 21st in the country in points allowed per game at 18.7 entering the Week 9 game in San Diego. Conversely, Navy hasn’t been able to keep the football out of its end zone, allowing 34.3 points and 420 yards per game against a mixture of FBS and FCS schools.
My Pick for this Game
The Sportsbook total for this game is 54.5 and I think we will see it get above that. Notre Dame’s offense has scored an average of 30 points in its last four wins and has really beat up on weak defenses. I think Notre Dame also covers the 22.5 points.
Navy relies almost solely on a rushing attack, throwing for only three touchdowns on 75 pass attempts this season. Navy has run the ball 423 times for 2,171 yards and 24 touchdowns, so it’s not hard to figure out a game plan for them.
Notre Dame defensive coordinator Clark Lea has the 29th-ranked rush defense in the FBS, allowing 126 yards per game on the ground and just seven rushing touchdowns this season. Against one of the top runners in the country in Week 1, the Fighting Irish held Karan Higdon to 72 yards.
