The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are now ranked No. 10 in the country by the Associated Press and are patiently awaiting the College Football Playoff Committee to release their first rankings of the 2025 season tomorrow evening. They're preparing to take on the Navy Midshipmen (7-1) this Saturday evening in South Bend in one of college football's oldest rivalries. The Irish are coming off of a sloppy win against the Boston College Eagles 25-10 while the Midshipmen look to bounce back after taking their first loss of the season to North Texas 31-17.  

Location: Notre Dame Stadium (Notre Dame, Ind.) 
Date: Saturday - November 8
Time: 7:30 PM ET
TV: NBC/Peacock
Line: Notre Dame -24.5; O/U 55.5 (FanDuel)

Let's kick off our preview of this matchup with an overview look at the Navy Midshipmen:

HEAD COACH - Brian Newberry

Record At Navy: 22-11

Navy was in search for a new head coach in November of 2022 after letting go long time head coach Ken Niumatalolo after a loss to Army. They then promoted Brian Newberry, their defensive coordinator, to head coach for the 2023 season. In his first year, Newberry’s squad went 5-7 and missed post season play and lost to Army for the second straight year. However, with a maturing roster, Navy was able to turn around their performance in 2024. They began the season 6-0 and found themselves ranked in the AP Top 25 heading into their matchup with the Irish. Coach Newberry finished the regular season 9-3 with wins over Army, Air Force, Memphis, and Oklahoma in the bowl game. 

Navy is currently sitting at 7-1 on the season and picked up their first loss of the year this past weekend against North Texas on the road 31-17. Unfortunately, this Midshipmen's schedule won't get easier from here. They travel to South Bend this weekend, face South Florida (6-2) at home the following weekend, have a bye week and then finish the season on the road against Memphis (8-1) and have the historic Army game that follows. The Midshipmen have already clinched their post-season eligibility but will be on the outside looking in for the College Football Playoffs with their daunting schedule looming ahead. 

Offensive Coordinator: Drew Cronic (2nd season)
Defensive Coordinator: PJ Volker (3rd season)

NAVY 2025 SCHEDULE

2025 STATISTICAL OVERVIEW

STATISTICAL LEADERS

Rushing: QB Blake Horvath - 138 att., 926 yards, 6.7 YPC, 13 TD; RB Alex Tecza - 90 att., 523 yards, 5.8 YPC, 6 TD; WR Brandon Chatman - 41 att., 360 yards, 8.8 YPC, 2 TD; WR Eli Heidenreich - 49 att., 342 yards, 7.0 YPC, 3 TD; QB Braxton Woodson - 11 att., 210 yards, 19.1 YPC, 3 TD

Passing: QB Blake Horvath - 68-107; 63.6%, 1,143 yards, 10.7 YPA, 7 TD, 5 INT, 165.5 Rating; QB Braxton Woodson - 4-8, 50.0%, 49 yards, 6.1 YPA, 101.4 Rating 

Receiving: WR Eli Heidenreich - 31 rec., 575 yards, 18.5 YPC, 4 TD; TE Cody Howard - 4 rec., 128 yards, 32.0 YPC, 1 TD; WR Brandon Chatman - 13 rec., 124 yards, 9.5 YPC; WR Luke Hutchinson - 4 rec., 104 yards, 26.0 YPC, 2 TD; RB Alex Tecza - 9 rec., 101 yards, 11.2 YPC

Tackles: LB MarcAnthony Parker - 68; LB Luke Pirris - 59; S Giuseppe Sessi - 50; DT Landon Robinson - 42; DT Griffin Willis - 35; LB Job Grant - 33; LB Coleman Cauley - 33; CB Phillip Hamilton - 33

Tackles For Loss: DT Landon Robinson - 7.5; LB MarcAnthony Parker - 6.0; DT Griffin Willis - 5.0; LB Adam Klenk - 4.0; LB Luke Pirris - 4.0

Interceptions: LB Coleman Cauley - 1; CB Justin Ross - 1; LB MarcAnthony Parker - 1; CB Phillip Hamilton - 1

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