Notre Dame is gearing up to host the 7-1 Navy Midshipmen this Saturday under the lights in Notre Dame Stadium. This will be the 98th all-time meeting between these two historic programs in the longest continuous intersectional rivalry in all of college football. There's always some key matchups to talk about when these two teams meet on the gridiron and this year is no exception. Navy's defense has struggled this season, but that doesn't take away from some of their impact players on this side of the ball. Notre Dame will have to be prepared for some of their playmakers on defense and it starts with their playmaking defensive tackle up front.
Defensive Tackle #96 Landon Robinson
Defensive tackle Landon Robinson currently leads the team in sacks, tackles for a loss and pressures this season. He has totaled 5.5 sacks, 7.5 tackles for a loss and 23 total pressures to go along with his 42 total tackles which ranks No. 4 on the defense. The 6-0, 287-pound senior doesn't have eye-popping size, but he's extremely quick off the ball and aggressive with his hands. Robinson has stacked three productive seasons on top of one another with 2025 looking to be his most productive season of the bunch. He's a player that can get after the quarterback and make plays in the run game as well.
Matchup To Watch: The interior of Notre Dame's offensive line struggled in the run game and thrived in the pass game in their last outing against Boston College. Joe Rudolph's unit needs to generate a bigger push in the run game. We saw center Joe Otting make his second career start alongside left guard Sullivan Absher who was making his first career start filling in for captain Billy Schrauth nursing an MCL injury. These two players in particular will have their work cut out for them in both phases against Robinson.
Linebacker #56 MarcAnthony Parker
Sophomore linebacker MarcAnthony Parker currently leads this defense in tackles with 68 total tackles, 33 of them being solo tackles. The 6-0, 218-pound linebacker has decent speed and relatively good athleticism for linebacker at this level and he's been extremely productive this season. Parker is second on the team in tackles for a loss with 6.0 and has been credited with 24 total defensive stops which leads the team. Unfortunately, he's been a liability in coverage and has allowed 23 receptions on 26 targets for 227 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Matchup To Watch: Offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock has done relatively well this season getting his running backs matched up in space in the pass game. Running back Jeremiyah Love currently has 23 receptions for 227 yards and three receiving touchdowns on the year, only five receptions and 10 receiving yards shy of his 16-game total in 2024. Love has been an absolute playmaker in both phases of the game; I expect to see Denbrock get him out in space matched up with Parker in the pass game.
Cornerback #3 Irabonoise Oniha
Irabonoise Oniha is Navy's longest corner at 6-1, 183-pounds. He currently leads the team in passes defended with seven on the year and has 22 total tackles on the season. Oniha has been targeted 27 times this season and has only allowed 13 receptions for 148 yards. He's one of the few players on defense, that starts, that hasn't allowed a single receiving touchdown this season. The Silver Spring, Maryland native will have his work cut out for him this weekend taking on the Fighting Irish receiving corps, but out of all of the Midshipmen defensive backs, he's the strongest suited to take on this passing attack.
Matchup To Watch: Senior Malachi Fields has had a productive season, but hasn't been used as creatively in the offense as we may have thought this season. He will routinely be matched up with Oniha throughout the night and will have to win one on one situations when given the opportunity against Navy's longest corner. Fields has three touchdown receptions on the season but only one of them have came in the red zone. Denbrock will have to get his 6-4, 223-pound boundary receiver involved more down in the scoring zone and will have to do so this week against a 6-1, 183-pound cornerback.
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