Notre Dame vs. Navy leads Week 9

There’s a lot of history tied up in Notre Dame versus Navy. Before the game was canceled in 2020 due to obstacles from the COVID-19 pandemic, it was the longest continuous intersectional series in college football, a game played annually since 1927.

For some – mostly Notre Dame fans – it’s a little weird to truly call the series a rivalry, because of the lopsided record that the Irish hold over the Midshipmen: 82-13-1. The game is still played every year largely because of its symbolism and the history between the two schools.

To make a long story short, Notre Dame may not exist today without the U.S. Naval Academy. During World War II, Notre Dame saw a massive decrease in enrollment which led to big financial problems for the private Catholic institution in South Bend, Indiana. The Navy provided help by making the school a training center, which brought financial assistance to the university.

The late Notre Dame Vice President Father Edmund Joyce said this of that hard time in South Bend: “All I can say is without the Navy during the war, this institution would have gotten down to a few hundred students. Instead of that, we were almost twice our normal size during the war, and we were able to contribute something to the Navy.”

And so, the series between the Mids and the Irish has continued, sometimes played in South Bend and often played at a neutral site – from Dublin, Ireland, to San Diego to Jacksonville, and to this year’s site, East Rutherford, New Jersey.

But the game between Notre Dame and Navy this season has real football stakes attached to it, elevated by the College Football Playoff. The Irish, ranked 12th in the AP Top 25 Poll and with a 6-1 record, probably need to run the table the rest of the way to get an at-large bid into the postseason tournament. Meanwhile, Navy, ranked 24th in the AP Poll, is eyeing its first 7-0 start since 1978, and a non-conference win against a marquee opponent like the Irish would go a long way in boosting the Mids’ chances of grabbing the playoff spot that goes to the highest-ranked Group of Five champion.

This game also marks just the third time in the past 15 years that Navy and Notre Dame are meeting while both are ranked. The Irish and Mids split those matchups, with Navy winning in 2009 and Notre Dame winning in 2019.

Navy also enters this game having lost six straight to Notre Dame and will be eager to snap that streak. And this season, the Mids have shown they have more than enough firepower to do it, entering this matchup with the nation’s fourth-best scoring offense by putting up 44.8 points per game. The unit is led by quarterback Blake Horvath, who has scored 10 touchdowns through the air and 10 touchdowns on the ground, piling up north of 1,500 yards of total offense. If boats were a part of football, he’d likely find a way to score by sea too.

But Notre Dame presents the toughest defense the Mids have faced this season, allowing just 11.9 points per game which ranks fifth nationally. Only two teams have tallied more than 350 yards of total offense against the Irish, Louisville and Northern Illinois.

If you’re looking for a matchup drenched in history that presents a clash in styles and will impact the race for the College Football Playoff, tune into Navy versus Notre Dame on Saturday at noon ET on ABC.

Here are the other games you should check out:

All odds via BetMGM

Best Game of the Week: No. 8 LSU at No. 14 Texas A&M

Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET – ABC/ESPN+

(Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images)

Since LSU won seven straight in this series in the mid-2010s, the Tigers and the Aggies have traded wins in each of the past six seasons, with the home team winning each game. And if you take out the 50-7 beatdown that the eventual national champs handed the Aggies in 2019, each game has been decided by an average of nine points. Simply put, viewers are usually treated to a fun and competitive game when the Aggies and Tigers meet. This year’s game in College Station pits two 6-1 teams against each other, both with unblemished records in conference play.

Game that might have an impact on the College Football Playoff: No. 5 Texas at No. 25 Vanderbilt

Saturday, 4:15 p.m. ET – SEC Network

Vanderbilt running back Sedrick Alexander (28) and quarterback Diego Pavia (2) celebrate a touchdown against Alabama in Nashville on Oct. 5, 2024.

All of a sudden, this looks like a must-win game for the Longhorns after that loss to Georgia, and its matchup with a Vandy team that is ranked – yes, really – and is not the pushover that it has historically been in the SEC. Are the Commodores capable of slaying another giant? If Diego Pavia can work his magic again, Vanderbilt will find itself in an even unlikelier situation: potentially playing for a playoff spot in November.

Weird Weeknight Game of the Week: Syracuse at No. 19 Pitt

Thursday, 7:30 p.m. ET – ESPN

Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

If you squint just a little and use your imagination, you can see the Big East logos on the field and on jersey patches in this one.

Pitt is 6-0 for the first time since 1982 and might have its best quarterback since Dan Marino in Eli Holstein, who ranks sixth nationally in total yards per game with 327.7. Meanwhile, Syracuse is off to a 5-1 start under first-year coach Fran Brown with Ohio State transfer Kyle McCord leading the way. The Orange quarterback is fourth in the nation in pass completions this season with 185.

The Panthers and the Orange first played in 1916 and this marks their 80th meeting. Pitt is undefeated in its last five Thursday night games.

Awesome Group of Five matchup worth watching: No. 17 Boise State at UNLV

Friday, 10:30 p.m. ET – CBS Sports Network

(Photo by Ian Maule/Getty Images)

Boise is back in action after a week off, giving Heisman hopeful Ashton Jeanty some much-needed rest after rushing for 217 yards on 31 carries at Hawaii on Oct. 12. Facing off against the Broncos this week is 6-1 UNLV, which has a few playmakers of its own on the offensive side of the ball. Since taking over for Matt Sluka, Campbell transfer Hajj-Malik Williams has piled up 1,228 yards of total offense and 14 touchdowns. Boise and UNLV are a combined 11-2 and each have a top five scoring offense nationally. The winner of what will likely be a high scoring game will be in the driver’s seat for a berth in the Mountain West Championship.

Sickos Guilty Pleasure Game of the Week: Rutgers at USC

Friday, 11 p.m. ET – FOX

Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

The lead-in for this game is Game One of the World Series between the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers.

But reader, please, you do not have to stay up for this game – unless you really want to watch Lincoln Riley lose to another Big Ten team that USC has no business losing to.

Also watch…

Tulane at North Texas: Saturday, 12 p.m. ET – ESPN2

No. 20 Illinois at No. 1 Oregon: Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET – CBS/Paramount+

No. 21 Missouri at No. 15 Alabama: Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET – ABC/ESPN+

No. 22 SMU at Duke: Saturday, 8 p.m. ET – ACC Network