Mids looks to knock Irish out of national title contention

In down year, Navy could play the role of spoiler

SAN DIEGO — Third-ranked Notre Dame is trying to stay in contention for a berth in the College Football Playoff. Navy is just trying to win a game.

The Fighting Irish and Midshipmen find themselves on opposite sides of the college football spectrum going into the 92nd meeting between the schools.

That was often the case during Notre Dame’s historic 43-game winning streak in the series, but has not been ever since former coach Paul Johnson returned Navy to respectability in 2003.

Navy has posted winning records and secured bowl berths in 14 of the past 15 seasons. The Midshipmen have been ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 many times during t hat sustained stretch of success.

Not surprisingly, t he Midshipmen have also played the Fighting Irish extremely tough over the last 15 years. Navy ended its record losing streak in 2007 and has beaten Notre Dame three more times since then. Four of the past five meetings SDCCU Stadium, San Diego Tonight, 8 TV: Chs. 13, 9 Radio: 1090 AM Line: Notre Dame by 24

between the schools have been decided by 10 points or fewer.

“Again, these are battles. 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,” Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said of Navy.

Navy has presented a particular challenge to Notre Dame since Ken Niumatalolo took over as coach. The Midshipmen have either beaten the Fighting Irish or lost by one possession in six of the 10 games played during Niumatalolo’s tenure.

“Ken Niumatalolo is one of the better, if not the best, at what he does in the country — that is consistency,” Kelly said. “Year in and year out, Navy is just a well-coached football team.”

However, this year’s Navy-Notre Dame game looks more like the mismatch it was so many times from 1964 through 2006. This is the longest, continual intersectional rivalry in college football and the Fighting Irish lead the series 77-13-1.

“We recognize who we are and that we have to play perfect against a team like this. We have to minimize our mistakes as much as possible and hope they’re off a little bit,” Niumatalolo said. “We know exactly who they are. They are going to be the best team we play every year and it’s going to be a tall order to beat them. We have to play really, really well to even have a chance.”

Notre Dame is undefeated entering the eighth week of the season for just the 12th time since 1950. The Fighting Irish are off to a 7-0 start for only the third time since 1990.

Notre Dame started the season No. 12 in the Associated Press poll and has steadily risen to third. The Fighting Irish have knocked off three ranked opponents and now the inevitable talk about competing for the national championship has begun.

An upset loss at the hands of a struggling Navy squad would certainly doom any chance of Notre Dame being selected for the College Football Playoff for the first time under the current format. The Fighting Irish are one of five unbeaten teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

Kelly was asked whether he talked to his team about what happened last weekend when third-ranked Ohio State was stunned by Purdue.

“Look, it's a one-week deal for us. We're one day at a time, one practice at a time. They know where they are,” Kelly said of his players. “They have to stay focused, stick with their process. If you don't have a process you can stick with, then you're going to listen to all that stuff. But if you just stick with your preparation, what your process is, then you can focus on the moment and not worry about all that other stuff.”

That puts the Midshipmen in somewhat of a spoiler role if they can somehow shock the college football world. Unlike Alabama and Ohio State, which both play in a Power 5 conference, independent Notre Dame cannot overcome a loss and hope to be one of the four schools chosen for the College Football Playoff.

“I’m extremely excited. It’s a big opportunity,” said Navy junior slotback Malcolm Perry, who has never suited up against Notre Dame. “Any- time you get to play the third-ranked team in the country is huge. It’s something a lot of college football players don’t get a chance to do.”

Meanwhile, the Midshipmen are mired in a four-game losing streak for the first time since 2011 when they finished 5-7. That was Navy’s only losing season between 2003 and 2017.

The Mids must pull an upset in order to avoid their first seven-game losing streak since 2002 as the next three opponents (Notre Dame, Cincinnati, Central Florida) have a combined record of 20-1.

Niumatalolo concedes that the Mids will need to show dramatic improvement to have any shot of beating the Irish.

“We haven’t been playing very well this season so our goal is to go out there and play Navy football just to give ourselves a chance,” he said.

There are two trends that do not bode well for an upset. Navy has collapsed in the second half of its last three games (losses to Air Force, Temple and Houston), getting outscored 66-19. Meanwhile, Notre Dame has dominated its last three opponents defensively in the second half, yielding just one touchdown from scrimmage to Stanford, Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh.

“To take down Notre Dame would be awesome, especially for the seniors,” Navy junior wide receiver Zach Abey (Archbishop Spalding) said. “I was lucky enough to be part of it as a sophomore. Standing on the sideline and watching Will Worth and the offense play so well. It’s something I’ll never forget.”