Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Notre Dame vs. Navy: Preview, prop pick and prediction

Originally posted on Field Level Media | Last updated 8/25/23

Sam Hartman makes his Notre Dame debut in Ireland as the No. 13 Fighting Irish take the fight to Navy.

The Midshipmen bring a new coach and mindset to Dublin, promising to stretch beyond the throwback option offense and use athletes in new ways.

Notre Dame has won the two meetings between programs in Ireland, 54-27 in 1996 and 50-10 in 2012.

This game was rescheduled from its original date in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kickoff: 2:30 p.m. ET

Television: NBC

Location: Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland

Point Spread: Notre Dame (-20.5)

QUICK PICK

Some novelty travels with Navy across the pond to Ireland with a new head coach and offensive coordinator promising to expand beyond the triple-option base to push the ball downfield. But the element of surprise is lost when an opponent has the entire offseason to prep and study tendencies of the coaching staff and personnel.

Notre Dame calibrated the offense with Hartman at the controls following his record-setting career at Wake Forest. One of the best offensive line groups in the nation could make life easy for the Fighting Irish.

Notre Dame was an 18.5-point favorite when the game opened at Circa and has risen to 20.5 points.

Our Pick: Notre Dame 41, Navy 16

PROP PICK

The market projects a Notre Dame win and plenty of points. And if the plot plays out as bookmakers anticipate, Navy will find itself in the uncomfortable position of using triple-option personnel to executive repeated forward pass plays.

Enter Notre Dame's ballhawking secondary, perched behind a strong pass rush, and we're taking the Fighting Irish defense to score a TD (+420) as our prop of the game.

THEY SAID IT

"It's a very important game for us to show what we're about. A new team, a new offense, the mentality that we have, and come out not scared of anybody. Respect ‘em, but not scared to play anybody, and I think it's going to be a really fun game to be a part of and to watch."

-- Navy QB Tai Lavatai

KEY STAT

Notre Dame's No. 1 wide receiver Tobias Merriweather had one reception last season. Navy's leading returning receiver, captain Jayden Umbarger, had 16 catches in 2022.

This article first appeared on Field Level Media and was syndicated with permission.

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