Game Day Central: Navy Midshipmen vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
The No. 13 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (0-0) kick off the 2023 campaign across the pond in a battle against the Navy Midshipmen (0-0). Blue & Gold gets you ready with what you need to know before today’s tilt.
Join us live on YouTube after the game as we break down Navy vs. ND
GAME DAY INFORMATION
Date: Aug. 26, 2023
Site: Aviva Stadium at Dublin, Ireland
Kickoff: 2:30 p.m. ET
Television: NBC
Radio: This game can be heard on Notre Dame IMG affiliates.
Series Facts: Notre Dame is 79-13-1 all time against Navy, including an active five-game winning streak. In their last meeting, the Irish held off a second-half Midshipmen surge to win 35-32 in Baltimore on Nov. 12, 2022.
Head coaches: Navy — Brian Newberry (0-0, 1st season); Notre Dame — Marcus Freeman (9-5, 2nd season).
Blue & Gold subscribers: Click here for the full game day package with depth charts, rosters, stats and more.
FIVE NAVY PLAYERS TO KNOW
FB Daba Fofana (#45): Irish fans might remember Fofana, as he gashed the Irish for 133 yards on 15 carries in last season’s meeting. Fofana rushed 186 times for 769 yards throughout 2022.
QB Tai Lavatai (#1): Lavatai was Navy’s starting quarterback this past season, but he suffered a season-ending knee injury two weeks before the Midshipmen faced the Irish. Lavatai completed only 42 of his 91 passes in 2022, but he averaged 8.6 yards per attempt.
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QB Blake Horvath (#11): Horvath, a sophomore who did not play as a freshman, is listed along with Lavatai as a co-starter at quarterback. He was a prolific rusher in high school at Hillard (Ohio) Darby, but his passing numbers left a bit to be desired.
LB Colin Ramos (#44): Ramos torched ND with 1.5 sacks and two tackles for loss last season. He finished second on Navy with 79 tackles, playing the weakside linebacker position.
S Rayuan Lane III (#18): Lane made 71 tackles in 2022 and picked up his lone sack of the season against ND. Roaming the back end of the secondary and occasionally blitzing off the edge, Lane is a good candidate to force the turnovers Navy needs to have a shot.
GAME PREDICTIONS
Vegas line: ND -20.5 … Over/under 49
Oddshark prediction: ND 35, Navy 16
Tyler Horka: Notre Dame 45, Navy 10
Jack Soble: Notre Dame 31, Navy 20
Kyle Kelly: Notre Dame 48, Navy 17
Mike Singer: Notre Dame 42, Navy 14
Todd Burlage: Notre Dame 42, Navy 14
Steve Downey: Notre Dame 52, Navy 7
