Notre Dame’s defense has spent much of the season looking the part, but the BYU loss exposed how quickly that can change when the Irish don’t control the line of scrimmage. Against Navy, that has to be the starting point. The Midshipmen’s option attack is built to punish hesitation, and Notre Dame’s path back to defensive rhythm runs straight through the middle of the field.
The first job is simple in theory and brutal in practice: own the interior. If the Irish can clog the middle, they can squeeze Navy’s fullback run game and take away the quick trap looks that help the offense stay on schedule.
Navy has had trouble getting its fullback going this season, and Notre Dame needs to keep that trend alive. Winning inside also forces the quarterback to speed up his decisions on true triple-option plays, disrupts the speed option when he works laterally, and helps shut down designed runs before they get rolling.
That kind of pressure up front can change the whole shape of the game. Navy still wants to live inside-out, but when the interior is taken away, the ball has to bounce wider. That makes the attack more predictable, and it gives Notre Dame’s speed a chance to close and finish the play on the perimeter.
Early downs matter just as much. Navy is a different kind of problem because it is comfortable staying aggressive on fourth down and does not rely on a traditional passing game to bail it out.
The best way to slow that down is to force the Midshipmen behind the chains. If Notre Dame can create 2nd-and-long and third-and-long situations, Navy becomes far less effective in the spots where it has to throw.
The quarterback run game is the biggest piece of the puzzle right now. Navy has already produced three 200-plus rushing yard games from its quarterbacks this season, and Jackson Gutierrez has been on a tear since taking over when Braxton Woodson went down.
Over the last three games, Gutierrez has rushed for 596 yards, 198.7 yards per game, and eight touchdowns. That stretch includes 232 yards in the win over Tulsa and 225 in the 49-39 loss to North Texas.
Notre Dame has to hit Gutierrez early, keep him from getting comfortable, and make sure he doesn’t slice back inside. When he gets outside, he wants to drag the defense laterally before exploding vertically through a crease. Forcing him toward the sideline is a major part of taking that away.
Woodson is another problem the Irish have to account for. He opened the season as the starting quarterback, and Navy has recently used him alongside Gutierrez.
He rushed for more than 100 yards against Notre Dame last season, and the Midshipmen can be expected to use him more heavily here, both as a runner and on gadget looks. One example came against UTSA, when he took a handoff and then threw the ball back to Gutierrez for a 63-yard gain.
For Notre Dame, this game comes down to discipline, force, and control at the point of attack. If the Irish can win inside, stay ahead of the chains, and keep both Navy quarterbacks from dictating the pace, they put themselves in position to handle the Midshipmen’s option game.
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Notre Dame is already juggling a few health questions coming out of the Navy game, and the biggest one may be at linebacker. Drayk Bowen suffered a lower right leg injury during the matchup, and with Miami next on the schedule, his availability is now uncertain at a spot where the Irish can least afford another setback.
Marcus Freeman also had to address the status of several other injured players, including Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, Leonard Moore, Cooper Flanagan and Micah Gilbert, after a game in which Notre Dame leaned on substitutions and limited some players' workloads to get through it. The next few days should tell the story on Bowen, but for now it leaves one of the defense's key pieces very much in question heading into a major test. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dames Early Navy Gamble Is Raising Questions Fast
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Instead, Navy put together its longest offensive drive of the season during that stretch, and the Midshipmen briefly led 3-0 before Notre Dame answered to go ahead 7-3. The sequence has already put a spotlight on the defensive playcalling and the decision to lean on reserves so early, leaving plenty of room for questions about how much of the opening trouble was execution and how much was design. [Read more 🡒]
Marcus Freeman Just Put Notre Dames Defensive Leadership Under Pressure
Marcus Freeman did not hide his frustration at halftime of Notre Dames game against Navy, and his comments cut straight to the heart of the defenses issues. He said the unit was being asked to run plays it did not know, a sign that the problems were not just about effort or physicality but about execution and communication in a game that demanded both.
Freeman also stressed that the defense had to play physically and stay away from panic, a message that carries extra weight when a head coach is openly questioning how the calls are being handled. The Irish were sharper after the break, but the halftime critique only adds pressure on defensive coordinator Chris Ash and leaves Notre Dames defensive leadership under a brighter spotlight moving forward. [Read more 🡒]