Notre Dame Football: Navy Midshipmen Q&A with Mitchell Northam

Let’s learn some stuff about this week’s scary opponent — the first of TWO military academy squads on the ND schedule who are currently undefeated this season!!!

Hello guys and ghouls, and welcome back to another week of Notre Dame Fighting Irish football coverage!!! It’s somehow already #SpookySeason and what better opponent for the Irish to face while sitting at 6-1 on the year than an undefeated, ranked Navy Midshipmen squad who’s looking for a resume-making win to add to their accomplishments as they fight for the G5 Playoff spot.

Navy was just 5-7 one year ago in head coach Brian Newberry’s first season, and so considering such a drastic turnaround in year 2, it’s safe to say that I have next to no insight into how this has happened or how this Midshipmen team matches up against our Irish. So, as I have done the last couple years, I once again reached out to good friend of the OFD program, Mitchell Northam. Mitchell, I will remind you all, is a Navy fan and former editor of the now-defunct SB Nation site Against All Enemies.

Now, he’s a digital producer at North Carolina Public Radio while also covering sports and pop culture for USA Today’s For The Win and covering women’s college basketball at The Next, mostly focusing on the ACC (look out for his conference preview, which may just be dropping today…). Additionally, Mitchell published a book a couple years ago called High School Basketball on Maryland’s Eastern Shore: A Shore Hoops History.

So, the guy is CLEARLY plugged into sports, especially Navy sports, and he’s graciously given us his time and talents for the 3rd time in 3 years in order to answer our bizarre and scary list of inquiries about this matchup.

With that said, let’s not waste any more time — time to dive into what Mitchell has to tell us about this surprisingly strong Navy team, Bill the Goat’s facial hair, “Monster Mash” comparisons, and much more!

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1. Brian Newberry took over a program that had gone 11-23 over the 3 previous seasons, and then the squad went 5-7 in his first year at the helm. Standing at 6-0 and ranked in the Top 25 this year, how has Newberry managed to turn things around so quickly and have the Midshipmen dreaming about a CFP bid??

Mitchell Northam: There’s three important elements at work here, I think. First, Navy is old. Between offense and defense, they start one sophomore in right guard Cam Nichols — the other 22 players are juniors and seniors. In this day of college football where roster movement is so free and fluid, I think that matters a great deal and gives Navy (a team that really can’t use the transfer portal) an advantage in terms of experience, chemistry and continuity.

Second is that Navy has a Legit Dude at quarterback in Blake Horvath. When I say, Legit Dude, I very much mean that he is in the mold of Keenan Reynolds, Will Worth and Malcolm Perry. He can run and throw, evidenced by his 10 passing touchdowns and 10 rushing touchdowns. Horvath is fifth in the NCAA in yards per carry with 7.9.

The third thing here is the hiring of offensive coordinator Drew Cronic, who left his head coaching post at FCS Mercer to come to Annapolis. He’s added several new wrinkles to the Mids’ offense. Yes, Navy still runs a lot of triple option, but instead of the usual flexbone sets, Cronic has brought in this hybrid wing-T formation that allows Navy to pass effectively out of it too. Navy is scoring 44.8 points per game — the No. 4 scoring offense in the nation, and Navy’s highest scoring average in more than a century.

The combination of collective experience, Horvath’s heroics and Cronic’s unorthodox schemes are a big reason why.

2. Let’s chat about Navy QB Blake Horvath — what has made him so effective this season, and what weaknesses/limitations could Notre Dame hope to exploit this weekend?

Mitchell Northam: If Horvath has weaknesses, we haven’t seen them yet. And maybe Notre Dame’s defense can reveal some. The traditional approach to defending Navy quarterbacks in recent years has been to stack the box and dare them to throw, right? A Navy quarterback hasn’t thrown for 100 yards against Notre Dame since Reynolds did in 2014.

I think Horvath has shown that he’s probably the best passer Navy has had in more than a decade. He’s going to wind up being just the second Navy quarterback since 2004 (the other being Ricky Dobbs in 2010) that passes for more than 1,500 yards in a single season. He’s third right now in ESPN’s QBR, trailing only Miami’s Cam Ward and Indiana’s Kurtis Rourke. In Reynolds’ and Perry’s best seasons under-center for Navy, neither had double-digit passing touchdowns. Horvath already has 10 (to just one interception) with six games to go.

3. Let’s use this one to answer two sub-questions:

a. Who are the names to know on the Navy offense besides Blake Horvath — which backs/receivers should ND fans be wary of and expecting to do some damage this Saturday?

b. How has the Midshipmen offensive line looked so far this year, and do you anticipate they will hold up well against the best front seven they’ve seen to-date?

Mitchell Northam: Aside from Horvath, Alex Tecza has emerged as Navy’s second-best-runner. He’s scored seven touchdowns on the ground and averages 6.2 yards per carry. He’s a bit undersized for the fullback position, but is tough and sure-handed.

Eli Heidenreich is another player to watch who has emerged as Horvath’s favorite receiver. He’s listed as a running back, but gets moved around a lot and leads the Mids in catches (23), receiving yards (485) and receiving scores (five).

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The offensive line is a veteran group that has paved the way for the nation’s fourth-best rushing offense and has allowed just three sacks all year — which is fifth in the nation. However, it’s easy to say that Navy hasn’t seen a defense as talented as Notre Dame’s all season and this will be a huge test for the boys up front.

4. How has the Navy defense performed in 2024 so far? What do they do well/not well, and which players, if any, are absolute studs whom you could see giving the Irish offense a lot of trouble?

Mitchell Northam: Navy’s defense has been good enough this season to support its high-powered offense and they’ve also been incredibly opportunistic. They forced five turnovers against Charlotte, which included a pair of pick-sixes by DaShaun Peele. Safety Rayuan Lane III also has a pick-six to his name this season, and three forced fumbles.

Navy is tied for fourth nationally in turnovers forced per game with 2.3. Simply put, they can be scored on, but they’re also capable of swinging a game with big plays.

5. FAN QUESTION:

Mitchell Northam: Look, I’m all on-board for this. Tell me what I need to do.

While we’re at it, let’s make it a November game and play Navy vs. Notre Dame basketball in the Palestra on the same day.

6. FAN QUESTION:

Mitchell Northam: There are 19 players from Maryland on the roster and 18 from Florida.

Let’s set the over-under at 50. I’ll take the over.

7. FAN QUESTION:

Mitchell Northam: If you want to try to shave Bill The Goat, by all means, godspeed. Wear a cup.

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8. It’s spooky season, so please tell me which Navy players/coaches best represent the following characters from the all-time-great song “Monster Mash” by Bobby “Boris” Pickett & the Crypt-Kickers:

– The monster who began to rise from his slab

– The vampires that feast in the master bedroom

– The zombies having fun

– The Wolf-Man

– Dracula and his son

– Igor on chains

– Igor’s baying hounds

– The coffin-bangers and their vocal group The Crypt-Kicker Five

Mitchell Northam:

• The monster who began to rise from his slab: QB coach Ivin Jasper (back from the dead after being erroneously fired by an overstepping AD in 2021)
• The vampires that feast in the master bedroom: Eli Heidenreich and Alex Tecza
• The zombies having fun: Colin Ramos, Dashaun Peele and Rayuan Lane
• The Wolf-Man: Head Coach Brian Newberry, who might have the best beard in college football
• Dracula and his son: Drew Cronic and Blake Horvath
• Igor on chains: Daba Fofana
• Igor’s baying hounds: Brandon Chatman and Isaiah Bryant
• The coffin-bangers and their vocal group The Crypt-Kicker Five: The offensive line

9. Alright, let’s get down to it — who wins, what’s the final score, and how do we get there?

Mitchell Northam: The Mids’ offense clicks early. They struggle with Notre Dame’s defense as the Irish mount a second-half comeback, but a late drive wins it. Navy 28, Notre Dame 27.

(Look, I don’t know if Navy is actually going to snap a six-game losing streak to Notre Dame, but I do know that the offense is good enough to cover that double-digit spread. I also think Navy is going to be extra amped up, knowing they have a real shot to grab that Group of Five playoff spot, and winning this game would go a long way in sealing that up.)

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Okay friends, I want to give a Graveyard Smash-sized shoutout and thank you to Mitchell for once again providing us with some excellent insights and analysis on what to expect in this year’s matchup with the Midshipmen. For three years running, he’s put up with all our questions and given us some great stuff every single time.

I highly recommend that all of you give Mitchell a follow on Twitter, considering he’s an excellent follow not only Navy football news and analysis, but also much more considering his work at WUNC and For The Win and The Next. On that note, be sure to check out more of his work at WUNC (here’s their Twitter as well) and For The Win (Twitter) and The Next (Twitter).

That’s it for this week — per usual, GO IRISH, BEAT NAVY!!!