Data highlights about Navy going into their 2024 Notre Dame matchup.
The 2024 CFB fates are presenting us with yet another curveball.
It’s Navy week for Notre Dame football. Nothing out of the ordinary in the big picture. It’ll be the 94th time the two programs meet and Notre Dame is leading the series by a wide margin, 80-13-1.
But when you dig deeper this year’s iteration is likely going to be a very different Notre Dame-Navy game than what we’ve become accustomed to. And that’s because the Midshipmen are really good this season.
Season Summary
Navy is entering Week 9 undefeated in the six games it has played so far. They are averaging a +25 point differential per game. The biggest differential win was +34 in their most recent 51-17 win against American conference-mate Charlotte. Their slimmest margin was +12 in a 56-44 win against other conference colleague Memphis.
Offensive Summary
The Midshipmen’s 2024 offense has been pretty prolific at scoring. The offense is scoring an average of 41 points per game. They tied for season highs of 49 points against Bucknell and Memphis and recorded 37 offensive points against Charlotte.
Navy’s best offensive game so far has been against Memphis when they put up 566 yards, 22% of the season’s overall production. Last week was their weakest, total offensive performance and they only claimed 288 yards of total offense against Charlotte.
The Midshipmen’s passing attack hit peak form in the Memphis and UAB games. They recorded 205 and 225 passing yards, respectively, in those matchups. In most of their games they’ve been between 112 and 134 yards when it comes to passing. Passing accuracy trends pretty similarly.
Rushing yards have accounted for the bulk of Navy’s offensive output through Week 8 but the trend has been a bit sporadic. They had a season high of 361 rushing yards against Memphis but followed that up with 227 yards against UAB. The Midshipmen bounced back with 329 yards on the ground against Air Force. But then only recorded 171 rushing yards in the Charlotte win. Rushing efficiency has trended in the same general direction.
Receiving Details
When Navy does decide to pass, wide receivers Eli Heidenreich and Brandon Chatman are the primary targets. Heidenrich has 23 receptions for 485 yards and Chatman has 9 receptions for 177 yards.
Rushing Details
Midshipmen quarterback Blake Horvath leads the team in rushing production. Horvath has 79 carries for 621 yards through Week 8. Running back Alex Tecza is the #2 rusher and has recorded 49 rushing attempts for a total of 306 yards. A lot of folks play a role in the rushing attack and a total of five Navy players have logged more than 100 rushing yards so far in 2024.
Defensive Summary
Navy’s best offensive game was also their worst defensive game. The team’s defense allowed 659 yards of total offense, 28% of the season total, against Memphis. In that matchup they allowed 385 yards of passing offense and 274 yards of rushing offense.
While that was the worst performance, Navy’s defense has proven that it’s got some notable weaknesses, regardless of the opponent. And to be honest, it’s really hard for me to analyze because I don’t know much about what’s been going on in the American conference and definitely can’t speak with authority about the quality of the offenses the Midshipmen have faced. I do know that the Notre Dame offense will be different than anything they’ve experienced up to this point. However you want to read into that.
Final Thoughts
I’ve unfortunately been a Debbie Downer more times than I like about this year’s Notre Dame team. But I don’t have a lot of concerns going into this game. Yes, Navy is playing very well this season but a lot of that has come against opponents who aren’t playing with the talent/depth/resources of Notre Dame. Things aren’t going ideally but this is still a top tier program
Navy’s defense has been the most porous when it comes to the run. And that’s not ideal for any team that has faced this year’s squad. The offense is where the Midshipmen’s strength lies and even with ND’s injuries, this will be the most significant defensive challenge they face all season.
I believe you get an Irish win when you factor in all of that. Can Notre Dame lose the game? Of course. But things will have to go wrong in critical ways that I think this team has gotten past at this point in the season.
Cheers and Go Irish!!