Navy Midshipmen vs Notre Dame Fighting Irish Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 08/26/2023

Game Time: 2:30 pm ET, Saturday, August 26, 2023

Venue:  Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland

Where to Watch:  NBC

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Navy +20.5, Notre Dame -20.5; Over/Under:  50.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Navy +20.5, Notre Dame -20.5; Over/Under:  50.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Navy +20.5, Notre Dame -20.5; Over/Under:  50.5 points

Navy Midshipmen:  0-0 (AAC)

Notre Dame Fighting Irish:  0-0 (FBS Independents)

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Navy Midshipmen:  N/A

Notre Dame Fighting Irish:  N/A

Navy finished last season with a 4-8 record overall and they had a 4-4 record in their conference games too.  They were 2-3 in their home games, 2-3 in their road games, and they were also 0-2 in their neutral site games last season, which this game will be played on a neutral site. Last season, their offense was averaging 21.9 points scored per game while their defense was allowing an average of 24.3 points per game. Their offense also averaged 326.8 yards per game while their defense was allowing an average of 339.1 yards per game. Tai Lavatai led the team in passing yards with 785, Daba Fofana led the team in rushing yards with 769, and Jayden Umbarger led the team in receiving yards with 265.

 

 

 

Notre Dame finished last season with a 9-4 record overall and they had a 0-0 record in their conference games as they are an Independent school.  They were 4-2 in their home games, 2-2 in their road games, and they were also 3-0 in their neutral site games last season, which this game will be played on a neutral site. Last season, their offense was averaging 31.8 points scored per game while their defense was allowing an average of 23 points per game. Their offense also averaged 396.2 yards per game while their defense was allowing an average of 329.3 yards per game. Drew Pyne led the team in passing yards with 2021, Audric Estime led the team in rushing yards with 920, and Michael Mayer led the team in receiving yards with 809.

The current betting odds have Notre Dame listed as a 20.5 point favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. This is going to be the 1st game of Week 0 to open up the college football season and this game will be played on a neutral site in Dublin, Ireland. Navy is already going to be at a major disadvantage here as they can't really make any good use of the transfer portal and now with the new rules outlawing the triple option, life is going to be very difficult for the military schools on the field this year. Navy will not have many options here as they don't really throw the ball that often and they are going to struggle heavily to move the ball upfield while Notre Dame has a solid quarterback that will move the ball down the field with ease and they should be a much improved team from last year too. Notre Dame is also going to have a point to prove this season after the way things went for them last year and they will be looking to return their name to glory as one of the better football programs in the country. The best way to place a bet here is on Notre Dame to cover the spread in this game.

Navy Notre Dame Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Saturday, August 26, 2023 (2:30 pm ET start time) is Notre Dame 42 Navy 17.

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Navy Midshipmen: 10-2 ATS as an underdog of 10.5 to 21 points. 14-6 ATS as an underdog. 3-1 OVER as a neutral field underdog of 14.5 or more points.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish: 31-22 UNDER in the first two weeks of the season. 8-3 OVER in games played on a grass field. 6-3 OVER on a neutral field where the total is between 49.5 and 52.

Navy Midshipmen:  T. Gleaton (QB) Ques Sat - Academics. N. Kent (WR) Out Sat - Knee.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish:  E. Raridon (TE) Out Sat - Knee. K. Bauman (TE) out for season - Knee. K. Smith (WR) Out indefinitely - Shoulder.

“Ideally … that week leading into the game week, you’d like to have those guys identified. And I feel confident we’ll have a real good grasp on it at that point because you’ve got to start focusing on the guys who are getting the majority of the reps. So I think we’ll be there — and maybe even earlier than that, truthfully. That’s my hope.” - Brian Newberry on naming the starting QB for the upcoming season.

"I wanted to build the depth of our team. I told you guys a couple weeks ago, there’s a lot of guys that we’re going to count on that do not have game experience. I’m pleased at the depth at certain positions that we were able to really get valuable reps in camp. We really forced the coaches to play some of those what we would call twos in one situations, and let’s see those guys develop and see what they can do when they’re playing against some of the best.” - Marcus Freeman on his team coming into this season.

WR Williams, Camari 

WR Umbarger, Jayden 

QB Horvath, Blake 

TE Donovan, D.J. 

RB Chatman, Brandon 

RB Hassan, Amin 

FB Fofana, Daba 

WR Merriweather, Tobias 

WR Thomas, Jayden 

WR Tyree, Chris 

TE Evans, Mitchell 

QB Hartman, Sam 

RB Estimé, Audric 

Passing: N/A

Rushing: N/A

Receiving: N/A

Touchdowns: N/A

Passing: N/A

Rushing: N/A

Receiving: N/A

Touchdowns: N/A

Coaches:

Navy Midshipmen: Brian Newberry (1st season)

Notre Dame Fighting Irish: Marcus Freeman (3rd season)