Navy vs. Notre Dame: Preview, predictions and best bets

Navy (0-0) will take on No. 13 Notre Dame (0-0) in Dublin, Ireland to open up college football. The week zero game takes place at Aviva Stadium and it is the third time the two teams will be playing here. Notre Dame beat Navy 52-27 in 1996 and then won 50-10 in 2012. This game will be the first time Notre Dame is the designated home team.

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The Navy-Notre Dame series dates back to 1927 and the teams have played every year minus 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Fighting Irish lead the series 81-13-1. Navy’s last win was a 28-27 triple-overtime victory in 2016. From 1964 to 2006, Notre Dame had a 64-game win streak – the longest in Division-I FBS history versus a single opponent.

Notre Dame finished last season 9-4 with new head coach Marcus Freeman. The team started out ranked No. 5 in the country, but losses to No. 2 Ohio State and unranked Marshall to start the season left them out of the top 25 for most of the season. The Irish bring in Wake Forest transfer Sam Hartman at quarterback but lose prolific running back Logan Diggs to LSU. The Irish are at over/under 8.5 wins for the upcoming season on FanDuel Sportsbook.

Navy football also sees changes with the replacement of 15-year head coach Ken Niumatalolo. Niumatalolo ends with a 109-83 record (.568), but his last three season has been under .500. The Midshipmen have questions on who will start at quarterback, regardless, anyone at the helm has junior fullback Daba Fofana. Fofana rushed for 133 yards and a touchdown in the 35-32 Notre Dame lost last season. The team is -172 on FanDuel to have over 5.5 wins this year.

Over 49.5 points (-105, FanDuel)

Notre Dame hit the over in 61.5% of their games last season and Navy in 58.3%. In their last ten games against each other, they have hit the over seven times. The average score in the contest is 39.4 points for the Irish and 23.2 points for the Midshipmen.

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Chris Tyree: Anytime touchdown scorer (-125, FanDuel)

Chris Tyree makes the move from running back to wide receiver going into his senior year at Notre Dame. The 5-foot-10, 192-pounder worked with Delfonte Diamond over the summer to strengthen his receiving skills. Some of Diamond’s notable clients include CeeDee Lamb, Jaylen Waddle and Deebo Samuel. Tyree has shown strides of improvement at his new position and the Irish will likely look to get the now-receiver in the gameplan.

Dababa Fofana: Anytime touchdown scorer (+190, FanDuel)

The classic Navy option offense will rely on Fofana. The back had 769 yards last season with three games over 100 rushing yards. Two of those stand-out games came against ranked opponents. He had 133 yards on 15 carries and a touchdown versus Notre Dame and followed up next week with 114 yards on 20 carries versus UCF. Fofana had six touchdowns in 2022 and his performance last year against the Irish should be an indicator of his usage this time around.

Notre Dame: First half spread -6.5 (-106, FanDuel)

For a being a 20.5-point favorite, a 6.5 first-half line seems low. This bet would be less appealing if the line were to rise to 7 or 7.5. The Irish need to lead by just one score at half which sounds quite reasonable given they are the No. 13 team in the country. Last year, Notre Dame averaged 17.5 points in the first half compared to 9.9 from Navy.

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