Game Thread | No. 12 Notre Dame vs. No. 24 Navy

No. 12 Notre Dame (6-1) vs. No. 24 Navy (6-0) 

MetLife Stadium | 12:00 PM ET | ABC | Line: Notre Dame -13.5 | Total: 50.5

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Five Players To Watch

Notre Dame DT Rylie Mills
Mills is coming off one of the best games of his career against Georgia Tech and he'll need to continue his strong play against Navy. Stopping Navy's run game starts up front. Mills and Howard Cross need to lead the way. 

Navy QB Blake Horvath
Horvath has been outstanding to start the season with his overall decision making and he's been lights out completing play-action passes (71.9%, 16.2 YPA). Notre Dame has to disrupt him as a passer and be physical with him every time he carries the football as a runner.

Notre Dame RB Jadarian Price
Navy hasn't been great stopping the run this season and gave up a ton of yards to Memphis when they missed a total of 18 tackles. Price should have some opportunities to hit a home run or two in this game against a defense that hasn't faced backs the caliber of Price and Jeremiyah Love.

Navy SB Eli Heidenreich
Horvath has been getting most of the attention, but Heidenreich has been a game wrecker as well. He has a dozen receptions of 20+ yards in only 6 games and has been targeted almost three times as much as the next most targeted receiver on the team. Notre Dame needs to be aware of him on every snap and force Navy to find other options.

Notre Dame LB Drayk Bowen
Bowen has been awesome over his last four games and his level of play is only rising. This is his first experience playing Navy as a starter. Bowen has been a tone setter with how physical he's been, but he's really shined in every aspect. Expect that to continue in this game where he should be involved often stopping the run. 

Quotes of the Week

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman:
”Defensively, we have to find a way to get red zone stops versus this team. They’re obviously good on both sides of the ball. Offensively, it’s having a great plan and making sure we finish with touchdowns and not field goals. Defensively, you make sure you have a great red zone plan. They’re really good all over the field and in the red zone. 

“There has been a huge point of emphasis on the defensive side of the ball. Offensively, just continuing to have a great plan and executing at a high level.” 

Notre Dame offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock: 
“They've got something they've had over the years. Obviously, I've got some familiarity with the Memphis-Navy-University of Cincinnati, kind of, right? I mean, they've always had — like every time they line up against each other, it's like 54-51 or somebody kicks a field goal [at the end]. It's hard to explain. It's just one of those rivalries, I guess, that it kind of goes out of character a little bit. I think defensively, they're as good as I've seen them play to this point in season as far as their aggressiveness. I think they're great at getting after the football. They've thrived off of turnovers, which we're going to have to do a really, really good job of protecting the football. And they've made plays when they needed to. And so, I know it's a major challenge for our defense. We’ve got our hands full ourselves on the offensive side of the ball. We’re going to have to do a good job.”  

Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden:
”Heavy on the front end. Try to be as much front-end loaded as you can, so that you're playing faster and faster come Thursday, Friday and then obviously into the game. So really fast start for us: Sunday morning, game plan in by Monday morning, we walk through. Today was our first practice at it. I think the thing that's challenging this year, that might be different was, is that, you know it used to be, you just ran these, 8, 7, 6, calls, all over the field. Now, what's challenging now is you're game planning differently for them. In terms of what they're doing in the red zone, what they're doing in short yardage, what they're doing on goal line, what they're doing in third and long. All of those aspects of the game have been brought into it, and I think that's what's making them really challenging.” 

 Notre Dame S Adon Shuler:
“It's really a dream come true. I've always wanted to play at MetLife. In high school, we played at Rutgers for our championship, so I was kind of a little bummed. Now that I'm able to play there, man, it's a dream come true.”

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