Navy has developed into a heartwarming story, standing 6-0 straight-up halfway through the season. The offense is un-Navy-like, with downfield passes it has not relied on in decades. But Notre Dame has shown no mercy since laying an egg against Northern Illinois, blasting opponents by a 31-point average. Have things changed that much since the Fighting Irish overran Navy 42-3 a year ago? (Answer: no.) The Damers will not take Navy lightly. In this NIL era, where players on one team are generously compensated and the others get nothing, it's a stretch to envision Navy's wonderful story extending another week.

Navy is a very difficult team to defend, they throw the ball better than you expect for a triple option team, they have incredibly disciplined special teams and a secondary that can make plays and flip field position quickly. They can play bully ball and kill the clock and they know who they are. Golden Domers slip up and their season is over, while the Midshipmen will play loosey goosey. They still get two cracks likely at Army either way. They basically got a double bye rolling Charlotte in the first 10 minutes last week after a week off. So much multiplicity in the run game. I am making a modest play on them with this getting over 4-1 now.

I love that we're this late into the year and both Army and Navy being playoff contenders is a legit discussion, but take a closer look at Navy's schedule. The best team the Mids have faced is a pretty pedestrian Memphis squad. Simply put, I don't think they've got the horses to hang with an Irish defense that's seen offenses like this plenty of times before.

Who would've thought that we'd be talking about the dynamic Navy offense in Week 9? They are one of two teams, along with Miami, who are undefeated to the over this season (6-0). But the Fighting Irish have also been great since their Week 2 loss to Northern Illinois, averaging 41 points per game in their last five contests. Expect plenty of points in this one. Notre Dame 37, Navy 24.