FIW Staff pick Notre Dame vs. Navy and top Week 11 games in college football

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Notre Dame football is set to host Navy on Saturday evening, and it was close to being a top-25 matchup but the Midshipmen lost last weekend.

Fortunately, the Irish may have one more chance to get a College Football Playoff top-25 victory on their resume as Pittsburgh is now ranked. Notre Dame could use some help as well, and it should get some this weekend due to more than a few nationally relevant games.

The Fighting Irish Wire crew of Tim Healey, Dave Miller and Michael Chen picks the winners of the best Week 11 games along with Notre Dame’s matchup against Navy below.

No. 7 BYU Cougars (8-0) at No. 8 Texas Tech Red Raiders (8-1)

Game data: Saturday at 11:00 a.m. CST on ABC

Healey – Give me a coin and let me toss it. It will better than I. I want to lean towards BYU but Texas Tech might be a tick better and is at home. So, call it Tech in a close one.

Miller – What a matchup.

This is a possible Big 12 championship game preview, ESPN’s College GameDay will be in attendance, and it will be the first Big 12 matchup of top-10 teams since 2021.

With QB Behren Morton returning last week from a right leg injury, complementing a ferocious defense led by Jacob Rodriguez (seven forced fumbles) and David Bailey (11.5 sacks), give me the Red Raiders at home in arguably the biggest game in Lubbock since 2008 when No. 1 Texas arrived in town.

Chen – This is game that the Irish won’t necessarily be watching, but will make sure to know the result. Both teams are ranked above them in the polls, and a loss could send Notre Dame upward again. This should be one of the best games of the day, and we all agree, Texas Tech will get the win.

No. 3 Texas A&M Aggies (8-0) at No. 22 Missouri Tigers (6-2)

Game data: Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CST on ABC

Healey – The Aggies are legit, as every Notre Dame fan saw. Notre Dame, of course, could’ve and should’ve won. Missouri is not on that level. So Texas A&M will take this one, probably with relative ease.

Miller – The Tigers are down and out, and QB Beau Pribula has been lost to a season-ending injury. But a win here against the third-ranked Aggies will keep them alive in the College Football Playoff race.

Can Mizzou beat a top-five team for the first time since the 2010 season? Give me the physical Aggies, whose offensive line continues to improve week in and week out.

Chen – Missouri is a very good team and are the hosts, but it seems like the Aggies have all of their magic for this season. The question is if it’s running out, having played multiple close games in SEC play. The Tigers have lost both games they’ve played against top-25 competition, and I think it happens again as Texas A&M scores another big road victory.

No. 9 Oregon Ducks (7-1) at No. 20 Iowa Hawkeyes (6-2)

Game data: Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CST on CBS

Healey – Yeah. Oregon should roll in this one — the Ducks actually score points.

Miller – The Hawkeyes are 4-4 in Kinnick Stadium against top-10 teams since 2016, and the weather is supposed to be a factor (rain). The Ducks shouldn’t be affected by the conditions, but they will be tasked with containing Hawkeyes star QB Mark Gronowski on the ground. They will also have to deal with a stout Hawkeyes defense.

Ducks QB Dante Moore will have to be at his best, and he will be tested.

I like the Hawkeyes to squeak one out.

Chen – This is an interesting one as the Ducks are coming off a bye, and a lower than expected rank with the CFP committee. Iowa with Kirk Ferentz is the perennial 8-4 team with a few 10-2 or 9-3 seasons mixed in, and I think this is the year they have one of their bigger ones. Give me the Hawkeyes in a tight one.

LSU Tigers (5-3) at No. 4 Alabama Crimson Tide (7-1)

Game data: Saturday at 6:30 p.m. CST on ABC

Healey – LSU has sent Brian Kelly packing and Alabama has recovered from a rough start. Plus, the Tide are hosting. LSU is dealing with the coach being fired and ‘Bama has corrected some issues and is the home. The Crimson Tide take home the win.

Miller – Neither one of these teams run the football very well, but the Tigers have a potential star in freshman Harlem Berry.

Expect Tigers interim head coach Frank Wilson to have this team focused, and I think the Tigers can cover. But Roll Tide!

Chen – I’d be interested to hear if the Tigers still think they should have fired Kelly during the season, considering what has happened since. Chaos at athletics director, many of the top suitors turning them down, recruits rethinking their commitments and a general bad vibe within the program. Unfortunately, they’ll have to try and rebound against the rolling Tide, and it won’t happen.

Tim Healey – contributor

Navy could give Notre Dame fits. So, as we saw last week, could Notre Dame. Part of me thinks the Irish will win a close one by a score like 38-30. Another part of me thinks the Fighting Irish will start slow and pull away as they figure out how to defend the wishbone. I think that part is more likely to be correct.

Notre Dame 41, Navy 21

Dave Miller – contributor

The Fighting Irish did not play a clean game last week on the road against Boston College, but that is the reason why I think we’ll see a more focused unit against a Navy team that is very good despite suffering its first last weekend at North Texas.

Brian Newberry’s squad leads the nation at 317 rushing yards per game, and we know how difficult it is to stop the Midshipmen’s option attack. So I do think Navy hangs around. But as I have been stating almost weekly since the Irish’s back-to-back losses to begin the season, this team isn’t going to lose a game the rest of the season.

37-26, the Irish with an uneasy win.

Michael Chen – site lead

I think the rust is off after Notre Dame returned to the field last weekend following its final off-week. It’s not uncommon for teams to struggle in their return to the field, and while the scoreboard wasn’t pretty, the other statistics looked pretty good for the Irish.

Navy poses a difficult test, not due to their talent level, but its ability to take the opposing teams by surprise due to the triple-option offense. It’s hard to prepare for, but many of these players did last year, and I don’t think the result will be much different. CJ Carr gets rolling again, Jermiyah Love continues his march to New York and the Irish defense continues to make positive strides.

Notre Dame 45, Navy 13.

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This article originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire: The FIW staff picks Notre Dame vs. Navy and top Week 11 contests

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