What four players might mean more when No. 10 Notre Dame football hosts Navy?
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SOUTH BEND — Navy at night? Well, all right.
We interrupt this regularly scheduled Notre Dame football season to bring you something that hasn’t happened around these parts since 2018. That would be a third night game in one season at Notre Dame Stadium. Navy gets the rare prime-time placement in a series that dates to 1927 and the teams’ first meeting in Baltimore.
This matchup lost some luster after Navy lost at North Texas, but the stakes are still high for the home team. Win, and keep winning, to keep alive hope of a second straight College Football Playoff appearance. It’s cool that Navy is a night game, but the opponent and the time of day matter little for the Irish.
The outcome does. Just win for a seventh straight Saturday.
Here are four players that could help to swing this one. Could help Navy do the unthinkable, something that it hasn’t done since 2009 — win at Notre Dame Stadium. Could help Notre Dame do the expected, something that it has done seven straight seasons. Beat Navy.
NAVY MIDSHIPMEN (7-1)
QB Blake Horvath (11)
Horvath is going to run and likely for a lot of yards. Navy isn’t as married to the option as it once was, but when you play Navy, it’s about the quarterback. It’s always about the quarterback.
Horvath has run for at least 110 yards in each of the last six games, including a monster effort of 174 yards on 21 carries and four touchdowns in late October against Florida Atlantic. Horvath enters the second weekend of November ranked fifth in the country in rushing yards per game — 115.8 — one spot above a certain Irish running back making his push for Heisman Trophy consideration.
What sets the 6-foot-2, 195-pound Horvath apart from his Navy predecessors is his passing. Specifically, his ability to figure out the perfect time to shelve the option and throw the ball. A team co-captain, Horvath has completed 63.6 percent of his attempts for 1,143 yards and seven touchdowns. Horvath was 20-for-26 for 339 yards and three scores against Air Force.
Horvath was one to watch when these teams met last year, then commanded a Navy offense that fumbled seven times and lost five. He’s waited an entire year for a second chance at Notre Dame. He gets it Saturday.
NG Landon Robinson (96)
What’s the narrative when Notre Dame and Navy meet? The Midshipmen are undersized across their defensive front and they’re never going to quit. They’ll keep competing whether up four scores or down four. They battle.
That holds true for Robinson, a team co-captain who’s as undersized as anyone as a 6-foot, 287-pound nose tackle. Don’t let his size fool you. Robinson’s a bad dude, in the best sense.
He’s touted on Navy’s web site as its strongest player. He squats 665 pounds. He benches 465. He owns a 33-inch vertical leap and has been clocked as quick as 20.1 mph on the GPS tracking. The Fairlawn, Ohio native also carries a 3.36 grade-point average as a Cyber operations major.
A first team All-American Athletic Conference choice last year, his first as a starter, Robinson has returned with 42 tackles to date, fourth on the team. He leads Navy in tackles for loss (7.5) and sacks (5.5) and is tied for tops in quarterback hurries (five). He’s made at least four tackles in each of the last four games, including five stops and a tackle for loss against North Texas.
He’ll get into your backfield. He’ll disrupt what you want to do. He won’t quit.
No. 10 NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH (6-2)
RB Jadarian Price (24)
Slow starts have been a lingering issue for a Notre Dame offense that was held scoreless in the first quarter of the Boston College game for the second time this season. To start fast, the call on coordinator Mike Denbrock’s sheet is simple.
Hand the ball to Price on first down. Hand the ball to Price on second down. Right from the jump, jump-start the 5-11, 210-pounder from Denison, Texas who’s slid into a slippery situation where it’s been difficult to secure the football. For all Price has done, and he’s done a lot (see USC); his fumbles threatened to undercut everything. He’s lost two of the last three games, including inside the BC 5-yard-line.
That is enough to put him on the bench, though Marcus Freeman should do the opposite. Start him. Give him the ball. Make him fight for tough yards. Show him that the Irish haven’t lost faith in someone who’s been so solid – 521 yards on 85 carries and eight touchdowns.
When Notre Dame is at its best, it’s been Jeremiyah Love and Price tag-teaming. Time for them to team up in this one. Run Price early. Run Price late. He’s better than that BC fumble. Let him show it.
LB Jaylen Sneed (3)
Marcus Freeman said it this week — when it comes to defending Navy and its option-heavy attack, there’s no substitute for experience. You can take the most talented tackler on your team, someone who can run sideline to sideline and make all the stops, but the first time he sees the option, that talented tackler often forgets most everything and vapor-locks.
Sneed once was that guy. In 2022, he saw the Navy option for the first time and made one tackle. In 2023, he saw the Navy option for the second time and made two tackles. Last season, it was like the option lightbulb went on.
Out in the swamps of Jersey, Sneed tied for the team lead with nine tackles. He also recovered a fumble in the end zone for his lone career score. With 23 tackles, five tackles for loss and three sacks, the 6-2, 230-pound junior from Hilton Head Island, South Carolina has had a quiet season. It’s hard to stand out in a linebacker room of standouts.
Sneed can stand out Saturday by finding the ball, by getting to the ball. By tackling the ball. He’s seen the option enough to know how to neutralize it. This might be his night.
Follow South Bend Tribune and NDInsider columnist Tom Noie on X (formerly Twitter): @tnoieNDI. Contact Noie at tnoie@sbtinfo.com
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Six straight wins down, four more left to go for Notre Dame football
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