On Saturday, Notre Dame ran rival Navy off the field in a 51-14 rout of the No. 24-ranked Midshipmen. It was only the third time since 1957 that both teams were ranked in the AP Poll, the last time in 2019, which was another dominant Irish win (52-20). After starting the season 6-0, Navy entered the game with real hopes of competing, hopes that were quickly crushed after a nightmare first quarter consisting of two fumbles placed it in an early 14-0 hole. From that point onward, the game was only ever in the balance between Navy’s first touchdown and sophomore running back Jeremiyah Love’s 64-yard answer only one minute and five seconds later. From there, Notre Dame did not look back, allowing only one more touchdown while scoring 30 more points en route to a comfortable victory. Now improving to 7-1 on the season and jumping up to No. 8 in the AP Poll, the Irish remain firmly in College Football Playoff contention. Here are some of the team’s active strengths and weaknesses in this week’s edition of Stock Up, Stock Down.
Stock up: Riley Leonard and the passing attack
It feels like every single week, senior quarterback Riley Leonard is taking another step forward. Making quicker reads and layering throws downfield, all while continuing to utilize the threat of his legs, Leonard is finally running the kind of offense Mike Denbrock wanted to run at the start of this season. The Duke transfer went 13 for 21 throwing for 178 yards and two touchdown passes while adding another 83 yards and a touchdown on the ground. His 11 rushing touchdowns are tied for third in the country and sit only one behind Alabama’s Jalen Milroe in second place. After throwing only one in his first four games, Leonard now has seven touchdown passes in his past four with only one interception. He has led a much more balanced Irish offense, spreading the ball around to multiple different receivers. Against Navy, nine different receivers caught passes to combine for 201 yards through the air. If the group can continue this upward trend, the ceiling for this Notre Dame team will rise by the week.
Stock up: Jeremiyah Love and the running back room
For as much improvement as the passing attack has shown, the heart of this offense remains in the run game, particularly when the ball is in No. 4’s hands. The sophomore star has scored a rushing touchdown in every single game this season and showcased his breakaway speed on a 64-yard scamper to the end zone against the Midshipmen. The future of the room looks bright, as freshman Aneyas Williams continues to contribute to the offense, being preferred to graduate student Devyn Ford for pass protection on obvious throwing downs. The story coming out of the Navy game, however, was the display of fellow freshman Kedren Young, who carried the ball 10 times for 52 yards and a touchdown in garbage time. The four-star prospect’s talent is evident and should prove to be a welcome addition to a deep room next season with Love’s return and the likely return of junior Jadarian Price.
Stock up: Playmaking on defense
Against a Navy offense that had averaged well over 400 yards of offense per game, the Irish defense continued to dominate. Despite allowing 310 yards of total offense and surrendering several chunk plays on the ground against the triple-option rushing attack, Notre Dame got the job done with big plays. While many of these were the result of self-inflicted errors, the Irish turned Navy over a whopping six times, setting up short fields and scoring a touchdown on a fumble recovery from Junior Tuihalamaka in the end zone. They held the Navy offense to 14 points on the day, continuing a consistent trend of holding teams to two touchdowns or fewer. The only game they failed to do so was against Louisville, where the Cardinals put together two scoring drives that required a combined 33 yards as a result of Notre Dame turnovers. Despite the many injuries to key players, Al Golden’s group continues to reliably produce week in and week out.
Stock up: Mindset of the team handling success
The response of this Notre Dame team following the catastrophic loss to Northern Illinois was unsurprising from a Marcus Freeman-coached team that has proven to handle adversity well throughout his tenure. The question was always whether or not the team could handle success and sustain it across an entire season. Coming into the matchup with a strong Navy team, Notre Dame had rattled off five straight victories. The previous two had come in routine-like fashion. Considering the massive talent disparity, despite Navy’s impressive start to the season, a sign of growth for Freeman’s team would mean making this game look the same as the last two. That’s exactly what it did, and exactly what it will have to continue doing to close out the season.
Stock down: Kicking
While it is hard to find a group whose stock is lowering after this week, backup kicker Zac Yoakam’s continued shakiness could be the one nit to pick. Standing in for injured graduate transfer Mitch Jeter, the junior has gone 2 for 4 with a miss from 42 yards last week and 32 this week against Navy. The combination of inexperience and early woes is a concern, but with Jeter declared available for the Navy game, the Irish should hope to have their starter back in the games ahead.
