3 Quick Takeaways From Notre Dame's Dominant Win Over Navy

Notre Dame rolled to a 49-10 victory over Navy on Saturday night as it improves its case to return to the College Football Playoff.

Here are three quick thoughts following the win.

1. Jeremiyah Love is hands down the best running back in college football

It's not exactly a newsflash, I know, but Jeremiyah Love continued his tear on opposing defenses Saturday night.

Love touched the ball just 14 times (13 carries, one reception), but he still went over the century mark (121 scrimmage yards) and found the end zone twice.

Love is flat-out electric when the ball is in his hands, and it's not just a coincidence he's averaging over six yards a carry and nine yards a reception. This kid is special and should be a first-round pick and the first running back taken in the NFL Draft.

But it's runs like these that make your jaw drop.

Only Jeremiyah Love could score on this play pic.twitter.com/QnYZAdBFEy
— PFF College (@PFF_College) November 9, 2025

There aren't too many running backs that have that kind of body control and flexibility, let alone the awareness to keep running after nearly getting tackled, but Love isn't your average running back. He's a potential Heisman Trophy Finalist and maybe superhuman.

After all, Love already has his own comic book character -- Jermonstar -- and confirmed his Super Powers back in August. Maybe he wasn't kidding after all.

2) Notre Dame needs to start faster on offense

Obviously, it's more important how you finish a game than start one -- just ask Notre Dame, they learned that the hard way against Texas A&M -- but ND's slow starts on offense are concerning.

Yes, Notre Dame scored a touchdown on its opening drive, but after that, the Fighting Irish went three-and-out the very next series. That can't happen, especially against a mediocre Navy team.

And this has been ongoing for months now. ND opened with a three-and-out last week against Boston College and didn't score till its third offensive series. And the week before that, against USC, Notre Dame punted on two of its first three offensive series. And the week before that, the Irish scored on just one of its first five offensive series.

This is becoming a problem, and something that needs to get corrected ASAP if Notre wants to get back to the National Title Game.

3) Chris Ash's defense is starting to look like a top 10 defense

First-year defensive coordinator Chris Ash took some heat early on after ND started the season 0-2, and allowed 30+ points in two of its first three games, but give the man some credit, he's got this defense playing its best football.

Yeah, I know Navy is a one-dimensional offense that was down its starting quarterback, but still, Notre Dame's defense played well Saturday, and looks way better than it did back in September.

Ash's defense will need to be at its best next week on the road against a Pittsburgh offense that can really move the ball and put up some points, but based on how the Fighting Irish have played over the last two months, the Irish should be OK. And to be honest, they look like a top-10 defense.

Notre Dame doesn't look lost in zone coverage like it did early on, and the defensive line is consistently winning at the point of attack. That's a recipe for success, and should make for a fun ride for the rest of the season.