What Notre Dame Can Do Against Navy That Can Translate To Miami

The Irish are in a tricky spot, facing back-to-back teams with opposite styles of play. Here's what Notre Dame can do this week to build confidence against the Canes.

Oct 17, 2026; Provo, Utah, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback CJ Carr (13) passes against the Brigham Young Cougars during the first half at LaVell Edwards Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Notre Dame finds itself in a very complicated and tricky timing dynamic in the midst of the most important stretch of the 2026 season. First, the Irish lost to BYU.

Then, they had an extra week off to process and think about it. Now, as Notre Dame returns to action, it faces Navy and all of the quirks that come with squaring off with the Midshipmen, with the game of the year looming the following week.

If Notre Dame were facing a more traditional opponent this week, the Irish could get away with some preparation overlap between said opponent and Miami. But facing Navy doesn't allow for this. This game requires proper and full respect, consideration, and preparation.

While Miami and Navy play completely opposite styles of football, there are some things we can look for against the Middies that can help build everyone's confidence back up before the battle of the year next week.

Notre Dame needs to play aggressively and downhill when on defense

One of the biggest complaints everyone has about the way Notre Dame defended BYU was the lack of aggression. The Irish seemed to be playing back on their heels, reacting rather than making things happen. This leads to uncertainty, slow play, and bad results.

The Navy game provides the perfect opportunity for the Irish to get back into more of a downhill, aggressive mindset and style of play, because that is truly the only way to stop the unique and quirky Navy offense.

After a very shaky and unfulfilling defensive output against BYU, the Irish can regain some much-needed confidence this week by being the aggressors and dictating the action rather than reacting to it. While the exact style of play won't carry over, a better mindset can.

The nation’s top linebacker 😤

Drayk Bowen is a Butkus Award Semifinalist!#GoIrish☘️ | @DraykBowen pic.twitter.com/R17wJSaloN

— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) October 28, 2026

CJ Carr and the passing game can have a terrific day facing Navy

While CJ Carr put the team on his back in the final drive against BYU and almost pulled off a miracle as the clock ran out one second early, overall, he did not have the sharpest day.

There were at least 2-3 potential touchdown passes that he overthrew that would have likely turned a loss into a win if they were connected on.

Navy's pass efficiency defense is ranked dead last in the country at 138/138. The Midshipmen allow over 14 yards per completion and over a 70% completion percentage to opposing quarterbacks.

This game provides Notre Dame the perfect opportunity to light it up through the air, get more than three wide receivers involved, and get CJ Carr locked back in with some juicy numbers before Miami heads to South Bend.

It has been a very challenging last two weeks for everyone in the Notre Dame ecosystem, and many fans are already looking ahead to the Miami game. I sincerely hope the actual Irish football team isn't doing this, as Navy requires and deserves full attention.