Notre Dame vs. Navy Prediction, Pick, Odds: Will Sam Hartman Shine in Notre Dame Debut?
Notre Dame vs. Navy Prediction, Pick, Odds: Will Sam Hartman Shine in Notre Dame Debut?
The Navy Midshipmen will take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the season's first scheduled college football game.
It's not Week 1 yet. But there are many Week 0 games on the schedule, including this one.
The Fighting Irish began their 2022 season sluggish behind new head coach Marcus Freeman. The expectations are a bit higher for Notre Dame heading into 2023. The Fighting Irish were much better in the second half of the season, but they also landed one of the best transfer quarterbacks in the country.
That should help too.
Here are our picks, predictions, and odds for Saturday's game between the Navy Midshipmen vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
Notre Dame vs. Navy Start Time, Where to Watch, and Odds
- Date:Â August 26, 2023
- Game Time:Â 2:30 pm ET
- Where to Watch:Â NBC
Notre Dame vs. Navy Odds
- Spread: Notre Dame -20.5 (-110), Navy +20.5 (-110)
- Total Odds: O/U 50.5 (-110)
- Moneyline Odds: Navy (+700), Notre Dame (-1100)
Notre Dame vs. Navy Injury Report
Navy
Out: WR Nathan Kent (Knee)
Notre Dame
Questionable: TE Eli Raridon (Knee) Out: TE Kevin Bauman (Knee), WR KK Smith (Shoulder)
Notre Dame vs. Navy Prediction
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish added Sam Hartman as quarterback. He transferred from Wake Forest after throwing for nearly 13,000 yards.
Hartman will work with Gerad Parker as offensive coordinator after Tommy Rees dipped Notre Dame for Alabama in the offseason. Parker had worked with the tight ends previously.
The receiving core is young. But it's also talented. Notre Dame won't have TE Michael Mayer. However, Jayden Thomas could be a massive playmaker for the Fighting Irish, along with Tobias Merriweather. Look for those two to dominate in the passing game.
Last year, Navy was terrible in the secondary. They also struggled to complete tackles. Therefore, Hartman and Notre Dame should get comfortable early against the Midshipmen.
On the other hand, the Navy finished 4-8 overall last year. Although they went 4-4 in conference play, Navy made a switch at head coach, making Brian Newberry the new head coach of the program.
This will be Newberry's first job as a head coach and his first game coaching Navy. The Navy's triple-option won't change. They've added Grant Chestnut from Kennesaw State to take the offensive coordinator job. Without making too many changes, he'll still have to make some wrinkles in the offense and find different ways to move the ball consistently down the field.
Meanwhile, Tai Lavatai should be 100 percent healthy at quarterback for the Navy. He had a knee injury last year and has already missed spring ball. That doesn't help the Navy against a top team like Notre Dame.
Meanwhile, the secondary Navy has a lot of veterans. But that doesn't mean they'll be good. This group was awful last year in the secondary, and despite having more experience, Hartman will likely destroy them with time in the pocket.
Let's take Notre Dame -20.5 against Navy in this matchup. I have good feelings about Notre Dame's season with Hartman under center.
Notre Dame vs. Navy Pick
- Notre Dame -20.5 (-110) Click here to see which sportsbook has the best odds for this pick
College Football Odds
Article Author
Jason grew up an avid sports fan. His passion for sports writing grew in high school and he developed a blog that was strictly for New York Sports. From his work, you will quickly realize that he loves looking at games from an analytical and numbers perspective and hopes to provide you with that same perspective in his articles.