The 2023 college football season kicks off from Dublin, Ireland, on Saturday afternoon as No. 13 Notre Dame and Navy continue one of the oldest rivalries in the sport. The Irish have largely dominated it of late and are three TD favorites to consider in your college football betting odds.
2023 College Football Odds and Expert Analysis: Navy vs #13 Notre Dame | MyBookie Regular Season Football Betting Preview
Regular Season: August 26 to December 9
Week 1: Saturday, August 26 to Monday, September 4, 2023
How to Bet Navy vs. Notre Dame NCAA Football Odds & TV Info
When: Saturday, 2:30 PM ET
Where: Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland
TV: NBC
Stream: Peacock
Radio: Tunein.com
Opening NCAAF Lines: Notre Dame -21 (50.5)
Series History
Last year, the Irish won their fifth in a row in the series, 35-32 in Baltimore. Drew Pyne threw four TD passes for Notre Dame and ran for another but is now at Arizona State. The Irish led 35-13 at halftime before going dormant offensively for the final two quarters. Navy closed to within three with 1:21 remaining, but an unsuccessful onside kick ended the rally. Navy rushed for 255 yards as a team. Notre Dame leads the series 81-13-1. Navy’s last win was in 2016, 28-27, in Jacksonville.
Why Bet on Navy?
After last season’s 4-8 record, the team’s third straight losing season and another loss to Army, Navy fired coach Ken Niumatalolo after 15 years leading the Midshipmen. Niumatalolo was promoted to head coach prior to the Army-Navy game in 2007, after Paul Johnson’s departure to Georgia Tech. Niumatalolo led Navy’s triple-option attack since, compiling a 109-83 record as head coach. The Midshipmen have lost five of their last seven games against Army after winning the previous 14 games against the Black Knights.
Defensive coordinator Brian Newberry was promoted to head coach. The Midshipmen finished in the top three in the AAC in total defense for each of his four years on staff, and did so while the offense evolved from a true triple-option attack into a more modern triple-option out of the shotgun. He was a semifinalist for the Broyles Award, which is given to the nation’s top assistant coach, in 2019 when he turned around one of the worst defenses in the nation. An upset Saturday would make Newberry the first head coach in school history to beat a ranked opponent in his first game.
Navy has defeated four Notre Dame teams ranked in the top 25 all-time: 1936 over #13 Notre Dame 3-0 (Municipal Stadium in Baltimore); 1944 over #2 Notre Dame 32-12 (Municipal Stadium in Baltimore); 1957 over #5 Notre Dame 20-6 (at Notre Dame) and in 2009 over #19 Notre Dame 23-21 (at Notre Dame).
Navy is listing Tai Lavatai and Blake Horvath as co-starters at QB. Lavatai has appeared in 18 games in two seasons with the program, passing for 1,236 passing yards, 10 touchdowns and five interceptions. WR Nathan Kent has missed time during fall camp due to a knee injury and likely out for the opener. Kent was expected to play a role this fall for Navy when healthy after recording a catch for 32 yards and four carries for 76 yards and a score last season.
Bet Navy Midshipmen to Win
MyBookie Betting Lines for NCAAF
Why Bet on Notre Dame?
These two programs are among the winningest FBS teams in college football history. Notre Dame ranks fourth all-time with 938 wins, while Navy ranks 25th with 733 wins. The Irish are 3-0 all-time in games outside the United States, going 2-0 in Ireland (both vs. Navy) and 1-0 in Tokyo.
The Irish bring back 11 off a team that finished 9-4 in 2022 and defeated South Carolina in the Gator Bowl 45-38. In Coach Marcus Freeman’s debut season in 2022, Notre Dame defeated four Associated Press ranked teams: No. 5 Clemson, No. 16 BYU, No. 16 Syracuse and No. 20 South Carolina, which matched Terry Brennan (1954) for the most ranked wins in a coaching debut season at Notre Dame and was the most in one single season for the program since 2018.
The biggest transfer into South Bend was former Wake Forest QB Sam Hartman, who is among the 2023 Heisman Trophy favorites. Hartman threw an ACC-record 110 touchdown passes for the Demon Deacons, while throwing for 12,967-career passing yards, which ranks second in ACC history. Hartman has topped the 300-yard passing mark 21 times in his career which is the most in ACC history. Additionally, he has either rushed for or thrown a touchdown pass in 34-consecutive games.
Leading rusher Audric Estime, who ran for 920 yards and 11 touchdowns on 156 carries last year, also returns. When an Irish running back reaches the 100-yard plateau, that typically coincides with a Notre Dame victory. Since 2021, the Irish are 16-2 (.889) when at least one ND player reaches 100 rushing yards.
Defensively, Benjamin Morrison intercepted six passes during his rookie season in 2022 and was one of two Power 5 defensive backs to reach that mark (Miami’s Kamren Kinchens also had six). Since 2021, Notre Dame is 14-0 when it has intercepted at least one of its opposing team’s passes which is tied for the best streak in FBS with Georgia and Coastal Carolina.
Bet Notre Dame Fighting Irish to Win
MyBookie Betting Lines for NCAAF
Expert Prediction
Notre Dame 38, Navy 17
2023 NCAA College Football National Championship Odds to Win
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| Michigan Wolverines | -200 |
| Washington Huskies | +170 |
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