After falling back down to Earth in a spectacularly bad loss to Miami (Fla.), the Notre Dame Fighting Irish are back at home for this Week 12 matchup against the Navy Midshipmen, Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBC (live stream).
Navy vs. Notre Dame 2017 live stream: Time and how to watch online
The Fighting Irish have to shift expectations for their postseason run.
Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images
Brian Kelly and his team were finally atop the college football rankings, coming in at No. 3 in the CFP poll just last week. Kelly spoke ahead of Week 11 that without a conference championship to boost them into the playoff, Notre Dame would have to win out to make it to the postseason. That didn’t happen. And boy, was it bad.
Time, TV channel, and streaming info
- Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
- Location: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, Ind.
- TV: NBC
- Streaming: NBC Sports
- Odds: Notre Dame opened as incredible 18.5-point favorites over the Midshipmen.
Navy vs. Notre Dame news:
- Navy will never give up the triple-option. It works.
- Last week’s loss was brutal, but that doesn’t mean Brian Kelly is on the hot seat ... yet.
- The Midshipmen have a bit of a quarterback controversy on their hands if both options are healthy for this Week 12 matchup.
Malcom Perry competed for the starting quarterback job in the offseason, but Zach Abey eventually won that battle. With Abey out last week, Perry was called upon to run the offense. The result was a 33 carry, 282 yard, and four touchdown performance.
- The Fighting Irish were out-manned, out-coached, and down-right embarrassed last weekend against Miami.
It was, admittedly, a rehashing of the “Catholics versus Convicts” tale, circa 1985. The Irish got embarrassed by a more athletic and more prepared Miami team then, and they got the same treatment this year. The failures on the big stage are not an anomaly at this point. It is a pattern, one that needs to break soon if the Irish wish to reach that standard to which Kelly so often references.
What’s left for these teams this season?
Navy started off the 2017 season on a hot-streak, winning their first five contests before falling to Memphis. The loss to the Tigers kicked off a series of two more losses to UCF and Temple before a big — and much-needed — win over SMU. The Midshipmen have two more games following this Week 12 matchup, taking on Houston as the road team, before finishing the year against Army on Dec. 9. Thanks to their win over SMU, Navy has already earned their bowl eligibility.
It’s hard to picture Notre Dame still making it to their first College Football Playoff after last weekend’s 41-8 loss to a still undefeated Miami (Fla.) team. And like Kelly noted, the program doesn’t have a conference championship to help boost them into the conversation. The Fighting Irish will cap off their season with a road game against Stanford, and then will have to bide their time to find out where they’ll be bowling in the postseason.
Navy vs. Notre Dame prediction:
Brian Kelly’s head might pop off of his body if the Fighting Irish don’t make a clear comeback from last week’s loss. It’ll be unfortunate that this retribution game will come against a service academy, but it has to be done. Notre Dame gets the win at home.
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