<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=06AptU_0wOQ67VC00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=06AptU_0wOQ67VC00" width="1182" height="619" >Bit by bit, piece by piece, the Irish have developed a well-rounded football team since its loss to Northern Illinois. Notre Dame certainly can run the football. The passing game has been efficient. The defense is as stout as ever. Now it’s time to finish off the regular season one confident step at a time.EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/riley-leonard-46101566/">Riley Leonard</a> was prepared to play the "even if" game, not the "what if" game.All he really had to do was play his game, which was more than enough to make <a href="https://247sports.com/college/navy/">Navy</a> think about how much better it was when they were chewing up and spitting out the likes of <a href="https://247sports.com/college/bucknell/">Bucknell</a>, <a href="https://247sports.com/college/temple/">Temple</a>, <a href="https://247sports.com/college/alabama-birmingham/">UAB</a>, <a href="https://247sports.com/college/charlotte/">Charlotte</a> and others more accustomed to competing with the Midshipmen.Navy played nothing like it had in forging a 6-0 record while ascending to the top of the food chain in the American Athletic Conference. <a href="https://247sports.com/college/notre-dame/">Notre Dame</a> played like the opportunistic bunch it has become over the last six games in which it has out-scored its opponents 256-68, or by an average of 31 points per game.The Irish capitalized on seven Navy fumbles/muffed punts (five of which were recovered by Notre Dame) and a late interception to complete the manhandling of the Midshipmen who had opened with an undefeated slate through six games for the first time in 35 years."Everybody goes into games – I certainly did the first couple weeks – thinking 'what if I mess up, what if this happens,'" said Leonard, who has completed 93-of-136 passes (68.3 percent) in the last six games with eight touchdown passes and one interception since the tragic 16-14 home loss to <a href="https://247sports.com/college/northern-illinois/">Northern Illinois</a>."At the end of the day, if I go into a game thinking even if, even if everything falls (apart) and we hit rock bottom, my Lord and savior is always going to be there for me. Nothing is going to change with that. That's been the biggest thing."It was Navy that could have used some divine intervention for its noon kickoff in MetLife Stadium, the site of the Midshipmen's 35-17 manhandling of the Irish the last time these two teams squared off in the Meadowlands 14 seasons earlier. Brian Newberry's squad played like the team that lost 30 times from 2020-23, not the one that had forged an undefeated first half of the season by out-scoring its opponents by an average of 27 points per game.Part Navy giving it away and part the Irish yanking it from the Midshipmen, Notre Dame converted 8-of-13 third downs and squashed the newfangled Navy offense that had added the passing component to its game but managed just 88 yards through the air against Al Golden's air-tight defense."I thought the stage might have been a little big for us today," Newberry said. "A lot of mistakes. We had guys afraid to make mistakes. When you play with fear in your heart, that is when you make mistakes."While the Irish didn't fear entering the 97th clash with Navy – Notre Dame has now won 83 of those games – there at least was some trepidation. In years past, an occasional deep shot through the air was concerning. Now it would be more than a couple, which is why the Midshipmen came into the game with the No. 4 scoring offense in the country. "This is a difficult offense," said Irish head coach <a href="https://247sports.com/Coach/marcus-freeman-1531/">Marcus Freeman</a> of OC-Drew Cronic's attack. "Obviously, there are more (shots) and there's a lot more smoke and mirrors. There's a lot of stuff going on pre-snap that (make you) have to play with clarity. "That was a big point of emphasis. There were plays that we didn't play with clear eyes and we got exposed. But for the most part, we played with clear eyes and not the smoke and mirrors (that) affect where your eyes should be."As Leonard was playing his part – accounting for a combined 261 yards passing/rushing – Notre Dame's ground game did what it has done since that now-infamous flub against Northern Illinois. On that Sept. 7 day in Notre Dame Stadium, the Irish managed just 123 yards rushing and 4.3 yards per carry. Since then, they've averaging 235 yards rushing per game and 6.1 yards per carry.The Irish truly have become a two-pronged offense in winning six straight games, the longest streak of Freeman's 34-game tenure in charge. In addition to those 235 yards rushing per game, the Irish are tacking on another 200 yards per outing through the air.Coupled with that defense, Notre Dame has achieved a notable balanced attack and a pretty well-rounded team."We're trying to create one-on-one matchups," Freeman said. "What you're seeing reflects Coach (Mike) Denbrock and Riley Leonard's growth in their relationship. (They've developed) an ability to have multiple calls come in a play and checking to the one we believe is going to have success. There's a trust between the quarterbacks and the wideouts. It's continuing to grow."Throw in the red-zone dominance on both sides of the football and the Irish emerged as the preeminent force once again.There will be the tendency because of the one-sided result of this game to flip the pre-script and conclude, "Well, it was just Navy." You can't have it both ways. If a national analyst like Joel Klatt can pick a two-touchdown underdog to win over Notre Dame and the Irish beat the daylights out of the Midshipmen, it can't just be swept under the rug. That's duplicitous. Navy was a threat and Notre Dame dismantled the Midshipmen. End of story.<h2>A SLATE TO (MOSTLY) HATE</h2>While there's no doubting that Notre Dame's schedule has been and remains favorable down the stretch, the Irish are doing exactly what they had to do after that tragic day in Notre Dame Stadium.The strength of schedule hasn't worked out the way it was hoped. The results have been mixed, outside of the win over Texas A&amp;M, which remains hugely significant after the Aggies stormed back in the second half against LSU Saturday night to win its seventh straight.<a href="https://247sports.com/college/northern-illinois/">Northern Illinois</a>, as effective as the Huskies were against the Irish, have let <a href="https://247sports.com/college/notre-dame/">Notre Dame</a> down by losing four of six since. Head coach <a href="https://247sports.com/Coach/thomas-hammock-426/">Thomas Hammock</a>, who seemingly saved his job with a victory as a 28-point underdog, has lost four times by a total of 19 points and is probably back on the hot seat.<a href="https://247sports.com/college/purdue/">Purdue</a> (1-6, 0-4) stinks. Miami <a href="https://247sports.com/college/ohio/">Ohio</a> (4-4, 3-1) is once again competing for the Mid-American Conference championship. <a href="https://247sports.com/college/louisville/">Louisville</a> (5-3, 3-2) has defeated the teams it should have (<a href="https://247sports.com/college/virginia/">Virginia</a> and <a href="https://247sports.com/college/boston-college/">Boston College</a>) since falling to the Irish but came up short at home against <a href="https://247sports.com/college/smu/">SMU</a> (34-27) and <a href="https://247sports.com/college/miami/">Miami</a> (52-45). Stanford's just flat-out not good enough to string together anything positive.Notre Dame's deserved victory over <a href="https://247sports.com/college/georgia-tech/">Georgia Tech</a> last week took too much out of Yellow Jackets at <a href="https://247sports.com/college/virginia-tech/">Virginia Tech</a> to avoid its fourth setback (21-6) in seven games. <a href="https://247sports.com/college/navy/">Navy</a> should win three of its next four at <a href="https://247sports.com/college/rice/">Rice</a>, at South <a href="https://247sports.com/college/florida/">Florida</a> and at <a href="https://247sports.com/college/east-carolina/">East Carolina</a> with a likely/possible loss at home against Tulane. <a href="https://247sports.com/college/florida-state/">Florida State</a> – next on the slate after an Irish bye – has officially collapsed. They'll have another shot at victory against <a href="https://247sports.com/college/north-carolina/">North Carolina</a> before traveling to Notre Dame for what likely will be a perfunctory effort.After starting out 4-1 with victories at <a href="https://247sports.com/college/wake-forest/">Wake Forest</a> and at home against Boston College, Virginia has lost three in a row to Louisville, at <a href="https://247sports.com/college/clemson/">Clemson</a> and North Carolina by a combined 48 points with trips to undefeated <a href="https://247sports.com/college/pittsburgh/">Pittsburgh</a> and Notre Dame next up. <a href="https://247sports.com/college/army/">Army</a> should be able to hold serve against <a href="https://247sports.com/college/air-force/">Air Force</a> and <a href="https://247sports.com/college/north-texas/">North Texas</a> before playing Notre Dame in Yankee Stadium. The Trojans of <a href="https://247sports.com/college/usc/">USC</a> may have rekindled hope with a three-touchdown home victory against Rutgers. But the Scarlet Knights kicked off at 11 p.m. ET after losing at <a href="https://247sports.com/college/minnesota/">Minnesota</a>, <a href="https://247sports.com/college/penn-state/">Penn State</a> and at <a href="https://247sports.com/college/maryland/">Maryland</a> by a total of 11 points. It's still difficult to determined which Trojan squad will show up for the regular-season finale.<h2>WHO ARE THESE IRISH?</h2>With a second bye week before embarking on the final month of the season, this is who and what <a href="https://247sports.com/college/notre-dame/">Notre Dame</a> has become.A balanced offensive attack with two-pronged assets. A more efficient offense. A legit pass-run threat. A potent run game with the bonus return of OG-Billy Schrauth – one of the original foundational pieces of the offensive line -- a game ahead of schedule prior to the bye week. The Irish are now benefitting from the return to health of <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/jordan-faison-46136693/">Jordan Faison</a>, which gives the Irish a weapon utilized against <a href="https://247sports.com/college/louisville/">Louisville</a> and <a href="https://247sports.com/college/oregon-state/">Oregon State</a> last year.The Notre Dame offense has begun to look like the way it was envisioned in August. If being fair and objective, the offensive line coach – <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/joe-rudolph-51952/">Joe Rudolph</a> – has done a helluva job piecing together a 235-yard rushing attack while limiting Leonard to just six sacks in eight games. The defense simply isn't going to give in to virtually any offensive attack. <a href="https://247sports.com/college/florida-state/">Florida State</a>, <a href="https://247sports.com/college/virginia/">Virginia</a> and <a href="https://247sports.com/college/army/">Army</a> should not have enough offense to out-score Notre Dame's improved offensive attack. <a href="https://247sports.com/college/usc/">USC</a> is an unknown variable that can throw it with QB-Miller Moss and can run it with <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/woody-marks-46041108/">Woody Marks</a> but not from the quarterback position. The Trojans showed some life in Friday's beatdown of Rutgers.Notre Dame needs a healthy <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/mitch-jeter-46086369/">Mitch Jeter</a> back at kicker.With another by week to regenerate further, the Irish are well positioned to continue to add to Florida State's misery, close out the home schedule against Virginia and fight through another academy challenge against Army before the always-special moment in the Los Angeles Coliseum with the playoff marbles on the line.As much despair as there was following the <a href="https://247sports.com/college/northern-illinois/">Northern Illinois</a> loss, there is now an extra helping of hope.When Notre Dame defeated Louisville, the Irish were looked at as a team that still had some fight and did what it needed to do to stay alive in the playoff hunt. They hadn't completely gotten over the hump but they had at least avoided a valley. They've continued to play with resilience and spunk. They've followed the lead of their head coach.Notre Dame caught <a href="https://247sports.com/college/georgia-tech/">Georgia Tech</a> without its quarterback and beat the stuffings out of the one the Yellow Jackets offered. Leonard runs just as much as <a href="https://247sports.com/Player/haynes-king-46049892/">Haynes King</a> does and he's stayed healthy enough behind Rudolph's line to remain solvent. Now completely forgotten is the left labrum injury suffered by Leonard in Game 2.His offensive line has been a bodyguard in a manner that the ultra-experienced Yellow Jackets offensive line was unable to be. Rudolph has been the glue that has sealed it together. <h2>KEEPING THE PAIN GAME ALIVE</h2>Freeman was reminded of his still-occasional reference to his team of the loss to <a href="https://247sports.com/college/northern-illinois/">Northern Illinois</a>. It's not a trump card that he pulls out all the time or even frequently. But he keeps it in his pocket when his team needs a reminder of the repercussions of the agony of defeat."I don't do it every day," Freeman said. "But the most important thing is we can't lose the pain. That's what I want to make sure our guys understand. You can't lose the pain. I don't want to lose the pain from that game because at times we are motivated by fear. At times we are motivated by (the fact that) we don't want to (let the loss) repeat itself."And so there are times that I've got to remind them of that pain so we can make sure that we don't forget it. We've got to use that. We're going to be grateful if we utilize it and we learn from the lessons that it has taught us. When you have success, sometimes you forget about that pain of what NIU left in all of our hearts and our guts."I want them to reflect on that and I don't want to lose it. That's when I use it for motivation."Physically, Freeman wouldn't change anything from Northern Illinois week. But the mental preparation apparently left something to be desired. He doesn't want that to be overlooked the rest of the 2024 regular season."I go back and look at that week of preparation and I believe the physical part was efficient," Freeman said. "But there's a mental preparation and mindset that you have to have going into every week."That's, to me, what I've learned as the head coach and our program has learned.. You better understand that if you don't prepare the right way, you can lose to anybody you play. I don't want to ever forget that."By never forgetting to remember Northern Illinois, perhaps the Irish can indeed pull off what seemed so unthinkable the night on Sept. 7.</div></body>

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Tim Prister’s Point After (Navy)

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Riley Leonard was prepared to play the \"even if\" game, not the \"what if\" game. All he really had to do was play his game, which was more than enough to make Navy think about how much better it was when they were chewing up and spitting out the likes of Bucknell, Temple, UAB, Charlotte and others more accustomed to competing with the Midshipmen.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Riley Leonard was prepared to play the "even if" game, not the "what if" game. All he really had to do was play his game, which was more than enough to make Navy think about how much better it was when they were chewing up and spitting out the likes of Bucknell, Temple, UAB, Charlotte and others more accustomed to competing with the Midshipmen.

Tim Prister’s Point After (Navy)

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