Notre Dame football got back in the win column on Saturday afternoon, defeating Navy 35-13 in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
The Irish held a slim 1-point lead at the half, but made multiple changes during the break and dominated the second half. Quarterback CJ Carr had a solid game, completing 19-of-29 attempts for 210-yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Running back Nolan James Jr. rushed for 107-yards on just 9 carries and two scores.
Defensively, safety Luke Talich led the way with 10 tackles, as the Irish didn’t force any turnovers. It wasn’t the best game for Notre Dame, but it was still a victory. Here are five instant reactions to the Irish getting back in the win column over Navy.
Notre Dame was off-week hung over for most of the first half
At the half.#GoIrish☘️ | @YETICoolers pic.twitter.com/fq5nt0w2tx
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) October 31, 2026
The Irish team we saw in the first half clearly has some rust to it, without playing last weekend. It’s pretty typical for a team to struggle early following an off-week, which is exactly what Notre Dame did. I don’t think is a cause for concern at all, with Miami looming next weekend. Shake it off this week, get healthy and go beat the No. 1 team in the country.
Why the reluctance for Notre Dame to run the ball?
Big run to the house for @nolan_james1 🔥#GoIrish☘️
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) October 31, 2026
📺: ABC pic.twitter.com/PFaSC8koMz
The Irish had just five attempts rushing all first half, with Nolan James Jr. being the only running back to touch the ball. That clearly changed in the second half, but with Navy’s issues converting the play-action pass, not running the ball was a disservice to the offense. Sure, James had a huge run to end the half, but there needed to be many more attempts in the first half.
Defensive lost a lot as Miami lurks
Notre Dame's defense is currently without the following players:
— Jack Soble (@jacksoble56) October 31, 2026
Leonard Moore
Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa
Brauntae Johnson
Drayk Bowen
Francis Brewu
DJ McKinney
You hated to see this, as the Irish defense lost multiple players in this game against the Midshipmen. It’s clearly didn’t matter much in this contest, but the Hurricanes are next weekend and it would have been nice to see Notre Dame near full strength. It doesn’t look like that will happen now, as the hope is that many of the injured players can return next week.
Young receivers finally get an opportunity for Notre Dame
First-career touchdown for Bettis Jr. 🙌#GoIrish☘️ | @jeromebettisjr
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) October 31, 2026
📺: ABC pic.twitter.com/F3uirsfnvb
This was one of the biggest changes that I wanted to see during the off-week, a bigger rotation of wide receivers with some of the young guys getting more chances. Jerome Bettis Jr. was the biggest benefactor, catching 6 balls for 78-yards along with the first touchdown of his career leading the team in both categories. It would have been nice to see more of them get an opportunity, but the emergence of Bettis was great to see.
Notre Dame’s attention now turns to Miami
WE'RE HEADING TO SOUTH BEND FOR ONE OF THE GAMES OF THE YEAR‼️
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) October 31, 2026
See you next Saturday at 9 AM ET for Miami-Notre Dame 🍿 pic.twitter.com/teaNLzggg5
This is the biggest game of the regular season for the Irish, after dropping the first top-10 contest to BYU. The Hurricanes most likely enter the game as the top team in the country, and knocking them off would be the win that Notre Dame has been looking for the past few seasons. This was a solid tune-up game for the Irish, but the attention is now solely focused on Miami.
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This article originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire: Five Instant reactions to Notre Dame’s 35-13 win over Navy
