Five things to keep an eye on as Navy (2-5) visits Notre Dame (4-3) in another hour or so. …
1. Trey Miller will throw for a touchdown. The Navy sophomore, making his first career start, will follow up on his two-touchdown game in relief last week with at least one scoring toss against the Fighting Irish.
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2. Michael Floyd will have 100 receiving yards. The Notre Dame wideout has rolled up several strong outings this season. He’ll be fine against a Navy pass defense that allowed East Carolina to complete 40 of 45 passing attempts last week.
3. Navy will force at least three turnovers. This prediction didn’t pan out last week against the No. 120 team nationally in turnover margin. Let’s try it again, though, since the Irish rank 119th.
4. Notre Dame will convert at least 50 percent of its third down attempts. Navy has let six of its first seven opponents do just that. Notre Dame should be the latest to surpass that total.
5. Notre Dame will win. The Fighting Irish are 14-16 at home since 2007 and seem to be in a bit of disarray after last week’s loss to Southern California. Still, Navy is dealing with enough injuries to give Notre Dame a solid chance to beat the Mids in South Bend for the first time since 2005.
—- Patrick Stevens
