Notre Dame football got back to action on Saturday afternoon, and while it started off slow, the Irish ended up with a 35-13 win over Navy .
Improving to 7-1 puts Notre Dame among the best records in the country, as multiple top teams have at least two losses on the year. However, the biggest game of the year for the Irish comes up next, against Miami, and E SPN's College GameDay will be in South Bend for the contest.
While it was a solid win for Notre Dame and instant reactions happened , but there were more than a few things that stayed on my mind following the game. Here are my thoughts following the Irish's win over Navy.
The bar has been set, and this didn't quite live up to the billing for the Irish. It was a much better second half, one that saw Notre Dame outscore Navy 21-0, but it wasn't dominant by any means. Against a team that entered the game 2-5, you would have expected a much bigger win than a 22-point triumph. It was still a very solid game from the Irish, but not close enough to championship caliber football.
Oh man, this is not good news. John Brice reported late Saturday that Bowen's injury could be bad , very bad. The senior captain is expected to be out for multiple weeks, potentially the rest of the regular season and potentially the postseason. We'll find out later today what his status is, but it doesn't sound very encouraging for the Irish defense.
I wanted to see a deeper wide receiver rotation, and we got that on Saturday with Bettis being the biggest surprise. He had the best game of his young career, catching six passes for 78-yards and his first career touchdown. Giving quarterback CJ Carr another option in the passing game is huge, as no receiver has emerged as the top target. Spreading the ball is fine, playing the hot hand is great especially when you have multiple options. Bettis is now one of those.
It wasn't just Bowen's injury of note, as star cornerback Leonard Moore exited the game as did defensive tackle Francis Brewu. Linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa was ruled out before the game, and safety Brauntae Johnson has been out for a while. There was also some chatter the wide receiver Micah Gilbert hurt his ankle . News broke earlier this week of DJ McKinney being out for an extended period as well. With Miami on the horizon, this is not the best news for Notre Dame.
It was the perfect storm for the Irish to struggle early, a tricky Navy offense coming off an off-week after a physical game against BYU. For much of the first half, it looked like Notre Dame didn't belong in the top-10, but adjustments were made at the half, and it was clearly a much better showing for the Irish. While I did expect a much bigger win, the second half response was great to see.
The Hurricanes were in a battle with North Carolina on Saturday evening, but prevailed 38-35. Remember, the Irish beat the Tar Heels pretty handily earlier in the season, and if this is a barometer of the two teams, Notre Dame should have a solid shot at winning this game. Also expect the Irish to move up in the polls with USC defeating Ohio State . We should see a top-3 matchup in South Bend next Saturday evening.
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This article originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire: Day after: Final thoughts on Notre Dame win over Navy with Miami next
