While the focus is on new QB Sam Hartman, the truth is Notre Dame's offense has improved all over, and has one of the best OL's in the country. Navy won't be able to get the stops it needs to keep it close.

The 57 points chalked up in last year's meeting extended a striking trend. All but two of the previous dozen encounters in the series have resulted in a count above this total. The Fighting Irish introduce QB Sam Hartman, who passed for a gazillion yards during his long reign at Wake Forest. He brings more juice to the offense than the Damers had in '22. Navy welcomes back most of its O-line and yardage producers from a season ago. The half-a-hundred total is a small hurdle.

When these teams met last season, the Irish were 17-pt favorites, but they only beat the Midshipmen by three. Notre Dame had one of the sloppiest starts to a season in 2022 as they lost two games as 15+ point favorites. The Midshipmen went 6-0 ATS as double-digit underdogs last season. I am not sold on Sam Hartman as the Irish quarterback. This spread is too high. Take the points with Navy.

Expect the Midshipmen to be much better this season because of their returning experience. On the Notre Dame side of things, having Wake Forest transfer Sam Hartman under center will make a significant difference in balancing out an offense that can already run the ball. Defensively, the Irish will be stellar again. Getting Navy in Week Zero is the perfect time to play a triple option offense.

The 2023 season will kickoff Saturday afternoon when Notre Dame takes on Navy in Dublin, Ireland. The under is bound to hit in this one. First, the travel across the pond will lead to a sloppy game. Second, the Fighting Irish defense will shut down a shaky Midshipmen offense. Even if Irish quarterback Sam Hartman makes a statement, his defense will keep this one low-scoring.

Navy almost upset Notre Dame last season losing 35-32 after being down 35-13 at the half. Navy has 17 starters back this season but also has a new head coach with a new version of the triple-option and a new QB who hasn’t practiced much. Notre Dame has a new QB in sixth-year senior Sam Hartman who has already taken over the leadership role on a team with 15 returning starters. He had over 38 TD passes in the last two seasons with Wake Forest. The game is in Dublin which has a natural home edge for the Irish. I’m on Notre Dame to cover.