College Football Season Kicks Off In Dublin: Notre Dame Vs Navy
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00:00 (upbeat music)
00:03 - A Dublin debut to the college football season in 2023.
00:08 13th ranked Notre Dame takes the trip to Ireland
00:11 to take on Navy.
00:13 Welcome back to the first Saturday of college football
00:16 today live right here on Sports Grid.
00:18 The 2023 college football season is back today
00:21 and it kicks off in Dublin between Notre Dame and Navy
00:25 to get us started for week zero
00:26 of this college football season.
00:27 He's Joe Leasy, he is Kevin Walsh and I am Ben Stevens.
00:31 Leasy guy, we start with you.
00:33 Notre Dame a 20 and a half point favorite
00:35 to start year number two for Marcus Freeman
00:38 at the helm in South Bend.
00:39 But it doesn't start under the watchful eye
00:41 of touchdown Jesus, the fighting Irish aptly named
00:44 in Ireland today against the Naval Academy
00:47 and the mid shipment.
00:48 It's a 20 and a half point spread Leasy guy.
00:50 What does that tell you about how this game
00:52 is expected to go?
00:53 - Well, it's expected that Notre Dame
00:55 should dominate in the trenches.
00:56 Let's not forget they've won five straight against Navy
00:59 by 18.6 points per game.
01:01 But last year's game 35-32 didn't cover a double digit
01:05 spread and that was with Drew Pine throwing
01:08 for four touchdowns.
01:09 Now you get an upgrade with Sam Hartman.
01:11 But I still think Ben it comes down to the rushing attack
01:13 led by Audra Castamay.
01:15 Right now they average 189 rushing yards per game
01:18 last year.
01:18 The physicality of their tackle Joe Walt, in my opinion,
01:22 should be able to wear down an undersized Navy front seven.
01:26 And let's not forget, right?
01:27 Brian Newberry, defensive coordinator, now the head coach.
01:30 When defensive coordinators do take over
01:33 that full responsibility, we've seen a little bit
01:36 of regression in college football in terms of the defense.
01:39 Couple with the fact that the offense last year for Navy,
01:42 they only averaged four yards per carry compared to 2019.
01:46 They were up to six yards per carry.
01:48 So that offense has regressed now the past few seasons.
01:52 That means they can't sustain drives.
01:53 And that means more opportunities can for Sam Hartman
01:56 in the Notre Dame offense.
01:58 It's the story of this game, right?
01:59 For as interested as I might be in grand chestnut
02:02 and what Navy can bring offensively here.
02:04 It's the fact that the Irish have the best quarterback
02:07 in this room since Brady Quinn was there.
02:09 And pro prospects wise, maybe Sam Hartman's above Brady Quinn.
02:14 We'll see how that all shakes out.
02:16 For Hartman, he comes in though, he leaves Wake Forest,
02:18 which was obviously a very specific offense
02:21 that he had completely mastered.
02:22 It's a new change.
02:24 It's a very unproven wide receiver room.
02:26 But I do think people overlook the fact that one of the reasons
02:29 South Bend has been buzzing over Marcus Freeman is
02:32 he's dominating the recruiting ranks in a way
02:34 that people didn't think Notre Dame actually could.
02:36 So those are your, and Tommy Reese is gone, right?
02:39 So that's a big question mark.
02:41 (upbeat music)
02:44 [MUSIC]