Navy vs. Notre Dame: TV Info, Spread, Injury Updates, Game Time and More

Slowly but surely and oftentimes not very prettily, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish have won three straight games and fought themselves back into the national conversation coming into Saturday's game against Navy.

The Irish, unranked in the first BCS poll and still on the outside of the AP rankings, find themselves No. 25 in the rankings that count. Their hopes of a return to the national championship game were dead and buried two weeks into the 2013 campaign, but with respected teams falling by the wayside, Notre Dame's chances of sneaking into BCS bowl contention are increasing every week.

Helping matters is a less-than-stellar schedule highlighted by once-beloved programs and national also-rans. The Irish dispatched Air Force with a 45-10 victory that saw them dominate from the opening kickoff. Had Utah State not put a similar thumping on the Falcons, one could have said it was the most impressive performance of Notre Dame's season.

Should Notre Dame do the same to Navy on Saturday, fewer caveats would be needed. The Midshipmen are 4-3 and likely headed to yet another bowl game. Their running game is again among the 10 or so best in the nation, and it seems yet again like anyone within a 500-mile radius of the program could be effective in that system.

In other words, it's like playing Air Force again. Only harder. The Irish are ramping up their difficulty on NCAA 14 from Rookie this week; we'll just have to see if it's up to Varsity or All-American. With a massive point spread and the advantage of playing at home, it seems most think it'll be the former.

Here's a complete breakdown of when and where you can watch Saturday's contest, along with a look at the biggest storyline heading into the game.

Game Information

When: Saturday, Nov. 2 at 3:30 p.m. ET

Where: Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Ind.

Watch: NBC

Stream: NBC Sports Live Extra

Spread: Notre Dame -17 (Vegas Insider)

Injury Report

Player	Pos.	Injury	Status
Graham Vickers	OT	Concussion	Out

Player	Pos.	Injury	Status
Ishaq Williams	LB	Knee	Doubtful
Elijah Shumate	S	Hamstring	Questionable
Louis Nix III	DT	Knee	Questionable
Chris Watt	DE	Knee	Probable
Sheldon Day	DE	Ankle	Probable
Tony Springmann	T	Knee	Out
Christian Lombard	G	Back	Out
Greg Bryant	RB	Knee	Out

Top Storyline

Is Tommy Rees Taking a Mini-Leap?

As a senior, most Irish fans know what to expect from Rees. The good. The mediocre. The what the hell was he thinking. It's all been there throughout his career and likely will be for whatever career he has in football beyond his time as a Golden Domer.

But right now, Rees is quietly having a very good season. He's on pace to shatter his career high in yards and will set a career mark with his next touchdown toss. His six interceptions aren't a small total considering when they've come, but they're manageable—especially considering Rees threw 14 the last season he was a starter.

Should he stay healthy, there's little reason to think he won't wind up second on Notre Dame's single-season touchdown pass list behind only Brady Quinn. We're in a day and age where Tommy Rees is about to go all Dipset on Joe Montana. 

There are admittedly cracks in the resume. His 55.3 completion percentage is the lowest of his career. It's one-tenth of a percentage better than the oft-maligned Logan Thomas of Virginia Tech. In today's college football landscape, about the only time you want to be compared to Logan Thomas is on a list of quarterbacks Hokies fans would rather have than Logan Thomas. The six-interception total doesn't account for dropped picks, which anyone who has watched the Irish know is a too-frequent occurrence.

Rather than regress to the mean, however, Rees actually seems to be performing better over the past two weeks. He was carving up USC before a neck injury knocked him out in the third quarter and led to the Andrew Hendrix devastation.

He followed that up by throwing for five touchdown passes against Air Force before going to sip on some sweet sideline lemonade. Over the past two games, Rees is 31-of-43 (72.1 percent) for 450 yards and seven touchdowns without a pick.

Never has anyone questioned his value within the offense less. This is his unit. For better. For worse. Now, will Rees' recent run of excellence continue, or will he regress back to the under-50 percent mean he was living at he three weeks prior to Notre Dame's trip to Southern Cal?

We'll get a good idea Saturday. Navy has very good cornerbacks in Kwazel Bertrand and Brendon Clements, two young guys who have played far better than anyone expected this season. The Midshipmen are hanging on the fringes of the top 20 in pass defense and have only given up 11 touchdown passes all season.

Now, Rees should be able to pick them apart underneath. Navy tends to play back off opposing receivers, leaving beaucoup passing lanes available between five and seven yards. While not particularly effective on said completions, opponents have connected on 69.7 percent of their pass attempts thus far.

That, my friends, is not very good. Third-worst in football, in fact. Very comparable to a team that gave up five Rees touchdowns. Unlike last week, where coverages were more open than a progressive couple's marriage, this time around will be all about expressing patience.

Let's see how Rees does. 

Prediction

It's unfair to categorize Navy among the national dregs. The Midshipmen are two wins away from being bowl eligible and have more above-.500 seasons over the past decade than the Irish. Every year, Navy gives a couple teams more than it can handle with a series of triple-options.

It's perfectly reasonable to think Notre Dame will struggle to go over here.

Rebuttal: Yeah, but still. There is a massive talent chasm here, and the Irish are more than used to seeing option plays after preparing for Navy and Air Force in back-to-back weeks. Even if Louis Nix misses the game or is noticeably hobbled by injury, Notre Dame has turned in two straight stellar defensive performances. The unit is getting hot at the perfect time and shouldn't have any trouble keeping its opponent under 30.

Of course, that's all without mentioning Rees and the offense. The Irish are humming at this point on both sides of the ball, doing so at a time when their schedule calls for a late-season run. This game won't be close. 

Score: Notre Dame 35, Navy 13

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