Navy @ Notre Dame preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 1, 2012 ) Notre Dame 50, Navy 10

Notre Dame seeks its fourth straight victory Saturday afternoon when it hosts Navy as the longtime rivals meet for the 87th straight season. The Fighting Irish are coming off their most lopsided win of the year, a 45-10 rout at Air Force. They have put a 3-2 start in the rear view mirror and are gearing up for a challenging stretch run that ends with a visit to Stanford on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

The Midshipmen also took care of Air Force earlier in the year and are coming off a 24-21 win over Pittsburgh last Saturday. A 30-yard field goal as time expired was the difference as Navy scored 10 points in the final three-plus minutes to improve to 3-0 at home. The Midshipmen have dropped three straight on the road, however, including two to non-BCS conference schools.

TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, NBC. LINE: Notre Dame -17

ABOUT NAVY (4-3): Kicker Nick Sloan was the hero with the game-winner against Pittsburgh, finding redemption after missing an extra point in the second overtime that led to a 45-44 loss to Toledo a week earlier. However, quarterback Keenan Reynolds continued to be the catalyst, throwing for 105 yards and a score and running for 93 yards and a touchdown, his 11th on the ground this season. Reynolds' efforts have driven the nation's 10th-ranked rushing attack, which was held to 149 yards on 40 attempts in last season's 50-10 loss to the Irish in Dublin.

ABOUT NOTRE DAME (6-2): The rout of the Falcons last Saturday came on the strength of Tommy Rees' arm, as the senior produced a career-high five touchdown passes one week after he suffered a strained neck in a win over USC. Irish head coach Brian Kelly is 20-2 at Notre Dame in November, which bodes well for a team that hopes to climb back into the BCS picture after its slow start. "I think if we take care of business and win week after week, we've got some quality teams in front of us, I think we're right where we need to be," Kelly said in his Sunday press conference.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Navy averages just 3.14 penalties and 26.43 penalty yards per game, the lowest marks in the nation in each category.

2. With his five TDs last week, Rees moved past Ron Powlus and into third place on the school's all-time list with 54 scoring passes, six behind Jimmy Clausen.

3. After losing three of four to the Midshipmen, the Irish have won the last two by a combined 106-24 margin. Notre Dame has a 73-12-1 series lead.

PREDICTION: Notre Dame 31, Navy 14