The Irish were idle last week. That's huge for a pair of reasons. It gives the Irish two weeks to stew over a bitter 31-27 road loss to second-ranked Florida State and gives them ample time to prepare for Navy's unique option offense.

I see Notre Dame having a big game here. Navy leads the nation in rushing, but has no ability to come back from a big deficit since the Midshipmen lack any semblance of a passing attack.

But will Notre Dame be able to build up a big lead? I see it happening. The Irish still have playoff incentive and they will be highly motivated after Navy nearly upset them at home last year while drawing Brian Kelly's anger for throwing chop blocks. The Irish lost several defensive linemen in that game because of those controversial blocks. Kelly hasn't forgotten.

The previous two years - 2011 and 2012 - Notre Dame beat Navy by a combined margin of 82 points.

Sparked by quarterback Everett Golson, Notre Dame is averaging nearly 450 yards on offense. Golson has accounted for 23 touchdowns with just six interceptions. Navy gives up 27.6 points per game and 411.5 yards of offense. The Midshipmen have only three sacks and just eight takeaways.

Notre Dame ranks 12th in run defense. The Irish have experience handling Navy's option attack. They had breakdowns last year against it because of numerous defensive line injuries that were inflicted during the game.

The Midshipmen don't have the athletes Notre Dame has, nor the depth. I can see them wearing down. Note, too, this isn't a true home game for Navy as it's being played in Landover, Md.