The beauty of Notre Dame's suppression of the Navy is that it is ongoing

Perhaps Saturday's defining moment in a game that is an outlier every year when it comes to X's and O's was the post-game calibration of the how NOT to frame it.

As a kind of arrival.

Aa a blanket. A brush with perfection. A justification for continuing to leak the College Football Playoff plans.

The 51:14 dismantling of No. 12 Notre Dame vs. No. However, 24 Navy, in only the second rank-versus-rank duel between the two annual rivals since 1978, was an indication of what is possible. But the context third-year coach Marcus Freeman In the Irish locker room at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, there was an insistence that the work to get there is just beginning to gain momentum.

“Hopefully it's a mindset that we all have when it comes to dealing with success,” Freeman said, taking his regime's first six-game winning streak into the team's second bye week of the season. “I mean, we won, but we are so much more. So much more.

“Let’s enjoy this thing. The result is what you wanted, but the mental approach we take this week is so crucial to how we can improve. And it has to be hard. I just told those guys, “You’re not going to get better if you do the same thing you did the week before.”

“In human nature, gravity takes over. You'll feel even worse. So we have to prepare mentally in difficult ways and physically in difficult ways for the next opponent if we really want to improve and improve.

“So that's the mindset that we have and hopefully that's why overall we're able to sustain the success that we've had over the last couple of weeks.”

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Notre Dame (7-1) next faces Florida State (1-6 before a night game against No. 6 Miami) at Notre Dame Stadium on Nov. 9, four days after the first CFP rankings were released and the first undefeated players is September, October or November during Freeman's third year of reign.

“You better understand that if you don't prepare properly, you can lose anyone,” Freeman said, pointing to the 16-14 loss to Northern Illinois on Sept. 7 that he still uses as occasional motivation. “And I never want to forget that.”

But there were also moments on Saturday that should not be forgotten – for the better. And perhaps they are more translatable and easier to apply to the remaining four games of the regular season than typical ND-Navy matchups.

Including another balanced and productive day for the Irish quarterback Riley Leonard.

Against a defense that thrived on turnovers en route to Navy's first 6-0 start since 1979, seven years before Freeman was born, Leonard helped lift the Irish out of the losers' bracket on Saturday out while also being a force on the ground game and posted his second-best pass efficiency rating in an Irish uniform (164.5).

“There are a lot of factors at play,” Leonard said of his series of incremental improvements. “I'll start with everyone who was around me. You see guys like (2023 Irish starting QB) Sam Hartmanwho called me and really talked to me about the opportunities we have as quarterbacks at Notre Dame.

“You look at it Tyler Buchnerwho came back here. Going out to dinner with him and having his perspective on everything really helped me a lot. He doesn't get enough credit. He puts so much into this program now. This was really a big help for me.

“Every single teammate who held me accountable. Not just on the football field, but also when it comes to my faith.”

And that belief in the action looked like this in numbers on Saturday: Ten runs for 83 yards and Leonard's 11th rushing TD of the season, three fewer Brandon Wimbush Single-season school record. The Irish outrebounded Navy, No. 4 nationally in rush offense, 365-222.

And before it is relieved by a backup Steve Angeli Entering the fourth quarter, Leonard completed 13 of 21 passes for 178 yards with TD throws to fellow transfer players Kris Mitchell And Beau Collins.

The Irish led 31-7 at halftime and had 302 total yards on their way to 466 at that point.

“Do I feel 100% safe yet? No,” Leonard said. “But some things are starting to become second nature in our attack controls. Obviously I missed spring ball and a little bit of summer.

“Even if I had seen all of that, it’s difficult to run a college offense these days. There's a lot going on. I'm still trying to figure out if we got it or not. Having that little bit of fear that there is always more in the tank really helps us and helps me.

“It’s still a work in progress, of course, but we’re getting better every week.”

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This also applies to the offensive line with Junior Billy Schrauth Back on the roster for the first time since his early ankle injury in a 66-7 road win at Purdue on Sept. 14. Freeman and Irish O-line coach Joe Rudolph opted to put Schrauth back in at left offensive linebacker, alongside the freshman left tackle Antony Knapp.

Schrauth's long-term replacement, senior Rocco Spindlerstayed in Schrauth's old right guard spot and struggled as a sophomore Sam Pendleton played with the second team O-Line.

Whether Pendleton finds his way back into the starting lineup somewhere, Schrauth's return raises the ceiling on the O-line.

“Just the demeanor with which he plays, the toughness with which he plays,” the Irish offensive coordinator said Mike Denbrock said earlier this month about what the Irish missed without Schrauth. “It just makes us better. It just does.”

The same goes for a healthy sophomore wide receiver Jordan Faisonwho matched his season high in ND's first seven games, with a season-high four receptions Saturday against the Mids for a team-high 52 yards. When his right ankle is finally 100%, he could be the deep threat Denbrock has been craving since taking over last December.

Tight end Mitchell Evans' The continued re-emergence and presence of multiple tight end sets is another glimpse into ND's emerging future. And with the second-year running back Jeremiyah love More on third down — en route to 102 yards and two touchdowns — may also be a good sign.

And then there is the defensive and third-year coordinator Al Golden's Further tweaks to a unit that ranked 10th nationally in total defense and fifth in point defense.

Individually, there were almost as many encouraging signs as overall.

Like a junior linebacker Jaylen Sneeds A career-high nine tackles followed by a fumble recovery for a touchdown after several weeks of decline. Or Junior Tuihalamakas He had a career-best seven tackles and a fumble recovery on the defensive end.

Or freshman cornerback Leonard Moores first interception of his career by a junior quarterback Blake Horvath who had only thrown one all season.

In total, the Irish defense had three fumble recoveries to go along with Moore's pick. And two more fumble recoveries on special teams for a total of six Navy giveaways. The Mids had signed two players all season entering the game.

And Navy was 23 of 23 in the red zone on offense with 22 touchdowns, but was 1 of 3 against the Irish. Horvath came into the game with a pass efficiency rating of 210.5, an NCAA record performance if he could maintain it and log enough attempts per game to meet a minimum qualifying threshold.

The Irish held him to a 95.3 rating and under 100 passing yards (88) for the first time this season on Saturday.

“In the past, when you played a triple-option team, you had a completely different defense,” Freeman said. “But when they get in the (shotgun formation), it’s similar to the things you see week in and week out. So we needed to be able to play a triple-option defense with the same personnel.

“And then when they get in the firing line, we'll be able to play some of the normal defense that we had. And they still did a good job. You – I'm talking about the Navy. But Coach Golden had a wonderful game plan. You know, 14 points is too much for greedy people like us, but they did a great job compared to an offense that has barely been stopped this year.”

Happy but hungry. Improvement, but no climax. It's exactly what the Irish want to achieve in November, but where are they going?

Leonard's state of mind is perhaps quite telling.

“Everyone thinks Notre Dame is just this powerhouse,” Leonard said. “I was a little overwhelmed when I first got involved. But once you get in here and start getting to know these guys, they’re just regular guys, just like me.”

Including the quarterbacks from Notre Dame's past whose experiences the Duke transfer took advantage of.

“Every single one of them just told me, 'Don't take it for granted and don't regret it,'” Leonard said. “I think regret only comes from missed opportunities, not missed opportunities. If you want to throw it but don't throw it and let it tear, you will regret it. But if you throw it away and something bad happens, it is what it is. At least you tried.

“Every single one of them has told me this over time. Just find myself, find my peace. It is a great honor to be able to wear this blue and gold. Every day I wake up I truly live by it. Whether things are going well or things are going bad, I wake up every day and don’t take it for granted.”

NOTRE DAME 51, NAVY 14: Box Score

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