Last year, Navy's toughest test came against Notre Dame, the eventual national champion runner-ups.
The Midshipmen were clobbered, 51-14, and they will have to face them again this season.
Navy finished the 2024 campaign 10-3 overall, but outside of their all-important win over Army, it was their biggest battles where they fell terribly short.
They not only were destroyed by Notre Dame, but they were also blown out by Tulane 35-0.
Navy was able to finish out the year on a high note when they secured a one-point victory in their bowl game against the Oklahoma Sooners.
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But looking ahead to this season, the matchup against Notre Dame looms large once again.
The Fighting Irish have some questions surrounding their quarterback position, as Riley Leonard graduated and was selected in the NFL draft. Leonard had over 2,800 passing yards on the year and will be hard to replace, which works in the favor of the Midshipmen.
However, Notre Dame returns their leading rusher, Jeremiyah Love, who is going into his junior season after being unbelievable as a sophomore.
Last year, he had 1,125 yards rushing with an additional 237 yards receiving. He had nearly 20 touchdowns between both the ground and the air.
Notre Dame's leading receiver, Jaden Greathouse, will also be back in his junior season. By the end of the year, he had almost 600 yards receiving while averaging over 14 yards per catch.
At the end of the 2024 season, Notre Dame had outscored their opponents 578-248.
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Luckily for the Navy, the Irish will not have their top linebacker back, as Jack Kiser was selected in this year's NFL draft.
But still, that Notre Dame matchup looms large on Nov. 8, with the Midshipmen traveling to South Bend to face the Fightin Irish in a tough away game.
Before they get to the most daunting challenge on their schedule, though, Navy will have to take care of business in the early part of the campaign, with September featuring three conference games and a rematch against Rice, which was one of the teams they lost to last year.
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