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Week 8 games of interest to Wisconsin Football fans

By Sam Land

BLOOMINGTON, IN - OCTOBER 20: Trace McSorley #9 of the Penn State Nittany Lions throws a pass in the first quarter of the game against the Indiana Hoosiers at Memorial Stadium on October 20, 2018 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
BLOOMINGTON, IN - OCTOBER 20: Trace McSorley #9 of the Penn State Nittany Lions throws a pass in the first quarter of the game against the Indiana Hoosiers at Memorial Stadium on October 20, 2018 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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No. 3 Notre Dame vs. Navy (San Diego, CA) – 8:00 p.m. ET

Is Notre Dame for real?

On the one hand, the Fighting Irish are undefeated and, as a result, in an excellent position to secure a Playoff berth, especially since they will almost certainly be favored in all of their remaining games. Brian Kelly fields a rock-solid defense and appears to have struck gold on the other side of the ball with the quarterback switch from Brandon Wimbush to Ian Book, who has breathed new life into this offense over Notre Dame’s last few games.

That being said, while they are clearly deserving of the No. 3 ranking and a Playoff berth based on that undefeated record so far, I have a hard time considering the Irish legitimate title contenders.

Notre Dame has struggled on multiple occasions against teams far less talented such as Ball State, Vanderbilt, and Pittsburgh. Two weeks ago against the Panthers, the Irish barely pulled out a 19-14 win on a touchdown pass from Book to wide receiver Miles Boykin with 5:43 left in the game. So, while Notre Dame may be favored to win each of the contests left on the schedule, I could realistically see the Irish losing in any of those matchups, starting this weekend against Navy.

This is the 92nd consecutive year that these programs have met, and while the Irish have historically had Navy’s number, victories have not been easy to come by recently. Four of the last five matchups have been decided by 10 points or less, with the Midshipmen taking out the Irish in a thrilling 28-27 affair in 2016.

The final score in this year’s game should not be close. Navy currently sits at 2-5, with those two victories coming against programs that aren’t exactly national powers in Memphis and Lehigh. Most recently, the Midshipmen were felled by Houston 49-36 last weekend. Navy essentially does not throw the ball, ranking dead last in the FBS in passing offense. Unfortunately for them, Notre Dame boasts a rushing defense that is allowing just 3.5 yards per attempt.

Don’t underestimate the Midshipmen, however. The showdown with Notre Dame is usually this program’s biggest game of the year, and they have tended to rise to the occasion in recent seasons.

Next. 10 best Wisconsin football games since 2010. dark

All stats courtesy of ESPN.com