FIW staff makes its pick for Notre Dame vs. Navy and top Week 9 games

Notre Dame football returns to the field this week, after losing to BYU two weeks ago, with one of its annual service academy games, with Navy being the opponent.

The Irish will try to wash the bad taste out of its mouths, as a 2-5 Midshipmen team should provide that. The 2026 college football season has been absolutely wild, with only a few unbeaten’s, some with one-loss (Notre Dame), and many with two defeats.

Week 9 should be no different, as the staff here of Tim Healy, Sunny Verma, Kevin Smith and Michael Chen pick the winner of Notre Dame at Navy along with the top games of this weekend.

No. 22 Arizona Wildcats (6-1) at No. 13 Texas Tech Red Raiders (6-1)

Game data: Sat., Oct. 31 at 11 a.m. CDT on ESPN

Healey - Texas Tech is at home and should win this, but my picks track record and the chaos of the past two weekends has me this close to setting down index cards in front of my cats and just picking the team they paw at the most. Anyway, Tech takes it.

Verma - Arizona is rolling, and Tech is reeling after its first loss last week. However, I expect the Red Raiders to bounce back and get in the win column again.

Smith - Arizona has been a pleasant surprise this season, but I like Texas Tech in this one. The Raiders might have more of an edge since they're basically knocking on the CFP door.

Chen - Tech has had a pretty easy road so far, and looked like shoo-on for the CFP, now there is plenty of doubt. The Wildcats have been a sneaky good program, and I think that scrappiness gets them a win today.

No. 17 Florida Gators (5-2) at No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs (6-1)

Game data: Sat., Oct. 31 at 2:30 p.m. CDT on ABC

Healey - Florida is frisky, but Georgia is still very good, even with the one loss on its record. While a Florida upset wouldn't surprise me, but Georgia should win at home. Or so the index card covered in cat food says.

Verma - I just can’t see Georgia losing. They’re the more complete team and have been much more consistent than Florida this fall.

Smith - I love the rollercoaster team that is the Florida Gators. They'll go beat ranked Ole Miss and Texas' squads then get blown out by South Carolina and Missouri in back-to-back games. Could the Gators upset Georgia? Maybe, but I think the Bulldogs are looking to shake off that home loss to Auburn as soon as possible. Give me Georgia in this one.

Chen - Who really are the Gators? It’s hard to say at the moment, but we all know who the Bulldogs are. Arguably the most consistent team of the CFP era, Georgia wins another big conference game.

No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes (6-1) at USC Trojans (6-2)

Game data: Sat., Oct. 31 at 6:30 p.m. CDT on NBC

Healey - Ohio State should handle business here. Being on the road gives me some pause (paws?) but only a little.

Verma - A new starting quarterback was announced for the Buckeyes, as it wasn’t the 5-star, instead the California native Luke Fahey for the injured Julian Sayin. Like Notre Dame, an off-week to prepare, but traveling late to USC would spell doom. The Buckeyes defense still travels, and they’ll take this one.

Smith - USC's loss to Wisconsin was...bad. Not saying the Badgers are mediocre, but the Trojans should have recorded a win. USC might make things close against Ohio State, especially since Julian Sayin is out with an arm injury. However, the Buckeyes will have just enough to take down the Trojans.

Chen - This will be a very interesting game, as Lincoln Riley has many questioning if he’s right for the Trojans. The same can’t be said about the Buckeyes, but this is their first game without starting quarterback Julian Sayin. USC is pretty soft, as we all know, and I have OSU winning this one.

Tim Healey

Sorry for the cat puns, I am trying to find humor in my atrocious picking ability thus far this season. That said, I've only been wrong about the Irish once, at least in terms of winning -- scores are a different matter. My only misstep came last game with the loss at BYU.

I do worry that the Irish, stunned by its own failures against a top-10 team in Provo, might not be over the loss. That, and perhaps they could be looking ahead a week to Miami (FL). So this could be a prototypical "trap" game.

On the other hand, Notre Dame has a lot more talent than Navy and pissed-off Irish squad could be extra focused. I foresee a stumble out of the gate a close first quarter, maybe even first half, before Notre Dame's depth and talent takeover.

Notre Dame 34, Navy 10.

Sunny Verma

I think the extra week for Notre Dame to prepare for Navy will really help, considering the uniqueness of their offense. It’s also been two weeks for the Irish to stew on the loss to the Cougars, which will certainly motivate them to have a much better showing later today. Expect Notre Dame to play a very solid game, one that is never in doubt.

Notre Dame 38, Navy 6

Kevin Smith

Notre Dame needs a game to blown off some steam following the loss to BYU and before its big matchup against Miami next weekend. And Navy, who is currently riding a 2-5 record, will feel the wrath of the Fighting Irish. The Midshipmen have a superb QB in Jackson Gutierrez, a dual threat in the air and on the ground. But when Navy head coach Brian New Berry said on Wednesday that Notre Dame has "no weaknesses when you watch them," you just know what the Irish will bring to the table come Saturday at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro.

Notre Dame 43, Navy 16.

Michael Chen

Notre Dame’s coaching staff is good enough to make the proper corrections as the season goes on, but this isn’t the test that they’ll be measured on this season. They’ve already failed the first, losing to BYU, and you typically see the next opponent, especially after an off-week, get taken to the woodshed. I think the Irish play angry, but in control, and rout the Midshipmen.

Notre Dame 56, Navy 13

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This article originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire: FIW staff makes its pick for Notre Dame vs. Navy and top Week 9 games