EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — It took Navy five years, five wins to start the season and a second-year coach to get back into the AP Top 25. That No. 24 ranking could be on the line Saturday when the Midshipmen (6-0) face No. 12 Notre Dame (6-1) at MetLife Stadium in the New Jersey Meadowlands sports complex. “It’s a great opportunity for our team and our program,” Navy coach Brian Newberry said. “These are the kind of games you want to play in. It’s a great thing about coming to school here at Navy is you get to play a team like Notre Dame every year: a big game on national stage like that. That’s what you want.” Beating Notre Dame is a big ask for Navy, which lost 42-3 to the Irish in August 2023 in Dublin. Notre Dame is a 12½-point favorite in the 97th meeting of a series that dates to 1927. “We know who we are and what we’re able to do, and we have to control that,” Navy quarterback Blake Horvath said. “There’s nothing that Notre Dame can do that will change who we are. We can beat ourselves and that’s for sure and that’s something we haven’t done so far this year.” Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said the Midshipmen are vastly improved from last season. Navy is averaging 44.8 points and 435.8 total yards, including 274.8 rushing. “I love it,” said Freeman, whose team beat Georgia Tech 31-13 last weekend. “We’re looking forward to a great challenge. To play a 6-0 team, as the head coach you’d much rather do that than play a team that’s 0-6 because it doesn’t take much to motivate your guys.” Navy is just as motivated in a sense. “We can’t treat this like it’s the Super Bowl,” senior linebacker Kyle Jacob said. “It’s the next game.” Everyone knows the Super Bowl for Navy will be Dec. 14 against Army at the Washington Commanders’ home stadium in Landover, Md. The teams, both 6-0 for the first time since 1926, also could meet in the American Athletic Conference title game eight days earlier in either Annapolis or West Point. The rivalry Notre Dame knows it is the biggest game on essentially every opponent’s schedule. And while the list of longtime Irish rivals includes Michigan, Purdue, USC and Stanford, the rivalry with Navy carries a different feel. That’s not only because these teams have met on the football field every year since 1927, except the pandemic 2020 season. This one has been played in a variety of locations, including Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, San Diego, Cleveland and South Bend, Ind. Heisman Horvath? Charlotte coach Biff Poggi said after his team’s 51-17 loss at Navy that Horvath deserves Heisman Trophy consideration. There’s a long way to go before that’s a possibility, but Horvath and Alabama’s Jalen Milroe are the only FBS players with 10 touchdowns each rushing and passing. “There’s a lot of great guys out there with with Travis Hunter and Ashton Jeanty,” said Horvath, who has amassed 1,509 total yards through six games. “All I can do is just play my game and control what I can control.” Horvath, a sophomore who ran something similar to offensive coordinator Drew Cronic’s system in high school, has been the key to a complete turnaround on that side of the ball. Navy is tied with Kansas for the best red-zone offense in the country, relying far more on the pass than the typical service academy. New Navy look Getting ready to face Navy’s offense has been an adjustment for teams. “We’ve been preparing for it since fall camp,” Freeman said of Navy’s triple-option system. “You’re intentional about having certain periods on certain days in fall camp. We attacked it again during the bye week, so we have a good foundation for what we’ve planned on doing and we’ve enhanced it.” There is one change. With Horvath having an excellent season throwing, Navy uses a shotgun formation about 45% of the time. In years past, it was mostly on passing downs. Special encore? Coming off a bye, the Irish did everything right on special teams last week. They executed a fake punt and a fake field goal, converting each for a first down. They blocked a field goal and twice tackled Georgia Tech kick returners deep in their own territory. Freeman, naturally, isn’t saying whether Notre Dame will try anything like that again this week. But now that it’s on tape, Navy — and all future Irish opponents — must be prepared to defend all of it. No. 12 Notre Dame (6-1) vs. No. 24 Navy (6-0) Time/TV: 11 a.m. Saturday, ABC-7. Line: Notre Dame by 12½. Series: Notre Dame leads 82-13-1. Facts & figures Notre Dame won 43 straight meetings from 1963-2006. … Navy is 2-0 all time at MetLife Stadium. It beat the Irish there in 2010 and Army in 2021. … Notre Dame QB Riley Leonard ranks second among active FBS quarterbacks with 29 TD runs. He has 10 this season. … The Midshipmen are one of three FBS teams that have won every game this season by at least 10 points (Army, Indiana). … Notre Dame is allowing 11.9 points per game, fifth in the FBS, and ranks in the top 15 in seven other defensive categories. … Navy has four all-time wins against Notre Dame when the Irish are ranked — in 2009, 1957, 1944 and 1936. AP’s Mike Marot and Stephen Whyno contributed.