Notre Dame Football power rankings after beating Navy

Notre Dame’s 42-3 win over Navy was about as pretty as it gets in this series, and people are feeling pretty good about the program. We’re going to ride those good vibes with the start of some weekly power rankings, and I just pulled the first batch out of the camp fire.

ONE — HARDWARE KINGS

People that know me best know that I love a good piece of hardware. Rivalry trophies? Yeah — I have a massive crush on rivalry trophies, and for years I have pleaded for Notre Dame to make their rivalry trophies a more visible part of the program. I also love a good bowl trophy, and was appalled when I learned about the fate of the 2008 Hawaii Bowl Trophy (monsters).

The Irish are now proud owners of some new Waterford Crystal.

Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

More importantly, however, Notre Dame football has a shillelagh that they are bringing to the field every game. We’re one step closer to publicly acknowledging the Jeweled Shillelagh from the USC rivalry.

I’m super excited.

TWO — GERAD PARKER

While the players on the offensive side of the ball are getting a lot of the credit (as they probably should — maybe) Gerad Parker got off to a fantastic start as the offensive coordinator and playcaller.

THREE — IRISH LINEBACKERS

There was the usual trashing of players that have been around a few years by Notre Dame fans throughout the offseason. Some of the main targets were Notre Dame’s starting linbacker group of Jack Kiser, JD Bertrand, and Marist Liufau. The trio racked up 18 tackles in the game, and were a big reason why Navy only gained 126 yards on the ground.

FOUR — DEION COLZIE

FIVE — SOME GUY NAMED SAM

Sam Hartman had a fantastic game and showed why he was the top quarterback in the transfer portal with a 19-23, 255, 4 TD game. What might be even more significant is how smooth and competent the offense looked.

Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

SIX — BIG MEN

Clearly Notre Dame held a significant size advantage (and other things too) over Navy down in the trenches. Plain and simple — it’s just fun to watch bullies in action on the football field.

SEVEN — EARNED 5-STAR

It’s clearly bullshit. Slap one more star next to Jaden Greathouse’s recruiting ranking and his two touchdown performance would have got a lot more acclaim from Irish outsiders. (See the love for Zachariah Branch for reference).

BOTTOM TWO

The worst things from the game...

• Brian Newberry is the new Dino Babers.
• There wasn’t enough Shillelagh coverage — not nearly enough.

MOVING ON

Back home for Tennessee State — YAY!