I’ve had the pleasure of covering four Navy football victories over Notre Dame.

That is rather remarkable considering the Midshipmen went more than four decades without defeating the Fighting Irish. I was in South Bend, Indiana, when history was made in 2007 when Navy snapped its 43-game losing streak in the series.

Fullback Eric Kettani and safety Wyatt Middleton were among many heroes as Navy prevailed 46-44 in an epic triple-overtime affair.

Considering the history, I figured I would never see another Navy win versus Notre Dame. How wrong I was. Because it happened again just two years later the next time the Midshipmen visited Notre Dame Stadium.

That was another memorable game featuring several indelible moments with linebacker Craig Schaefer sacking quarterback Jimmy Clausen in the end zone with 60 seconds left to clinch a 23-21 upset of the 19th-ranked Fighting Irish.

Losing twice at home to Navy was a big reason why Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis was fired following the 2009 season. Weis was replaced by Brian Kelly and he proceeded to lose to Navy in his first season at the helm.

Fullback Alexander Teich rushed for 210 yards and quarterback Ricky Dobbs scored three touchdowns as Navy routed Notre Dame, 35-17, at the New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in 2010.

Dobbs, Middleton and their fellow seniors became just the third class in Navy football history to beat Notre Dame three times during their careers, joining 1937 and 1964 classes.

“Being able to say my senior class is one of those to beat Notre Dame three times is special right there,” Middleton said. “Notre Dame always had that streak going with us, but recently things have changed.”

Navy’s most recent victory over Notre Dame came in 2016 at Everbank Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida. Quarterback Will Worth ran for 175 yards and two touchdowns and safety Alohi Gilman recorded 12 tackles as the Mids pulled out a 28-27 win at the home of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

That was a great Navy football team that boasted a 9-2 overall record and 7-1 mark in the American Athletic Conference.

Now that we have the history lesson out of the way, we get to the question that is most pertinent this week. Can Navy beat Notre Dame for a fifth time in my lifetime?

Based on what we’ve seen out of the Midshipmen so far this season, I think the answer is a resounding yes. Unbeaten Navy (6-0), which moved up to No. 24 in the Associated Press rankings, enters the annual matchup riding a massive wave of confidence.

The Midshipmen, boasting an explosive offense and an opportunistic defense, have beaten five of their six opponents by 23 points or more.

Navy has been solid defensively ever since Brian Newberry became coordinator in 2019, routinely ranking in the top third of the national rankings in most key statistical categories. That reputation for playing tough, stingy defense has continued with Newberry being promoted to coach and P.J. Volker taking over as coordinator.

Subpar offensive performance is the primary reason Navy suffered four straight losing seasons from 2020 through 2023. That problem has been solved in a big way with the hiring of Drew Cronic as offensive coordinator.

Cronic’s version of Wing-T offense has taken the American Athletic Conference by storm and been the talk of college football. Quarterback Blake Horvath, who is being mentioned as a Heisman Trophy candidate, directs a versatile attack that is averaging 44.8 points and 435.8 total yards per game, ranking fourth nationally in the former category.

Cronic’s Wing-T, which incorporates triple-option, run-pass option and even some pro-style schemes, has confounded opposing defensive coordinators all season. It will be interesting to see if Notre Dame is the first defense that can truly stop, or even slow down, the unique system.

Navy is coming off its poorest offensive performance to date, totaling a season-low 363 total yards during Saturday’s 51-17 blowout of Charlotte. It seems silly to criticize an offense that produced 37 points, but that’s exactly what Newberry did afterward.

“The disappointing thing for me is that you score 51 points and really for three quarters you didn’t play very well offensively. We got real sloppy,” he said. “I just think we were a little flat offensively after that first quarter. We just couldn’t get into a rhythm today. I just think we didn’t play super clean. I thought we missed some assignments.”

It seemed to me the Navy offense simply lost its edge after racing out to a commanding 38-0 lead. My guess is that Horvath and company would have continued executing at a high level had the result basically not been decided less than five minutes into the second period.

Notre Dame has pretty much dominated the series ever since its last loss to Navy in 2016. The Fighting Irish have beaten the Mids by an average of more than 30 points in four of the last five meetings. The only close result came in 2022 when Notre Dame squeaked out a 35-32 win at M&T Bank Stadium.

Last year’s contest was almost non-competitive with the Fighting Irish routing the Mids, 42-3, in the season opener at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland. This year’s matchup is considered a Navy home game and is being played in an NFL stadium as usual.

This marks the first time the Navy-Notre Dame game has been played at MetLife Stadium since 2016.

No. 12 Notre Dame (6-1) is good as usual this season, having rebounded from a stunning loss to Northern Illinois in Game 2 to win four straight in impressive fashion. Meanwhile, Navy is unbeaten going into this game for the first time since 2004 and Newberry likes his team’s chances.

“Our kids believe they can win every week right now. They believe they can win this week and I believe it, too,” he said. “We’re going to have to play much better than we did today to make that happen. It’s not going to take anything superhuman, but we’ll have to be at our best in all three phases to have a shot. I’m excited about the opportunity. These are the games you want to play in.”