Speaking during a postgame news conference Saturday, Evan Martin described the Navy football team’s last-second victory over Southern Methodist as “euphoric.” With his next breath, the standout senior offensive lineman said the Midshipmen could celebrate for only one night because “we’ve got to come back tomorrow and get ready to beat the Irish.”

Navy faces perhaps its toughest test of the season Saturday when it travels to South Bend to take on Notre Dame. The Midshipmen will be seeking to beat the Fighting Irish for the fifth time since 2007.

Notre Dame (8-2) was ranked third in the College Football Playoff poll last week, but will no doubt drop dramatically after enduring a 41-8 drubbing at the hands of Miami on Saturday night. The Hurricanes moved all the way up to No. 2 in the Associated Press poll based off the impressive performance and could make a similar jump in the next CFP rankings. Notre Dame is ranked ninth in this week’s AP poll.

“Miami was the better team today. They deserved to win. We didn’t see this coming,” Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said afterward. “Obviously, we felt like we were prepared to play at a high level. We did not. We simply have to coach better and have to play better next week against Navy.”

The Midshipmen figure to get a Fighting Irish squad that is angry about getting embarrassed on national television in a game with serious postseason implications. However, coach Ken Niumatalolo said Notre Dame is a formidable foe for Navy regardless of its result the previous week.

“Notre Dame is Notre Dame. They’re always a really talented football team. Whether they won or whether they lost, this is going to be a tough game for us. It always is,” Niumatalolo said Monday during the American Athletic Conference teleconference. “I know Coach Kelly will get his guys ready. To me, that game has no bearing. It’s going to be a hard game for us to win.”

Notre Dame is dramatically improved after suffering through a disappointing 4-8 season in 2016. The Fighting Irish lost four games by three points or fewer and two others by a touchdown.

Navy was among the teams that handed Notre Dame a narrow defeat, pulling off a 28-27 upset at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Fla. It appeared that trend might continue this season when Notre Dame lost to Georgia, 20-19, on Sept. 9, but that game was followed by seven straight wins.

“We have a huge challenge coming up in Notre Dame, which is year in and year out one of the best programs in the country,” Niumatalolo said. “We know them very well. We play them every year. So we know how good they are, how well-coached they are. It’s going to be a tough challenge, but we’re looking forward to it.”

Kelly made some serious changes during the offseason, most notably firing both coordinators. Mike Elko was lured away from Wake Forest to replace Brian VanGorder as the defensive coordinator while Chip Long was brought in from Memphis to serve as offensive coordinator after Mike Denbrock voluntarily left for Cincinnati.

Notre Dame started this season with five new position coaches. Additionally, three of the five strength-and-conditioning coaches were brought in since last season. Kelly said lapses in mental toughness, subpar physical conditioning and a general lack of accountability were “part of the whole culture that I let slip up.”

“We failed and I failed. I looked at what adjustments needed to be made,” Kelly told Sports Illustrated in March. “Why did we hire all these new coaches? We did it because there’s a tradition of excellence that I need to live up to. Period. I didn’t live up to it, and I’m going to make sure that never happens again.”

Notre Dame returns four of its five starting offensive linemen, led by senior All-America left tackle Mike McGlinchey (6 feet 8, 315 pounds). Left guard Quenton Nelson, center Sam Mustipher and right tackle Alex Bars also started against Navy last season.

However, the Fighting Irish have a whole new set of skill position players, led by dual-threat quarterback Brandon Wimbush. Last year’s starter, DeShone Kizer, is now playing for the Cleveland Browns. Dangerous wide receiver Torii Hunter Jr. announced in December that he would not return to Notre Dame for a fifth season of eligibility, choosing to follow in his famous father’s footsteps by pursuing a professional baseball career.

Wimbush has enjoyed a solid season, passing for 1,405 yards and 12 touchdowns while rushing for 663 yards and 13 scores. The 6-1, 228-pound redshirt sophomore was pulled from Saturday night’s game after throwing seven incomplete passes, including two interceptions.

Backup Ian Book did not fare much better and Kelly went back to Wimbush later in the game. He finished 10-for-21 passing for 119 yards, was sacked five times and lost a fumble.

The Fighting Irish do return standout tailback Josh Adams, who has rushed for 1,231 yards and nine touchdowns. The 6-2, 225-pound junior, who has a combination of speed and power, is a Heisman Trophy candidate.

Niumatalolo said Notre Dame is running the ball more this season than it has in the past. Defensive coordinator Dale Pehrson expects the Midshipmen to get a heavy dose of Adams on Saturday as the Fighting Irish rank sixth nationally in rushing offense with 303 yards per game.

“Adams is a big, strong, physical runner. He breaks a lot of tackles and is very tough to bring down,” Pehrson said Monday. “That offensive line is absolutely unbelievable. Definitely the best we’ll play this year. They’ve got some real monsters up front.”

Chase Claypool and Equanimeous St. Brown are the starting wide receivers and have almost identical statistics. Both have 26 catches, with Claypool totaling 363 yards and St. Brown 357.

Navy’s defense will be without one of its best players for part of Saturday’s game as safety Sean Williams must sit out the first half after being ejected for an illegal hit on SMU quarterback Ben Hicks.

Navy sent videotape of the play into the AAC because Williams did not target the upper body of the quarterback, hitting Hicks in the arm instead. However, the decision was upheld by the AAC director of officials as the rule states that a defender cannot lead with the crown of his helmet.

Pehrson said backup Juan Hailey will likely start at safety in place of Williams, who leads the Midshipmen with 63 tackles and four pass breakups.

Williams suffered a stinger on the play in question, but should be able to play in the second half Saturday.

“Jarid Ryan and Juan Hailey will have to step up and hold down the fort until Sean can get in there,” Pehrson said.

Notre Dame is led defensively by linebackers Te’von Coney and Nyles Morgan, who have 83 and 71 tackles, respectively.

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