Notre Dame is back in the College Football Playoff race after losing two straight games to start the season.

Don't mention the Fighting Irish's No. 10 ranking to Marcus Freeman. 10 ranking.

Notre Dame (6-2) will have the chance to bolster their playoff credentials on Saturday night in South Bend. The Fighting Irish are on a six-game winning streak, including four straight wins at home.

Freeman stated that it would be a waste of time to use playoff rankings to motivate the team.

Freeman explained, "If I spend time in my office trying to find a way to use our ranking as motivation, then I am wasting valuable time I could be using to prepare myself for the game that is coming up on Saturday." "This is the motivation. This opportunity we have on Sat." "That's what we should be thinking about."

The Midshipmen are likely to try and spoil the game against a team they already know. Navy had won seven of its first eight games before falling 31-17 to North Texas on Saturday.

Blake Horvath threw for 1,143 yards with seven touchdowns and five interceptions, while rushing for 926 yards including 13 touchdowns. Alex Tecza, who has 523 yards rushing and six touchdowns, is one of five other Midshipmen to have rushed at least 100 yard.

Navy Coach Brian Newberry and his players were excited to renew this storied rivalry.

Newberry stated, "I don’t think I need to do much to get my guys pumped up." "I want us to understand that we are going to the game to win, not just to put on a good show or get a pat of the back. I believe our players feel the same.

We're very excited about this opportunity. We'll be ready to swing the bat.

Navy will have to find a way of slowing down a talented backfield from Notre Dame. Running back Jeremiyah Price and his teammate Jadarian Love have rushed for 521 yard and eight touchdowns.

CJ Carr is also a threat to the passing game. The quarterback's first year has seen him complete 66.5% passes, totaling 2,057 yardage with 16 touchdowns. He also had four interceptions.

Freeman says it is important to have multiple threats in the offensive.

He said: "We need to be able run the football, but if the teams don't allow it, like you've seen other teams do, then we have to be in a position to throw the balls to the top of defense." "And we are having some success with it."

Freeman says that the Fighting Irish must be disciplined in their defense.

He said, "This is not a situation where you could have a bucket list of defensive calls." Because they do so many things, and because it is a unique offensive, you have to be sure that your eyes are on the right place.

Field Level Media

(source: Reuters)