Notre Dame football picked up a 35-13 victory over the Navy Midshipmen. It was far from a perfect performance, but the Fighting Irish walked away with some real positives to feel good about.

That includes Nolan James Jr. breaking off big runs, quarterback CJ Carr settling in after halftime, and safety Luke Talich continuing an impressive stretch on the back end.

I already broke down the winners and losers from this game. Still, it’s worth taking a closer look at what went right for Notre Dame, because not everything coming out of this one is negative.

Notre Dame’s young pass catchers stepped up

The Irish got some nice contributions from younger receivers against Navy. Jordan Faison got off to a fast start, and Jaden Greathouse added a couple of nice catches. The bigger story was the production from players further down the rotation.

Jerome Bettis Jr. finished with six catches for 78 yards and a touchdown. Ian Premer also got involved in the tight end room, while Elijah Burress also flashed. Notre Dame gets a lot of value from expanding the wide receiver rotation, and this game showed the offense has more options than it has used at times.

The running back pecking order is settled

I don’t think this should have been a question before this week. Now there is a definitive answer. Nolan James Jr. and Jonaz Walton are the two best running backs on this roster.

James was outstanding, rushing nine times for 107 yards and two touchdowns. That’s 11.9 yards per carry. He got the scoring started with a 52-yard touchdown run and added a 23-yard touchdown run later in the contest.

Walton ended up with 12 carries for 51 yards and a touchdown. He didn’t touch the ball until the second half, which makes little sense to me. I can’t stand that this keeps happening, but that’s where things stand.

It was curious to see that Aneyas Williams didn’t get a carry until deep into the second half. I don’t know exactly what to make of that. It appears the running game is going to revolve around James and Walton.

CJ Carr found his rhythm in the second half

Carr got off to a slow start, and the offense felt disjointed early. A lot of that came down to the Navy offense, which did well controlling the tempo, time of possession, and the clock. Notre Dame simply didn’t have many chances to get into a groove.

In the second half, though, Carr looked like the quarterback we have known and hyped up all offseason. That’s the version of Carr we saw for most of the season, including a couple of weeks ago against BYU. Seeing that better play down the stretch was a great sign for the Irish.

Luke Talich keeps making his case

Defensively, there were a lot of issues against Navy. The linebackers were poor without Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa. For the most part, I don’t think Jaiden Ausberry, Drayk Bowen, and Jaylen Snead played well. The defensive line was up and down, too.

The one player I continue to be impressed by is safety Luke Talich. He finished with 10 total tackles. At 6-4, 220 pounds, Tallich has the size and play to match, and I’m not sure he’s going to come back next year. In my opinion, he is now a draftable player in the 2027 NFL Draft.

That leads to a question I’ve talked and written about a ton. What does Notre Dame do with Talich once Brauntae Johnson is back healthy? When the Irish have Johnson, Adon Shuler, Joey O’Brien, and Tallich, something has to give.

Based on how good Tallich has looked over this several-game stretch, I don’t think the staff can just throw him on the bench and regulate him to a special teamer.

Not everything is doom and gloom for Notre Dame after the Navy game. There were real positives to take from this one. The Irish just need more of them, and they need to build on them going into next week’s matchup against Miami.