Notre Dame football beat Navy 35-13. That counts as a win in the record column, but it felt more like a loss for the Notre Dame fan base.

After a bye week, the Fighting Irish had a chance to physically dominate an overmatched opponent. Head coach Marcus Freeman, quarterback CJ Carr, and the rest of this talented roster did not take it.

All week, I talked about a three-step process for Freeman and Notre Dame to win back the fan base fully. I laid it out on X, as well as on atozsports.com, and Saturday was the first step. Notre Dame failed it.

The three-step recovery plan

Here is what that process looked like, in my opinion:

1. Come out and physically dominate a team you are much more talented than. 2. Make a statement against Miami. 3. Show you can handle success by beating Boston College handily.

If Notre Dame checked all three boxes over these three weeks, a lot of belief would return to this fan base. Much of that belief disappeared during the 28-24 loss to BYU in Provo a few weeks ago.

At the time, most people chalked that up to losing to a top-10 team on the road. That excuse went out the window after BYU lost to UCF last week. BYU is a good team, but Notre Dame is more talented and still lost that football game.

There is no way to spin step one. Navy is not a good football team, especially on defense. The Midshipmen cannot throw the football, lack balance, and they are now 2-6. Notre Dame was supposed to annihilate that team from start to finish.

That is why this plan has three steps.

Whatever Notre Dame did against Navy was never going to win back the entire fan base. A 70-0 win or a 24-21 nail-biter would have drawn the same reaction from most people: it’s just Navy, so who cares? Even so, Saturday was the chance to set the tone.

Instead, the Irish put an X right through step one.

Who feels confident going into Miami?

If Notre Dame beats Miami, all will be forgotten for a minute. Getting check marks next to steps two and three would win back parts of this fan base. However, I am really worried about this team’s consistency from week to week.

I have been on record saying Notre Dame would finish this stretch 5-0, including Saturday, and make the College Football Playoff. Still, it is hard to feel confident going into a matchup with Mario Cristobal and Miami.

Notre Dame has home-field advantage. Miami brings Malachi Tony, Darian Mensah, and plenty of other really good players to South Bend. The Hurricanes are not perfect, though. Notre Dame is more than talented enough to beat them.

Part of Saturday was about building some confidence for that matchup. Coming off a loss and a bye week, the Irish needed to get their swagger back. This was a chance to regain their footing, get the wheels turning again, and walk into Miami week feeling good.

Notre Dame really wasted that opportunity.

The hope is that Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa returns next week after being held out against Navy, and Brauntae Johnson may be back as well (we will see), giving the Irish their reinforcements.

National belief vs. local doubt

The fact of the matter is that Notre Dame will more than likely still be the No. 5 team in the country going into that game. Some people still believe in the Irish from a national perspective.

The local fan base is a different story. That confidence is wavering, and it is fading a little bit.

There is still a light at the end of the tunnel. A win over No. 1 Miami on Nov. 7, with all eyes on the program, would help Notre Dame steadily win back the fan base. Saturday was supposed to make that feel possible. The Irish needed to come out angry off the bye, take it to an inferior team, and head into Miami week with clear eyes and a reset mindset.

That did not happen. I’m not sure how anybody could feel overly confident going into that game right now.

As a lifelong Notre Dame fan, I hope I’m wrong. I want to be positive in these postgame reactions, and I will be rooting for the Irish from start to finish next Saturday. Notre Dame has one more chance to change the conversation, and it comes against arguably the best team in the country.