Notre Dame started fast, got complacent for a time in the second half, but managed to roll to a 44-22 win of Navy last week in San Diego, California. The win moved the Irish to 8-0.

Tonight, the Irish probably face their toughest opponent since the Stanford game, and that includes the come-from-behind win over Pitt, when they visit Northwestern for a game in Evanston, Illinois.

The Wildcats have been an up and down team. After a slow start to the season, they have rallied to take the lead in the Big 10 West race. More on Northwestern later.

The win over Navy had the Irish streak to a big lead in the first half, then let Navy rebound by allowing two quick scores by the Midshipmen in the third quarter, before the offense settled back in and, most importantly, the ND defense came around.

The return of running back Jafar Armstrong helped the overall run attack as he gave Navy more to think about than just Dexter Williams, who himself had a big game.

The game was a test for the revamped ND offensive line. Head coach Brian Kelly said to the media after the game concerning the line, “We did some decent things.” Adding, “We pass protected very well. But I want to exert our will at any time, and we’re not there yet. We have to be able to be more effective at running the ball when teams know we’re going to run the football. We’re not there yet.”

Quarterback Ian Book had 27 completions in 33 attempts for 330 yards and two touchdowns. The negative was another interception. Williams ran for 142 yards on 23 carries and three touchdowns with Armstrong getting 52 yards on nine carries and a score. Book ran for 50 yards on five carries. Top receivers were Armstrong with five catches and 64 yards and Chase Claypool, also with five and 57 yards.

Defensively, the Irish lost top linebacker Drue Traquall on the second offensive series of the game. His status for tonight is questionable.

Northwestern enters at 5-3. The Wildcats opened with a 31-27 win over Purdue, then lost three in a row, before finding their offense and winning the next four in a row. The most impressive win was the 29-19 victory over Michigan State on the road. A loss to Akron, 39-34, was the most puzzling defeat. The Wildcats other wins were over Nebraska, 34-31, Rutgers, 18-15, and last week a biggie over Wisconsin, 31-17. The other losses were to Duke, 21-7, and Michigan, 20-17.

Quarterback Clayton Thorson is considered one of the best in the Big 10. He has completed 193 passes on 318 attempts with 2,072 yards and 10 TDs. The lone negative is 10 interceptions, most occurring in the early games. The Wildcats are ranked nationally at No.10 in passing yards per game and will test the Irish secondary.

Notre Dame leads the series, 37-9-2, but Northwestern has won the last two meetings between the schools. The Wildcats won, 43-40, in overtime in 2014 and 17-15 in 1995. The last ND win was in 1994, 42-15.

The game will be televised nationally on ESPN with a 7:15 p.m. scheduled kickoff.

IRISH NOTES ... The South Bend press has noted that ND has struggled during the Kelly era in its game immediately following Navy. ND spends so much time practicing for the triple option run by Navy, that it throws the defense off in preparing for the next opponent. ND did use some of its off week prior to Navy to practice against the offense that Northwestern runs to try and avoid an upset loss. We’ll see .... Sophomore kicker Jonathan Doerer had to take over the extra point and field goal kicking for senior Justin Yoon, due to a continuing problem with a groin injury. Doerer missed his first extra point try but settle in after that, making all his remaining conversions and his only field goal attempt of 30 yards. Kelly said Yoon is 100 percent healthy and will and return tonight .... The Navy game was a sellout at San Diego County Credit Union Stadium .... ND had a 584-344 advantage in total yards against Navy .... The first college playoff standings were announced with ND rated fourth behind Alabama, Clemson and LSU. However, that will change if ND wins. LSU and Alabama play each other today .... Senior tight end Alizé Mack left Saturday’s game in the second quarter and didn’t return. Kelly said Mack suffered a head injury and is in ND’s concussion protocol. He will not play tonight .... Defensively, Te’von Coney led the team with 14 tackles in the Navy game. Alohi Gilman and Jalen Elliott each had seven. Julian Okwara had sack for a loss of four yards .... A brief hockey note. ND and Michigan hockey teams will play outdoors in ND stadium on Jan. 5. The NHL’s annual Winter Classic will be played Jan. 1 in ND stadium featuring the Chicago Blackhawks and the Boston Bruins. The classic game will be televised by NBC-TV and the ND-Michigan game by NBC Sports Network .... QB Ian Book leads the nation with a pass completion rate of .765. He is just shy of the NCAA record of .767 set by Texas quarterback Colt McCoy in 2008 .... This from the South Bend Tribune: If the Irish prevail Saturday night they’ll become the 17th Notre Dame football team in history to have a 9-0 record. Eleven of the previous 16 came during the Associated Press poll era, and the lowest end-of-the-season ranking of any of those teams was No. 4 by the 2012 Irish (12-1). Five of those 11 were crowned national champions (1943, 1947, 1949, 1973 and 1988). Of the five that predated the AP poll, three are recognized as national champions (1924, 1929 and 1930) .... Tranquill is one of 13 finalists for the 2018 William M. Campbell Trophy, which is considered the “Academic Heisman.” Each of the finalists will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship. The winner will be named at the awards dinner on Dec. 4 in New York City. The winner’s postgraduate scholarship will increase to $25,000 .... The Football Writers Association of America has named senior defensive tackle Jerry Tillery its national defensive Player of the Month for October. Tillery has 25 tackles this season and leads the Irish in tackles for loss 8.5, sacks seven and forced fumbles three .... ND faces a red-hot Northwestern team tonight. The Wildcats have won four in a row and are on top of the Big 10 West. ND is favored by 10. In my preseason picks I have the Irish winning tonight. This could be very close and come down to the wire, but I will stick with ND. The biggest problem for the Irish is trying to get back to the regular defensive mode after preparing for two weeks for the triple option attack.