No. 8 Notre Dame aims to rebound versus Navy

So much for No. 8 Notre Dame being in the College Football Playoff mix.

The Fighting Irish look to bounce back from a humbling loss to Miami when they host Navy on Saturday.

No one associated with Notre Dame (8-2) saw the 41-8 defeat coming. The Fighting Irish were ranked third in the CFP poll and poised to stake their first claim to the revamped college playoff.

Now that's just a pipe dream, but if they're not careful, the Irish might see a New Year's Six Bowl appearance slip through their fingertips too.

Navy, which became bowl-eligible thanks to an exhilarating 43-40 last-second win over SMU, is riding a wave of confidence and certainly is capable of sinking Notre Dame's chances of playing…