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Jeremiyah Love scored three touchdowns and No. 6 Notre Dame ran its winning streak to nine games by dominating No. 19 Army 49-14 Saturday night, knocking a service academy from the ranks of the unbeaten for the second time in a month.
The Shamrock Series game at Yankee Stadium was dripping in history, with the Irish (10-1) and Black Knights (9-1) matching up as ranked foes for the first time since 1958. Big games between Notre Dame and Army at Yankee Stadium were regular events that captivated the country back in the 1940s. This one drew a sellout crowd to the Bronx, but it was no classic.
Advertisement Riley Leonard connected with Jordan Faison on a 28-yard touchdown pass on Notre Dame’s first drive to make it 7-0, and a blocked punt set up the Irish for a Leonard-to-Love 6-yard TD pass with 6:30 left in the first quarter. Army quarterback Bryson Daily ran 38 times for 145 yards and two touchdowns, including a 4-yard score in the second quarter that cut Notre Dame’s lead to 14-7. But Love and Jadarian Price added rushing touchdowns before the halftime break, and Love broke free for a 68-yard TD run on the first play of the second half to make it 35-7.
Last month, the Irish ended Navy ’s undefeated run in similar fashion, 51-14, in a game played at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. Love finished with 130 yards on seven carries, and Leonard was 10 of 13 for 148 yards.
Army’s CFP hopes take a hit This certainly won’t help the Black Knights’ case with the selection committee, but Army is still in the mix to be the highest ranked Group of 5 conference champion. With one remaining American Athletic Conference game next week at home against UTSA , Army has already locked up a spot in the conference title game against Tulane on Dec. 6.
The site of that game is yet to be determined. Losing so decisively to Notre Dame is going to leave the Black Knights without much to sway the committee beyond the victory against Tulane they would need on their resume to be considered. If you think Indiana ’s schedule is weak, well, go check out Army’s.
Not great. Especially if No. 12 Boise State keeps on winning in the Mountain West.
The Broncos got bogged down at Wyoming but survived 17-13 to remain unbeaten since a last-second loss at Oregon in Week 2. The Cadets had rarely trailed through their 9-0 start but looked totally overmatched against Notre Dame. Army came in allowing 4.
7 yards per play. The Irish averaged 9.8.
Advertisement Notre Dame’s hosting bid stays on track Notre Dame probably didn’t need to win with much style against Army after losses by Indiana and Ole Miss earlier in the day softened up the field of at-large hopefuls. The Irish did so anyway, all but locking up a first-round home game if they can handle USC next weekend in Los Angeles. The Irish made short and efficient work of Jeff Monken’s squad.
At halftime, Notre Dame had outgained Army 258-85. The Irish had 13 plays of 10-plus yards compared to one by the Black Knights, and that lone big chunk ended in a Daily lost fumble. And then Love went 68 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the second half, removing any remaining doubt for a game that contained little of it starting not long after kickoff.
During its nine-game win streak, the Irish have outscored opponents by a combined score of 392-92. Notre Dame has emptied its bench in each of the past six games. Will the College Football Playoff selection committee notice? There’s no ignoring the losses by Indiana and Ole Miss on Saturday, but it’s less clear how Notre Dame now compares to Penn State .
Both are one-loss teams. The Nittany Lions’ best win is an overtime victory at USC. Penn State escaped Saturday with a one-point win at Minnesota.
And while both Notre Dame and Penn State would both be ticketed for home games in the CFP as it stands, the difference between the No. 6 seed and No. 7 seed could be the difference between drawing the ACC champion in the quarterfinals and the SEC champion in that same round.
Notre Dame’s defense stages option clinic If Army was going to have a shot against Notre Dame, Daily had to carry the heaviest weight. And defensive coordinator Al Golden gave the Black Knights quarterback little chance, as the Irish loaded up at the line of scrimmage and pounded Daily for all four quarters. Advertisement More telling, Army called Daily runs four times on fourth down and failed to convert on the first three.
The fourth was good, but it came with just 32 seconds remaining in the game. That amounts to a failure for the Black Knights, which were ranked No. 2 nationally in fourth down conversions (16 of 19).
Army can’t win without short-yardage successes and its quarterback delivering. It got neither in Yankee Stadium. Unlike the Navy game last month, when Notre Dame played base defense against the Mids’ reimagined option offense, Army let Golden play bully ball by loading the box.
With Army not posing a threat in the pass game, Notre Dame played eight-man and nine-man boxes much of the game. The Irish often put five defensive linemen on the field at once, or at least walked up linebackers outside of the defensive ends. That approach clogged up run lanes, which Army couldn’t clear with its offensive line.
And that left Daily to take hit after hit after hit. Eighteen different Notre Dame players made at least two tackles, with Adon Shuler (8) and Jaiden Ausberry (7) leading the way. (Photo: Danny Wild / Imagn Images).
