On Saturday night at Yankee Stadium, Notre Dame donned its blue-gray Shamrock Series jerseys for a primetime matchup with undefeated Army and sent Irish fans home happy for the ninth straight game, jumping to a big early lead and coasting down the stretch on their way to a statement 49-14 victory over the Black Knights. Here are five key moments from the win that pushed Notre Dame to 10-1 and kept it in the College Football Playoff race as we enter the final week of the regular season.
Everything comes up Blue and Gold early on
Two of the most persistent criticisms of Notre Dame all season have been the Irish’s struggles in the passing game and their tendency to start games slow. It didn’t take them long to put both of those concerns to bed on Saturday night. After the Irish defense opened the game by forcing a quick three-and-out, senior quarterback Riley Leonard capped off a five-play, 68-yard drive with a 28-yard strike to sophomore wide receiver Jordan Faison to give Notre Dame an early 7-0 advantage.
Army again failed to pick up a single first down on its next possession, and a blocked punt from Notre Dame freshman defensive lineman Bryce Young and sophomore cornerback Christian Gray’s ensuing recovery and return set the Irish up with a short field on the Black Knights’ goal line. The Irish didn’t waste any time in capitalizing on the ideal field possession, once again through the air. On third and goal from Army’s six-yard line, Leonard found an open sophomore running back Jeremiyah Love in the flat. Love raced into the end zone in style, hurdling a Black Knights defender as he crossed the end zone to double the Irish lead in highlight-reel fashion. Fewer than nine minutes in the first quarter was all the time Notre Dame needed to set the tone for the game, coming out of the gates hot to jump out to a 14-0 advantage behind two Leonard passing touchdowns, a total he had previously reached just four times in the Irish’s first 10 games.
Army responds on both sides of the ball
Trailing 14-0 after the opening 15 minutes — an unfamiliar position after their dominant 9-0 start to the season — it would have been easy for Army to lose its poise and succumb to Notre Dame’s high level of play in the same way that so many of the Irish’s opponents had in the midst of their eight-game winning streak. Instead, the Black Knights stayed true to their identity, relying on their elite rushing attack and hard-nosed defense to get back in the game.
Immediately after the Irish’s second score, Army embarked on a gritty 12-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that drained more than half a quarter and did not include any passes. The long possession was capped off by a four-yard touchdown rush from quarterback Bryson Daily, his 22nd score of the year on the ground, second-most in the nation. Notre Dame looked to answer with a touchdown of its own — and seemed likely to after rolling 73 yards down the field — but backed up on its own goal line, the Black Knights defense shook off its rocky first quarter and showed why it entered the game allowing just 10.3 points per game. Army stopped the Irish short on four consecutive runs from inside the five-yard line, the fourth of which forced a turnover on downs, sending the Black Knights’ sideline and fans into ecstasy. Army was eventually overwhelmed by Notre Dame’s elite talent and depth, but the Black Knights refused to back down or stray from the recipe that’s made them so good all season long and battled back from a big first quarter deficit in a way that most teams haven’t.
All you (the Irish) need is Love
Offensively, Notre Dame got crucial contributions from a wide range of contributors. Leonard impressed with 148 passing yards and two touchdowns on just 13 attempts while making several high-level passes and adding 30 yards on the ground. Junior running back Jadarian Price ran for 53 yards and another pair of scores, and freshman running back Aneyas Williams rumbled to a 58-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter. Sophomore wide receiver Jordan Faison led the receiving corps with 46 yards and a touchdown, while graduate wideout Beaux Collins chipped in with four receptions for 37 yards. Junior backup quarterback Steve Angeli even got in on the action, looking in full control of the offense when he stepped in late in the game to lead a scoring drive while completing four of his five attempts for 41 yards.
So it was just the cherry on top that Jeremiyah Love decided to have the best game of his already-illustrious career.
After picking up 22 yards on a pair of carries to set up Notre Dame’s opening touchdown, his first score came through the air when he caught Leonard’s second touchdown pass of the first quarter. That was just the start of his big night. After Army trimmed the Irish lead down to seven in the second quarter, Love took matters into his own hands, taking three straight carries for 41 yards and a touchdown to give the Irish some breathing room once again. That score also meant that Love has now recorded a rushing touchdown in 11 straight games (every game this season), matching an all-time Irish record. But still, he was not done yet.
The opening play from scrimmage in the second half was Love’s magnum opus. When asked postgame, he referred to it as his highlight of the night, not because of his own effort, but because of how perfectly everything came together, from the play call by offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock, to the holes opened up by the offensive line in what was a strong performance all night, to the effort and unselfishness of the receivers to continue blocking downfield even on a play when they wouldn’t get the glory. All of that added up to a 68-yard touchdown rush that extended Notre Dame’s lead to 35-7 and essentially extinguished any hopes of an Army comeback. When all was said and done, Love finished with an incredibly efficient 136 total yards and three touchdowns on just eight touches, truly making the most of every time his name was called, as emphasized by his ridiculous 18.6 yards per carry. Just one week after he recorded a career-best 137 rushing yards against Virginia, he’s playing his best football when things matter most, which can only mean good things for the Irish offense moving forward.
Irish defense makes no errors at Yankee Stadium
Heading into New York City, Army averaged a nation-leading 334 rushing yards per game, with second-place UCF more than 70 yards back at 262 per outing. The Black Knights’ rushing attack was an unstoppable puzzle that no opposing defense had been able to solve. That is, until it met up with the Irish defense. Notre Dame has been stingy against the run all season, and Saturday night’s game might have been its finest effort to date.
Aside from Army’s aforementioned second-quarter scoring drive and a second touchdown that came with just 22 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter and the game’s outcome having long been decided, a summary of the Black Knights’ drives would likely read like a dream for Irish defensive coordinator Al Golden (as well as head coach Marcus Freeman, who began his Notre Dame tenure as defensive coordinator). Removing those two possessions, Army had four three-and-outs and a lost fumble (forced by freshman cornerback Leonard Moore, recovered by graduate student linebacker Jack Kiser) in the first half and added three turnovers on downs in the second. In other words, complete dominance against an offense that had become accustomed to being the ones doing the dominating all season.
Army finished with just 233 total yards of offense and — despite picking up 207 on the ground — needed 58 carries to do so for an average of just 3.6 yards per attempt. This is nothing new for the Irish defense, which has now held six opponents under 250 total yards for the first time since 1983, but it was an impressive statement to do so against the top rushing unit that college football has to offer.
Notre Dame closes out its ninth consecutive win
At the end of the day, this is the true key moment of Saturday night. The Irish traveled to New York and got the job done for the ninth straight time, almost certainly putting them just one win away from a berth in the College Football Playoff (and an increasingly likely first-round home game). As has been the case for most of the last two months, the Irish were in full control from start to finish. On an upset-filled day in college football, Notre Dame faced an undefeated, top-20 opponent and outgained it by over 200 yards, won the turnover battle and averaged nearly 10 yards per play behind an rushing attack that has been highly productive all season and an increasingly complementary passing game. In just over 20 minutes of possession, the Irish scored seven touchdowns against one of the top defenses in the country, and their other three possessions had the potential for points, resulting in a pair of missed field goals and a turnover on downs at Army’s one-yard line following a 73-yard drive. They were just as strong defensively, forcing four punts and a turnover, and getting three fourth-down stops across Army’s 10 possessions.
And this was no outlier performance; it’s simply the level of play that’s become standard for the Irish as they’ve worked tirelessly to bounce back from that fateful Week Two defeat at the hands of Northern Illinois. Postgame, Freeman and several Irish players emphasized the message of taking things one game at a time, only focusing on doing everything they can to be at their best as a team each and every week to deliver an effort worthy of winning. That’s exactly what they did on Saturday night. And if they can do the same thing next weekend against USC in Los Angeles and put forth a 10th straight winning effort, it’s not hard to see the Irish being a dangerous team in the postseason.
