Coming into this weekend's collegiate games, there were only three remaining undefeated teams. Army, Indiana, and Oregon.
Both the Army Black Knights and Indiana Hoosiers experienced a Saturday that some might call a "rude awakening".
The similarities were that both teams were coming into their Saturday games undefeated, and were playing their most challenging opponent thus far. Army was taking on No. 6 Notre Dame, while Indiana was going up against No. 2 Ohio State
The outcomes for both Army and Indiana were identical … convincing losses. The Black Knights lost 49-14, and the Hoosiers lost 38-15.
But let’s transition because this is about the Army Black Knights who on Saturday evening at Yankee Stadium in New York saw their “dream” season take a step back (at least on this day) were they went up against a more athletic and physical Fighting Irish team and those two attributes were evident throughout the contest.
From the opening series in which the Black Knights had the ball, it was 3 and out. But on 4th down, James Wagenseller mishandled the snap and the Fighting Irish recovered the mishap and had the ball 1st and 10 on the Army 32.
It seemed as though before the sold-out crowd could get settled in their seats, Notre Dame’s Jordan Faison was on the receiving end of a 28-yard pass from QB Leonard Riley to pay dirt and a quick 7-0 lead for the Fighting Irish.
Honestly, this would be the trend for the majority of the evening for the Notre Dame offense, who were equally effective running and passing. The Army defense did have its shining moments, especially in the 2nd quarter that saw the Fighting Irish go on a 10 play - 73-yard drive … all the way to the 2-yard line of Army, but the Black Knights put up an impressive goal-line stand and kept Notre Dame out of the end zone and the game competitive.
However, that was just a temporary “stopping the bleeding” moment.
Because as solid as Notre Dame’s offense was, the Army offense, which coming into the game led the nation in rushing … was completely shut down by a very aggressive Fighting Irish defense.
“We wanted to match Army's physicality especially that of Bryson Daily and the Army offensive line,” said Notre Dame’s Head Coach Marcus Freeman said after Saturday’s win over Army.
Well, mission accomplished.
GBK's Joe Iacono Post-Game Analysis
Post-Game (Army-Notre Dame) with QB Bryson Daily & LB Andon Thomas and Head Coach Jeff Monken 11/23/24
Score By Quarter
Breaking Down The Scoring
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