NEW YORK — Needing to play a perfect game to score one of the biggest wins in modern program history, Army gained a season-low 233 yards, gave up rushing touchdown of 58 and 68 yards, had a punt blocked that resulted in another touchdown and lost the turnover margin.
Needless to say, it was Notre Dame’s night at Yankee Stadium.
The No. 6 Fighting Irish held the No. 17 Black Knights in check and inched closer to the College Football Playoff with a 49-14 win, the team’s ninth in a row after a stunning loss to Northern Illinois in September.
‘In every single phase, they outclassed us,’ said Army coach Jeff Monken. ‘They are such a good football team.’
Two of these victories have been lopsided results against Bowl Subdivision service academies. In October, Notre Dame beat then-unbeaten Navy 51-14.
This stretch has moved the Irish into enviable shape for the playoff as top contenders from the SEC, Big Ten and Big 12 continue to fall off the map. Just on Saturday, No. 5 Indiana, No. 9 Mississippi, No. 15 Brigham Young and No. 18 Colorado suffered league losses that put each team’s playoff hopes in serious doubt or eliminate them outright.
‘We’ve improved,’ Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said. ‘We had a lot to improve from that Northern Illinois performance. We have. Now you’re seeing a consistent football. And we’ve got to continue to be that.’
With style, a potent offense and a suffocating defense, Notre Dame looked like a team worthy of the playoff. Army had trailed for under six minutes of game time all season and entered Saturday on an FBS-best 13-game winning streak.
On the 100th anniversary of the Four Horsemen game against Army that helped make the program a national brand, the Irish leaned on quarterback Riley Leonard and running back Jeremiyah Love to establish dominance on the line of scrimmage.
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Leonard completed 10 of 13 attempts for 148 yards and two touchdowns with another 30 yards on the ground before being taken out in the third quarter with the Irish ahead 35-7. Love had 130 rushing yards and two scores, including that long touchdown run to open the second half, on 18.6 yards per carry. Love broke former Notre Dame running back Autry Denson’s school record with at least one score in 11 games in a row to start a season.
‘The running backs get all the credit,’ said Freeman. ‘The ball carrier gets the credit. But those things don’t happen without a really great offensive line, working together.’
Defensively, the Black Knights averaged a season-worst 3.6 yards per carry and tied their season low with 207 rushing yards. Army had three drives in the second half end in a turnover on downs.
‘Just being disciplined, that was the mindset all week,’ sophomore safety Adon Shuler said. ‘Just be disciplined, know your keys and play with just great effort.’
While a convincing result against a ranked opponent, the win underscores an unanswered question about these Fighting Irish: What does beating Army — and Navy, Louisville, Georgia Tech and other good-but-not-great opponents on this year’s schedule — really tell us about their chances in a playoff setting?
Notre Dame caps the regular season next Saturday at Southern California. The Irish have won five of six in the series but have dropped three of the past four in Los Angeles.
‘We’re just coming out very week trying to reach our full potential,’ Love said. ‘We won this week, next week is a new week. We’re going to try to win the next week as well.’