Notre Dame inflicts its first defeat on Army with a 49-14 game at Yankee Stadium

NEW YORK — Notre Dame’s tribute game to its “Four Horsemen” turned into a pretty good one-man show from Jeremiah Love.

Love scored three touchdowns, tying a school record with his 11th straight game with a rushing touchdown, and the No. 6 Fighting Irish ended No. 18 Army’s 13-game winning streak with a 49-14 victory Saturday night at Yankee Stadium.

The sophomore had TD runs of 68 and 14 yards, finishing with 130 yards on seven carries, and jumped over a defender at the goal line to complete a 6-yard scoring pass from Riley Leonard.

“It’s almost like he’s anticipating what the defense is going to do and when he gets to that second level, I don’t see a lot of people that could catch him,” Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said. about Love, who had a 76-yard run. TD ran last weekend against Virginia.

Leonard threw two touchdowns and Jadarian Price scored twice for the Irish (10-1), who earned their ninth straight victory to improve their College Football Playoff chances. Notre Dame was No. 6 in these rankings this week and looks every bit like a national title contender, allowing 14 points or fewer in six straight games.

“Everyone in our offense is a dog,” Love said. “Coach Freeman calls us ‘savages’ and that’s really what we are. We just continue to grow every week and get better.

Army quarterback Bryson Daily ran for 139 yards and the two touchdowns, giving him 23 on the ground this season. The Black Knights’ loss (9-1) left No. 1 Oregon as the only undefeated team in FBS. Army led the nation with 334.9 rushing yards per game, but only managed 207 against Notre Dame.

“We couldn’t stay on the field and support them,” Daily said. “It’s a great team.”

Notre Dame beat Army for the 16th straight time in the first matchup where both teams were ranked since 1958, the Black Knights’ last victory. This reunion was planned to honor the 100th anniversary of New York’s 1924 Notre Dame victory at the Polo Grounds, when Grantland Rice began his story about the exploits of Harry Stuhldreher, Jim Crowley, Don Miller and Elmer Layden with the one of the most famous openings. in the story, writing: “Silhouetted against a blue-gray October sky, the Four Horsemen rode again. »

This quote was lined up on the wall above Monument Park in the stadium’s outfield, behind the end zone where Notre Dame took a 14-0 lead on Leonard’s TD passes on its first two possessions. Army cut it to 14-7 on Daily’s 4-yard run early in the second quarter, but the Irish went up two touchdowns again on Love’s 14-yard run, tying Wayne Bullock’s record of 11 consecutive games with a rushing touchdown in 1973. 74.

Army coach Jeff Monken said playing the Irish at Yankee Stadium was a great experience for his players, although he wished they could make it more competitive.

“I mean, in every phase, they outplayed us,” Monken said.

Notre Dame scored touchdowns on four of its six drives in the first half, then added 10 more seconds in the second half when Love ran 68 yards on the first play to make it 35-7.

Takeaways

Army: Saturday’s game was a high-profile encounter, but the Black Knights’ two most important games remain. Army will face No. 20 Tulane in the American Athletic Conference championship game on Dec. 6, then have its annual matchup with Navy on Dec. 14.

Notre Dame: With plenty of playmakers on offense and one of the best defenses in the country, the Irish haven’t had anything resembling a close game in two months.

Survey Implications

While the team right above them fell earlier Saturday when No. 5 Indiana lost 38-15 to second-ranked Ohio State, the Irish could be a top-five team in the next AP poll. Army hopes to stay above Tulane in the College Football Playoff rankings (the 19th-ranked Black Knights are one spot ahead) in case they are needed as a tiebreaker to determine who the team is host of the AAC championship game.

To be continued

Army: Hosts UTSA next Saturday.

Notre Dame: Visiting Southern California next Saturday.