Sixth-ranked Notre Dame wasted no time in ending once-unbeaten Army’s slim College Football Playoff hopes on Saturday, 49–14, at Yankee Stadium.
Irish quarterback Riley Leonard got things going with a 28-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jordan Faison in the first quarter. Army (9–1), ranked No. 19 in the country, never recovered against the Irish (10–1) in a game the Black Knights needed to have any shot at the postseason.
Army climbed into the top 25 rankings amid a 9–0 start, but none of those victories came against a ranked team. The Black Knights won with ball control and strong defense during that span, but both took a hit on the team’s second possession of the game.
Irish defensive lineman Bryce Young blocked Army’s punt, which set up running back Jeremiyah Love’s 6-yard touchdown reception from Leonard for a 14–0 lead. Army battled back to make it 14–7 when quarterback Bryson Dailey scored a 4-yard rushing touchdown in the second quarter, but the Irish pushed the lead to three scores before halftime, 28–7.
Love rushed for a 14-yard touchdown, and running back Jadarian Price added a 2-yard touchdown run. Notre Dame could have made it more, but Army stopped the Irish once on goal line stand, and the Irish missed a field goal before halftime.
“Our offense was efficient. They did a good job. We’ve got to be better,” Freeman said. “We can’t leave points on the board in the red zone, inside the 10-yard line, and then we can’t miss those field goals. But that’s what we got to improve at, and that’s the part that I’m gonna focus on.”
Love put away Army to start the third quarter with a 68-yard touchdown run for a 35–7 lead. While Army made the highlight reel with a blocked field goal on the next Irish possession, Notre Dame rebounded with an 8-play, 57–yard drive, capped by Price’s 10-yard touchdown run as he pushed through the defense.
Notre Dame running back Aneyas Williams added to the dominance later in the fourth quarter on a 58-yard touchdown run. The Irish finished with 273 yards rushing and five touchdowns as a team, led by Love’s 130 yards and two scores. Leonard went 10–13 for 148 yards, and Faison led all receivers with two catches for 46 yards.
“The thing I love about Jeremiyah Love is he’s protecting the football and not causing turnovers, but it’s almost like he’s anticipating what the defense is going to do,” Freeman said.
“When he breaks through the second level, I haven’t seen many people that can catch him, but ... he’s practicing well, he’s taking care of his body and producing on game days,” Freeman added.
The Irish defense, meanwhile, held the Black Knights to 207 yards and two touchdowns. It marked the second week in a row for Army to only score 14 points after a prior 14–3 escape against North Texas. While Daily rushed for 139 yards and threw for 26, the Black Knights couldn’t find offense anywhere else all evening.
“We wanted to attack their offensive line and wanted to attack him,” Freeman said. “And put more people where they were trying to run than they could block. That was something we saw in a game plan that we wanted to do and try to attack. The defense did a really good job at doing that.”
Notre Dame solidified chances for a No. 5 seed in the playoffs with the victory but will face a tough road test against USC (6–5) on Nov. 30 to finish the regular season.
