The Irish continued their perfect record in Shamrock Series games as No. 6 Notre Dame dismantled the previously undefeated No. 19 Army Black Knights.
Via Notre Dame Athletics
No. 6 Notre Dame proved to be a complete team last night in their 35-point thumping against the Top 20 foe, the Army Black Knights. While it was a triumphant victory on all accounts, here are four key takeaways from last night's game in Yankee Stadium.
0 Punts
Entering the Top 20 matchup against the Black Knights, Notre Dame's offense had shown signs of inconsistency throughout their previous games. Multiple three and outs and empty drives were shown to be a point of concern when going into a game against a time-wasting Army offense.
It was up to Riley Leonard and Mike Denbrock to start fast and stay consistent throughout the game. Leonard and the Irish offense did just that, as the Fighting Irish didn't utilize their Australian punter James Rendell once on Saturday night.
While there were empty possessions due to a couple missed kicks and an Army goal line stand, the Irish offense was getting whatever they wanted against the previously top-rated Black Knights defense.
Notre Dame ended this game with 464 total yards gained, while seamlessly blending the run (275 yards) and the pass (189 yards). This was Notre Dame's best offense game to date and it seems like Leonard's confidence is continuing to skyrocket week-by-week.
+1 Turnover Margin
The Fighting Irish are the second-best team in the country in turnover margin, and they grew that margin on Saturday night. Army had only given up three turnovers entering this contest, but the Fighting Irish found a way to force a fumble. Notre Dame's punt block early on technically doesn't count as a turnover, but it was a momentum shifting play that was equal to that of a turnover.
One of the keys leading into the game was if Army could steal any possessions from Notre Dame, but Riley Leonard and the Irish ball carriers did a great job handling the football and not giving Army any extra opportunities.
2 Missed Kicks
The biggest eye sore in this game is the entire field goal kicking operation. Mitch Jeter missed two kicks, one from 48-yards and another from 30-yards.
While Jeter still isn't 100%, the entire operation is looking flawed. On the 48-yard kick, the blame can be entirely placed on Jeter, as he simply pushed the kick to the right. However, there was a false start penalty that pushed the field goal back from 43 yards to 48 yards. Entering the game, Jeter was cleared for any kicks 45-yards and in, which makes one wonder why he was kicking the 48-yard attempt.
On the 30-yard should be chip shot, the kick was blocked, which now brings Notre Dame's total to three blocked field goals this season. If the Fighting Irish want to make a deep push into the playoffs, or even win next week in the Coliseum, Notre Dame needs a quick answer from the kicking department.
It is surprising considering how perfect the Notre Dame special teams unit has been outside of the kicking game, but I'm not confident that Marty Biagi can find an imminent answer to the weakest department on the Irish roster.
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3 Running Backs Touchdown Scorers
The difference in this game was the clear talent gap between both teams, and no one area symbolized this gap greater than the speed of the Notre Dame running backs and the Army defense.
While Jeremiyah Love and Jardian Price each recorded two rushing touchdowns, much of this can be attributed to the play of the Notre Dame offensive line. The Irish offensive line that has been dealing with consistent rotations and new units, has finally become an organized group and the communication on the line has increased every week.
While the offensive line was getting it done in the trenches, the speed of Love and Price was on display for the entire country to see. Love's 130 yards on only seven carries is an insanely impressive feat, and Price's resiliency on his second touchdown run showed why he needs more touches.
Freshman Aneyas Williams, who has established himself as Notre Dame's third-down back, broke his longest rush of the season on a 58-yard touchdown run.
With the emergence of the running back room in this game, Mike Denbrock might have to shy away from his favorite red zone play, the quarterback power, as Riley Leonard got denied on every attempt. The Fighting Irish found most success simply handing the ball off to their most talented athletes.
Wrap-up
As Notre Dame collected another Top 25 win, the Fighting Irish have positioned themselves into a great position to host a playoff football game. Winning in November is hard, simply look at the outcomes from this past week. This even furthers the performance against Army as Notre Dame was able to travel to New York, play an extremely disciplined game, and dominated from the opening whistle. The Fighting Irish have started to play their best football at the perfect time in the season, and the arch-rival USC Trojans are the only thing in the way of the Fighting Irish hosting a playoff game.
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