The No. 6 Fighting Irish played a near perfect game against No. 19 Army as the Irish won 49-14.
Via Notre Dame Athletics
NEW YORK -- No. 6 Notre Dame dismantled the No. 19 Army Black Knights in tonight's marquee matchup at Yankee Stadium, largely due to the Fighting Irish's physicality.
The storyline heading into tonight was determining how effective Army's defense could be against an uber-talented Notre Dame offense. The question was answered quickly in the game.
After back-to-back Army three and outs, the Fighting Irish moved the ball with ease, as offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock was able to implement both the run and the pass against the Black Knights' defense. This allowed the Irish to jump to an early lead and neutralize Army's time-consuming offense
As the game progressed, the offense never took their foot off the gas. The offensive line put together their most impressive performance this season, as they were consistently winning the point of attack and getting to the next level to block Army linebackers.
The domination up front for Notre Dame resulted in big plays for the Notre Dame running back room.
Jeremiyah Love ended the game with 130 yards, two rushing touchdowns, and a receiving touchdown that featured him hurdling over the Army defender into the endzone. To complement Love's effort, Jadarian Price had 53 yards and two rushing touchdowns, as well. Freshman Aneyas Williams also made an impact in the game where he broke free for a 58-yard touchdown run. As a team, Notre Dame ended the game with 275 rushing yards.
The one area in which the offense stalled was in Riley Leonard's ability to use his legs. In the red zone, Denbrock's go-to play call is a quarterback power with Leonard following his blockers. Notre Dame ran this play three times within the ten-yard line, and Leonard got stuffed on every run.
While struggling with his legs, Leonard was extremely efficient throwing the ball. At times this season, Leonard credited much of his struggles throwing the ball to being "too greedy." In tonight's effort, Leonard was simply taking what the Army defense was giving him. He ended 10/13 throwing for 148 yards and two touchdowns.
In a game where Leonard and the offense couldn't waste any possessions, the senior from Fairhope, Ala. stepped up to the challenge.
Army's sole scoring drive in the first half was propelled by three Notre Dame penalties. There was a phantom facemask, an offsides call on fourth down by Jaylen Sneed, and an illegal hands to the face by Rylie Mills. Aside from this, the Notre Dame defense was dominant throughout.
The secondary did a great job working off blocks and making open-field tackles. Xavier Watts, Christian Gray, and Leonard Moore all collected multiple tackles.
The leading tacklers in this game were Adon Shuler and Jaiden Ausberry for the Fighting Irish defense. Shuler was flying from his safety position and getting downhill fast, and Ausberry showed great discipline and speed from sideline-to-sideline.
In a game where Notre Dame dominated in all facets, the only point of concern remains to be the kicking game. Mitch Jeter went 0/2 on kicks from 48 and 30 yards. The 48-yard attempt was pushed out right, and the 30-yard try was blocked. As the Irish's playoff hopes begin to look more of reality every week, the Irish need to find a viable answer at the place kicking position.
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