Yankee Stadium will be the site of this Saturday’s top 25, primetime matchup between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Army Black Knights. Army enters the game undefeated and is already locked into a spot for the American Athletic Conference Championship. We preview the Black Knights’ offense here:
Photo by 4.0 Sports Media
Coming off a bye, Army will look to play spoiler for the Irish and, rather, make their own push for the College Football Playoff. The meat of Army’s schedule begins this week with the Irish, then matchups coming soon with Navy, the most historic rivalry in all of college football, and a date with Tulane for the AAC Championship. Here is how the 9-0 and AAC first-place Black Knights have fared this season:
vs Lehigh (42-7, Win)
at Florida Atlantic (24-7, Win)
vs Rice (37-14, Win)
at Temple (42-14, Win)
at Tulsa (49-7, Win)
vs UAB (44-10, Win)
vs East Carolina (45-28, Win)
vs Air Force (20-3, Win)
at North Texas (14-3, Win)
Army’s offensive unit is averaging 35.2 points per game, fourth-most in the AAC and 22nd among all FBS teams. Their 419.9 total yards per game ranks as the sixth-most among AAC competition and 45th in all of FBS. These numbers are more impressive when you realize more than 75% of all production comes from the ground.
To nobody’s surprise, this Army team has been disciplined all season, rarely shooting themselves in the foot. The Black Knights own the sixth-fewest penalties and 15th-fewest penalty yards per game in all of college football.
Along the same lines of not hurting themselves, Army also owns the fewest turnovers lost with three all season. In total, they have lost two fumbles and thrown just one interception.
One possible key to winning this game is third and fourth down success. Army enters Saturday night converting 53.5% of their third-down attempts, the second-best percentage among FBS schools. On the other hand, Notre Dame’s defense holds the sixth-best third-down defense in the country.
On fourth down, Army has converted 16 of 19 attempts, the best percentage among FBS teams with at least ten attempts. Again, Notre Dame's defense has done well stopping critical downs, ranking 18th in the country in fourth-down stops.
Another key to Army’s offense is their red zone prowess. The Black Knights are scoring 92.1% of the time they enter the red zone, first in the AAC and tied for 14th in the nation. Notre Dame’s defense enters this matchup with the fourth-best red zone defense in all of FBS. Stopping Army on critical downs and forcing red zone mistakes will be important for Notre Dame to maintain their College Football Playoff hopes.
The bulk of Army’s offensive production comes via a rushing game featuring a variety of option plays. The Black Knights average 334.9 rushing yards per game, most in the FBS. For context, the second-leading rushing team averages over 70 yards less than this Army number. Their 35 rushing touchdowns are second-most in all of the FBS, and the most among teams with only nine games played. Let’s highlight some contributors to this top-ranked rushing attack:
Everything goes through Army senior and team captain quarterback, Bryson Daily. The dual-threat signal-caller entered this season with 1,064 rushing yards and nine touchdowns on 227 carries in 15 games across the last two seasons. Last season, Daily led the team in rushing yards (901) and touchdowns (7). The senior has exploded this season and has become a household name in the college football world as he currently holds the tenth-best odds of winning the Heisman Trophy. He could be higher, however, Daily missed the win versus Air Force for undisclosed reasons. Through eight games played, he has rushed for 1,062 yards and 21 touchdowns on 174 carries. Daily’s 21 rushing touchdowns are the second-most in the FBS. His 132.8 rushing yards per game leads the AAC and is the fifth-most in the FBS while his 6.1 yards per carry rank top 25 among FBS players. Daily has rushed for 100-plus yards or had a multi-touchdown performance in seven of eight games played this season, including a season-best 171 yards and five touchdowns versus East Carolina. Overall, the Army quarterback has emerged as one of the most talented rushers in the country with 536 yards after contact, 31 missed tackles forced, and 30 rushes of ten or more yards. The only moments Daily does not appear superhuman is when he fumbles, as he has done three times this season. Containing Daily, similar to how they played Navy quarterback Blake Horvath, should be the main priority for Notre Dame’s defense.
Army’s second-leading rusher is sophomore running back Kanye Udoh. Last season as a freshman, he had 524 rushing yards and a touchdown on 99 carries in ten games played. Udoh enters Saturday’s matchup with 856 yards and nine touchdowns on 128 carries. His 95.1 rushing yards per game ranks fourth-most among AAC rushers and 26th in FBS. Additionally, his 6.69 yards per carry are the tenth-most among all FBS rushers. Udoh has 65-plus rushing yards in eight of nine games, including four games with over 100. He had a season-high 158 rushing yards and two touchdowns versus Air Force. In general, Udoh is a solid runner in all aspects. However, he is coming off a rough game with 65 yards on 13 carries that featured a lost fumble. Notably, Udoh has both of Army’s lost fumbles this season. Expect to see a lot of the sophomore on Saturday night.
The last rushing threat to highlight is junior Noah Short. Listed as Army’s starting slot, the junior receiver has emerged as a real player in the run game this season. Short entered Army as a safety before moving to offense last season. This year, he has rushed for 439 yards and two touchdowns on 41 carries. Short has six games with 20 or more rushing yards, including a season-high 160 yards on just 11 carries in the road win at FAU. He has received between one and six rushes in seven consecutive weeks. Army should consider involving Short more in the rushing game as he has been a more than capable rushing option with no fumbles this season.
Passing-wise, Army’s low-volume approach has proven efficient so far this season. Their 69 pass attempts and 85 passing yards per game are both dead last among FBS teams. However, their 18.66 yards per completion is the most in the country. For what it is worth, Army’s eight passing touchdowns are more than the likes of Northwestern and Oregon State. Let’s preview who could play a factor in Army’s passing game on Saturday:
Starting quarterback Bryson Daily completed 50% of his pass attempts (60/120) for 913 yards and seven touchdowns with six interceptions last season. He became the second Army quarterback to pass and rush for over 900 yards in a single season. Daily enters Saturday’s game completing 56.9% of his throws (29/51) for 644 yards and seven touchdowns with just one interception on the year. Perhaps more impressive, the senior signal-caller has only been sacked once all season. Daily has at least four pass attempts in each game, including four games with over 100 yards through the air. Notably, he is coming off his worst passing performance of the season when he completed two of four passes for 15 yards with an interception, in addition to taking his lone sack of the year. Overall, Daily is a solid passer whose numbers are uber-efficient. As long as the Notre Dame secondary does not get caught sleeping, Daily’s arm should not play a big factor in Saturday’s matchup.
Army’s leading receiver is true wideout Casey Reynolds. The senior had 16 receptions for 237 yards in 12 games last season. This season, Reynolds already has 12 receptions for 325 yards and three touchdowns on 20 targets. He recorded back-to-back weeks with over 80 receiving yards against both UAB and ECU, including a 50-yard touchdown in the dominant win versus UAB. Reynolds has at least one reception in eight of nine games played, however, he has yet to receive more than four targets in a single game. Overall, the senior wideout is a reliable passing threat with no dropped passes this season. Again, Army’s passing game should not play a huge factor on Saturday night, but do not get beat by Reynolds or the Knights will make you pay.
Daily’s second-favorite passing weapon is slot man Noah Short. The junior led Army in receptions last season with 18 for 252 yards and two touchdowns. Short enters Saturday’s matchup with 11 receptions for 259 yards and three touchdowns on the year. He has at least one reception in seven of nine games, including four with over 20 receiving yards. Short exploded for a season-high 121 receiving yards and two touchdowns on just three receptions at Tulsa, including a 58-yard score off a swing pass. The senior slot man is a reliable receiving option, although not as talented in this department as Reynolds.
Another reason for Army’s offensive success has been their stout line. This unit featuring three returning starters from a year ago has allowed just three sacks all season (fewest in FBS) and is allowing 2.44 tackles for loss per game (second-fewest in the FBS). Notre Dame’s defensive front will be tested as, although they are tied for 18th in the FBS in sacks per game, they have struggled to get ball carriers down in the backfield. Let’s highlight the key cogs to the Army offensive line:
The most experienced lineman on the roster is starting left tackle Connor Finucane. The senior and team captain entered this season with 38 career starts under his belt. Finucane is an excellent run blocker but has struggled with pass-blocking. This works just fine at Army with their high-volume, option run-game.
In the middle, Army features sophomore center Brady Small. He returned following starting all 12 games last season as a freshman. Small is another good run-blocker who has struggled with pass-blocking. Although the potential is evident, Small has allowed three quarterback hits including a sack on just 68 pass snaps. If this gets cleaned up, Small could be one of the best centers in college football in the coming years.
Finally, at right tackle is senior and returning starter Lucas Scott. The 6-3, 305-pound unit is an overall great blocker in all aspects. On 65 pass snaps, Scott has allowed just one quarterback hurry.
This will likely be Army’s toughest test of the season as they look to remain perfect. The keys for Notre Dame’s defense should be stopping Bryson Daily, stopping Army on third and fourth downs, and stopping them in the red zone. Tougher said than done, but the Irish have been tested by good rushing attacks all season (Navy, Georgia Tech, NIU, Texas A&M) and, for the most part, have exceeded expectations. Saturday should not be different in primetime at Yankee Stadium.
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