NEW YORK — Notre Dame versus Army at Yankee Stadium. At one time it was the biggest game there was in college football.
One of them was ranked No. 1 in four straight meetings from 1943-46, culminating with a 0-0 tie in a No. 1-versus-No. 2 matchup that was dubbed the “Game of the Century.”
Their meeting Saturday night isn’t at that level. But with the No. 6 Irish (9-1) in prime position for a spot in the College Football Playoff and the 19th-ranked Black Knights (9-0) one of only three unbeaten FBS teams, it’s one of the most significant games on the last full weekend of November.
“It’s an amazing opportunity to play a great program that has a lot of history and is a Top 25 program,” Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said. “It’s going to be a great challenge on Saturday night.”
Notre Dame has won eight straight and has been romping over opponents, just as it did in 2016 in the most recent meeting of what eventually became a one-sided series against Army. The Black Knights haven’t won since 1958, the last matchup in which both were ranked.
“You walk around this building and look at all the photos of Army playing Notre Dame in the Polo Grounds and Yankee Stadium, and there’s a great history to this game,” Army coach Jeff Monken said. “And the history belongs to Notre Dame. They’ve won most of them.
“So it will take a great effort, but our guys are excited about the challenge and the opportunity and I hope we’ll play well.”
This meeting was scheduled to honor the 100th anniversary of Notre Dame’s 1924 victory in New York at the Polo Grounds, after which Grantland Rice famously wrote: “Outlined against a blue-gray October sky, the Four Horsemen rode again.”
Army has won 13 straight, tops in the nation, has won every game this season by double digits and didn’t even trail in one until its 14-3 victory over North Texas two weeks ago. But the Black Knights haven’t played anyone like the Irish, who have allowed 14 or fewer points in five straight games, are near the top of numerous defensive categories and allow just 11.4 points per game.
Win Saturday and at USC next week in their regular-season finale, and the Irish could be in position to host a playoff game.
“The coolest thing is we’re in November now, getting to late November, and you’re in control of your destiny. That’s something that I haven’t been able to experience,” said quarterback Riley Leonard, a transfer from Duke. “And every day you kind of wake up and you’re like, wow, this is cool.
“You have that motivation and that extra urge to go above and beyond, go the extra mile, because everything we want is right in front of us and we’re in control of our destiny.”
The playoff may be out of reach for Army, but the Black Knights need to keep their CFP ranking as high as possible, as it could come into play as a tiebreaker with No. 20 Tulane to determine which hosts the American Athletic Conference championship game Dec. 6.
Another academy
Notre Dame routed Navy 51-14 last month. Like Army, the Midshipmen control the ball with their rushing attack and rarely commit turnovers, but the Irish recovered five fumbles and had an interception.
“I met with the defensive staff and the first thing we said is the biggest mistake we can make is think this is Navy 2.0,” Freeman said. “It’s not.”
Back to the Bronx
Notre Dame serves as the host team Saturday, even though it’s not far from Army’s home in West Point, N.Y. The Black Knights took a trip to Yankee Stadium this summer.
“It’s a really cool moment,” linebacker Brett Gerena said. “I was new in my awareness with our history at Yankee Stadium and the Polo Grounds. I’m just really excited to relive that history and be a part of the legacy.”
1-2 punch
Army quarterback Bryson Daily and running back Kanye Udoh have combined for 1,918 rushing yards, the seventh-highest total by a duo in program history.
Udoh (856 yards) is on pace to join Daily (1,062 yards) as a 1,000-yard rusher with five games left. Army has had two players rush for more 1,000 yards in a season only twice (1984, 2012).
AP freelance writer Sal Interdonato contributed from West Point, N.Y,
No. 19 Army (9-0) vs. No. 6 Notre Dame (9-1)
- Time/TV: 6 p.m. Saturday at Yankee Stadium in New York, NBC-5.
- Line: Notre Dame by 14½.
- Series: Notre Dame leads 39-8-4.
Facts & figures
The teams are meeting for the 24th time at Yankee Stadium. Notre Dame leads the series there 15-5-3, including a 27-3 victory in 2010 in the first football game at the current stadium that opened a year earlier. … Notre Dame has allowed 14 or fewer points in five straight games. The Irish are allowing 11.4 points per game, third in the nation. Army is slightly ahead at 10.3 … Army tops the nation with 334.9 rushing yards per game.
