Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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GAME PREVIEW: ARMY 32 NOV. 23, 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED MAKING HISTORY The chance to beat Notre Dame is right up the Black Knights' alley BY TYLER HORKA A rmy was in a position it hadn't faced in more than an entire calendar year in Week 11 at North Texas. The Black Knights were losing a football game. When Mean Green kicker Kali Ng- uma connected on a 31-yard-field goal with 8:10 remaining in the first quarter Nov. 9 in Denton, Texas, Army was in a hole on the scoreboard for the first time since suffering a loss to Massachusetts on Oct. 28, 2023. The deficit didn't last long. A banged-up Bryson Daily did what he does best and scored on the ground for his 20th rushing touchdown of the season less than six minutes of game time after Nguma's field goal. North Texas did not score points of any kind in the remainder of the game. Daily got in the end zone for the second time in the fourth quarter. Army won, 14-3. Ho-hum. "We always talk about adversity's go- ing to hit," Daily said. "That's a little bit of adversity going down 3-0. The way we responded on offense was awe- some to see, and that's what we build our program around." That one win was far less impres- sive than what Army has managed as a whole in response to that loss to UMass last season, though. The Black Knights have not lost since then. Thirteen con- secutive victories, the nation's longest winning streak. It's up to No. 8 Notre Dame to snap it in primetime at Yankee Stadium Nov. 23. It won't be easy. This is a well- coached Army team that is not caught up whatsoever in what it's currently ac- complishing, something that might've tripped Navy up in a similar spot when facing Notre Dame in late October. The Midshipmen lost five fumbles. Don't expect Army to do the same. "Each game is independent of the others, as will be the next one," Army head coach Jeff Monken said. "There's not really any significance to it right now. Records are to look at at the end of the season, not during the season." Jeff Monken, who has been at the helm in West Point since 2014, has led the Black Knights to their first 9-0 start since 1996. PHOTO COURTESY ARMY ATHLETICS