Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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GAME PREVIEW: ARMY 38 NOV. 23, 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED Army's edges are somewhat vulnerable; sopho- more outside linebacker Elo Modozie misses 23 percent of his tackling attempts in the run game. Up the middle, they're strong. The Black Knights have active linebackers and sophomore nose tackle Kody Harris-Miller has 10 run stops this year. The big thing Army does have going for it: The Black Knights are tied with Texas for the fewest 20-plus-yard runs allowed in the country with just 1. Notre Dame's trio of senior quarterback Riley Leonard, sophomore running back Jeremiyah Love and junior running back Jeremiyah Price will test that in Week 13. Advantage: Notre Dame NOTRE DAME PASSING GAME VS. ARMY PASS DEFENSE Once again, strength of schedule comes into play here, but Army's pass defense built some serious credibility against North Texas. The Mean Green are one of the top passing offenses in the Group of Five at 8.0 yards per attempt, and the Black Knights held them to 5.8 (and, of course, 3 points). North Texas also threw 2 interceptions, which is a significant Army strength. The Black Knights have picked off 14 passes this year, which is tied for sixth in the nation. Junior nickel back Casey Larkin and sophomore cornerback Jaydan Mayes lead the way with 3 each. Modozie is a weak spot in the run game, but as a pass rusher he's been a stud for Army this season. He leads the Black Knights with 4.5 sacks, 6 quar- terback hits and 21 total pressures. Not far behind is senior defensive tackle Kyle Lewis with 4 sacks and 14 total pressures. This Army defense creates tons of havoc in the pass game, but it does that without allowing its opponents to break big ones, too. Black Knight opponents have ripped off 6 passing plays of 30 yards or more, which is tied for the fourth-fewest in the nation. Still, Army has not faced a Power Four opera- tion like Notre Dame's passing game has become this season. Leonard is playing some of his best football, with 8.3 passing yards per attempt across October and November through Week 11. He has thrown 1 pick and taken 4 sacks in that time span, in large part because his offensive line has devel- oped into a Joe Moore Award semifinalist. The Irish are starting to get their pass catch- ers going, such as sophomore slot receiver Jaden Greathouse (5 catches for 66 yards against Florida State). Senior tight end Mitchell Evans played his best game of the season and scored his first touch- down against the Seminoles, too. It's difficult to spot the flaw in Army's pass de- fense numbers, but the Black Knights might be in for a rude awakening with the Irish rolling like this. Advantage: Notre Dame SPECIAL TEAMS Somewhat incredibly, Army has not kicked a field goal longer than 35 yards this season. Senior kicker Trey Gronotte is 5 of 5 — a byproduct of the seventh-best red zone offense by touchdown percentage in the nation — so he's been good, but he hasn't really been tested. If you're Notre Dame, you're hoping graduate student kicker Mitch Jeter is healthy enough to make 40- to 49-yard field goals consistently by Week 13, which he has not been since Week 7 ver- sus Stanford. He badly hooked a 42-yarder against Florida State but he made one from 28, bringing him to 6 of 9 on the season (although 2 of his misses were blocked). Where Notre Dame really shines, believe it or not, is kickoff coverage. The Irish are ninth in the country with 15.83 yards per kickoff return al- lowed, thanks to very large, very fast individuals like sophomore safety Luke Talich plus freshman edge rushers Loghan Thomas and Bryce Young. Notre Dame special teams coordinator Marty Biagi has also been good at identifying weaknesses in the opponent's third phase and taking advan- tage. Examples: The Irish ran two fake kicks suc- cessfully against Georgia Tech and got their hands on two punts against Florida State. Army has the punting advantage, with sopho- more James Wagenseller averaging 42.1 yards per boot. Notre Dame graduate student James Rendell is still struggling, with 40.4. That and uncertainty about Jeter's health gives cause for concern, so it's difficult to really say Notre Dame has the edge. But it wouldn't be a surprise if the Irish ultimately came out on top. Advantage: Even COACHING Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman has done a great job this year, save for Week 2 against Northern Illinois. Since that game, he's made it a point to prepare for each game like it's the Super Bowl, to paraphrase the man himself. It wasn't difficult to see at the time that the Irish losing to the Huskies was an anomaly, but it was also easy to see another letdown in Notre Dame's future. Under Freeman's watch, the Irish haven't come close to that. Army head coach Jeff Monken is 117-71 at Army, and he has the Black Knights rolling as one of the best Group of Five programs in the nation. He knows what his team is, and he's unapologetic about it. He'll have his team fired up and ready to face the Irish, without a doubt. However, Notre Dame has the coordinator ad- vantage in almost every game it plays. Offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock would be a sneaky Broyles Award candidate if not for the presence of defensive coordinator Al Golden, whose in- game adjustments have been the stuff of legend. It's difficult to top that duo in terms of intel- ligence, adaptability and a whole host of other traits. The Black Knights cannot. Advantage: Notre Dame INTANGIBLES Like Navy before it, this is legitimately Army's Super Bowl. Boise State is in pole position to be the Group of Five's representative in the College Football playoff. The only thing that can realistically change that is Army beating Notre Dame. That would put the Black Knights in position to finish 13-0 (14-0, including the Army-Navy game) with a win over a top-10 team, both of which would be an advantage over the Broncos. However, this actually played to Navy's disad- vantage when it was their turn to take a shot at the Irish. Midshipmen head coach Brian Newberry admitted after Notre Dame's 51-14 win that the moment was too big for his players, and it caused them to make some uncharacteristic mistakes. Monken is more experienced than Newberry and the prevailing opinion when both teams were undefeated was that Army is the better team. But Notre Dame is more talented than either of them, and it's certainly more talented than anyone the Black Knights have faced this season. Going up against a group with the size, speed and skill of the Irish could be a shock to the system for Monken's crew. Also, this is the Shamrock Series game. Notre Dame has never lost a Shamrock Series game. Take the Irish in this one. Advantage: Notre Dame Sophomore outside linebacker Elo Modozie leads the Black Knights with 4.5 sacks, 6 quarterback hits and 21 total pressures this season. PHOTO COURTESY ARMY ATHLETICS