Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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GAME PREVIEW: ARMY BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM NOV. 23, 2024 33 READING THE ROOM Monken might not be looking at his team's record, but the rest of the coun- try is. The Black Knights are 9-0 for the first time since 1996. The program has only gotten to 10 wins three times — 1996, 2017 and 2018. Monken was in charge of those latter two double-digit- win seasons. He's been at the helm in West Point since 2014. In his decade there, he's probably never had a team this good on both sides of the ball. He's probably never coached in a game of this magnitude, either, considering the College Football Playoff implications at stake for both sides. During Army's bye week, though, Monken was not buying into the hype of the matchup. "If I'm telling our guys, 'Oh, this is the biggest game since 1946,' how does that help our team win?" Monken said. "It doesn't. It just puts undue pres- sure on them. There's been a lot of big games, and there will be a lot of big games after this one." Monken did admit a couple things about Notre Dame. "They are the most talented football team we've played all year and the best football team we've played this year," Monken said. It'd be foolish for anyone to say any- thing to the contrary. According to ESPN's Football Power Index, Army had the 133rd strength of schedule out of 134 Football Bowl Subdivision teams through games played in Week 11. The best team Army beat in its 9-0 start, according to ESPN's FPI, was ... none other than the North Texas Mean Green, a 5-4 team in the American Athletic Conference when the Week 11 books closed. The FPI is all about forecasting what an average team would do against a cer- tain schedule, though, and ESPN has given the Black Knights love for what it's done against its own. Through Week 11, Army ranked No. 20 in strength of record per the FPI. Rightfully so. Army has the nation's No. 1 rushing offense at 334.9 yards per game. The Black Knights' 35 rushing touchdowns were tied with Jacksonville State for the FBS lead through Week 11, right ahead of current CFP qualifiers Alabama, Boise State, Indiana and … Notre Dame. Heading into Week 12, Army also ranked No. 6 nationally in yards al- lowed per game. Right ahead of … No. 7 Notre Dame. An easy slate has certainly aided in Facts & Figures NOTRE DAME VS. ARMY Date: Nov. 23, 2024 Site: Yankee Stadium in The Bronx, N.Y. Television: NBC/Peacock Radio: Notre Dame IMG affiliates Series facts: Notre Dame has an all-time record of 39-8-4 against Army in a series that dates back to 1913. The Irish have won the last 15 meetings, including a 44-6 win in the Alamodome at San Anotinio on Nov. 12, 2016. Head coaches: Army — Jeff Monken (79-55, 11th season in West Point); Notre Dame — Marcus Freeman (28-9, fourth season in South Bend). Noting Army: The Black Knights have risen as high as No. 16 in the Associated Press poll this season, the program's best mark in the AP Top 25 since being ranked No. 10 in 1962 … Army has not had a winning streak as long as its current 13-game streak, the best in the nation, since 1949-50 … Through Week 11, Army was one of just four FBS teams with an unbeaten record; Oregon, BYU and Indiana were the others … Army's point differential this season is plus-224 … Army has amassed 400 or more yards in seven of nine games and has held opponents under 300 yards in eight of nine games. Senior quarterback Bryson Daily has scored 21 rushing touchdowns thus far this season. PHOTO COURTESY ARMY ATHLETICS 2024 ARMY SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Aug. 30 Lehigh W, 42-7 Sept. 7 at Florida Atlantic W, 24-7 Sept. 21 Rice W, 37-14 Sept. 26 at Temple W, 42-14 Oct. 5 at Tulsa W, 49-7 Oct. 12 UAB W, 44-10 Oct. 19 East Carolina W, 45-28 Nov. 2 Air Force W, 20-3 Nov. 9 at North Texas W, 14-3 Nov. 23 vs. Notre Dame* (NBC) 7 p.m. Nov. 30 UTSA (CBSSN) 12 p.m. Dec. 6 AAC Championship (ABC) 8 p.m. Dec. 14 vs. Navy^ (CBS) 3 p.m. * at Yankee Stadium in The Bronx, N.Y ^ at Commanders Field in Landover, Md. 2024 NOTRE DAME SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Aug. 31 at Texas A&M W, 23-13 Sept. 7 Northern Illinois L, 16-14 Sept. 14 at Purdue W, 66-7 Sept. 21 Miami (Ohio) W, 28-3 Sept. 28 Louisville W, 31-24 Oct. 12 Stanford W, 49-7 Oct. 19 vs. Georgia Tech# W, 31-13 Oct. 26 vs. Navy^ W, 51-14 Nov. 9 Florida State W, 52-3 Nov. 16 Virginia W, 35-14 Nov. 23 vs. Army* (NBC) 7 p.m. Nov. 30 at USC TBA # at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta; ^ at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.; * Shamrock Series at Yankee Stadium in The Bronx, N.Y. ; Games on NBC are also televised by Peacock