Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1529781
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM NOV. 30, 2024 23 0 Points for Army on its opening drive, marking the first time in 10 games this season that the Black Knights didn't score on their first possession of the game. 0 of 2 On field goals for Notre Dame, with graduate student Mitch Jeter missing from 48 yards as time expired in the first half and having his 30-yarder in the third quarter blocked. The Irish are now just 8 of 17 (47.1 per- cent) on field goals this season, and are only 3 of 10 (30.0 percent) since Jeter suffered a hip injury that has hampered him as the season has worn on. 1 of 4 On fourth down conversions for Army against Notre Dame. The Black Knights entered the game No. 2 in the coun- try at 84.2 percent (16 of 19). Their lone successful conversion did not come until 32 seconds remained in the game on their second touchdown drive. 3.6 Yards per carry allowed by Notre Dame against Army's potent triple-option of- fense, which entered the game averaging 6.2 yards per rush (No. 3 in the country). The Black Knights finished with 207 yards on the ground despite entering the game averaging a nation-best 334.9. 4 Three-and-outs for Notre Dame's defense on six possessions for Army's offense in the first half, after the Black Knights had just 10 such drives in their first nine games. 6 Straight games allowing 7 points or less in the first half for the Notre Dame defense. Only twice in their first 10 games did the Fighting Irish allow their opponent to reach double digits in the first 30 minutes: 13 by Northern Illinois in a 16-14 loss Sept. 7 and 14 to Louisville in a 31-24 victory Sept. 28. Since losing to Northern Illinois in Week 2, Notre Dame has outscored their opponents 223-48 in the first half (plus-21.9 points per game). 9.8 Yards per play for Notre Dame against Army. The Black Knights entered the contest allowing only 4.7 yards per play, but could not slow down the Irish. 10 Runs of 10 or more yards for Fighting Irish ball carriers, seven of which came in the first half. Army entered the game having allowed only 23 such runs — tied for the fewest in the country, per Pro Football Focus. 12-0 Record for Notre Dame in Shamrock Series games, with three of those wins coming against Army by an average score of 40-7. The 49 points scored by the Irish are their most in a Shamrock Series game, surpassing the 45 they had against Maryland in 2011. In addition, the matchup between No. 6 Notre Dame and No. 19 Army marked the third Sham- rock Series games that featured two ranked teams (No. 3 Notre Dame vs. No. 12 Syracuse in 2018 and No. 12 Notre Dame vs. No. 18 Wisconsin in 2021). The Irish have won those three games by an aver- age score of 40-7. 16 Game win streak for Notre Dame against Army, which dates back to 1958. This was the first time since 1958 that both teams were ranked entering their meeting. 26 Passing yards for Army against Notre Dame marked the fewest for an Irish op- ponent since Navy had 22 on Oct. 10, 2015. 29 Straight losses for Army in games against top-10 teams following their loss to No. 6 Notre Dame. The Black Knights last win against a top-10 squad was against No. 9 Penn State in 1963. 47 Yard line of Army was the starting field po- sition for Notre Dame in the first half. Four of the Fighting Irish's six first-half drives started in Army territory and resulted in 21 points. 233 Total yards allowed by the Irish against the Black Knights. Army is the sixth op- ponent the Notre Dame defense has held to 250 or less of total offense. The last time the Irish held six opponents to less than 250 total yards was 1983, per Notre Dame media relations. 273 Yards and 5 touchdowns on were amassed by the Notre Dame rushing attack. Army entered the game allowing only 82.6 rushing yards per game, which ranked third in the nation behind only Indiana and Ole Miss. BY THE NUMBERS BY STEVE DOWNEY 3rd Blocked kick of the season for freshman defensive end BRYCE YOUNG came on an Army punt less than seven minutes into the game. The stellar special teams play set up the second Irish touchdown midway through the first quarter. The Fighting Irish now have 6 blocked kicks this season, tied with Louisville for the most in the Football Bowl Subdivision. PHOTO BY LARRY BLANKENSHIP