Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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36 NOV. 14, 2016 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED While last year the fullback po- sition in the offense was a weak link, Army has received good per- formances there this year in sup- port of junior quarterback Ahmad Bradshaw. "The fullbacks have been really good this year," Interdonato said. "Last year there was very little pro- duction from the fullbacks, but this year with Andy Davidson and Dar- nell Woolfolk, they have 13 touch- downs between those two guys. Last year their fullbacks totaled 10 the whole season. "Davidson was a converted line- backer; he got off to a really strong start. He's been banged up a little bit, and against Lafayette, they had their third-string fullback, Cole Macek, run for 100 yards." A r m y ' s t o p re c e i v e r — 6 - 4 , 216-pound senior Edgar Poe — missed three games with a hand in- jury before returning to the lineup against North Texas Oct. 22. Poe caught four passes for 122 yards and a touchdown against Wake Forest. "He gives them a vertical threat they don't really have," Interdonato said of Poe. "If Army quarterbacks underthrow the ball, he can go get it. He's a key in the games coming up, because the defenses are going to put eight or nine in the box to try to stop the run. They have to prove they can throw the ball, and he's their top target." Like Notre Dame, Army's spe- cial teams have struggled in vari- ous phases this season. The Black Knights have made just 5 of 10 field goal attempts this season, and junior kicker Blake Wilson — who was cut from the team as a freshman — is now back after senior Mitch Howard was injured making a tackle against Buffalo Sept. 24. "They have no confidence in the kicking right now," Interdonato said. ✦ GAME PREVIEW: ARMY Third-year head coach Jeff Monken has the Black Knights on pace to gain bowl eligibility for the first time since 2010. PHOTO COURTESY ARMY WEST POINT ATHLETICS Facts & Figures NOTRE DAME VS. ARMY Game Info Date: Nov. 12, 2016. Site: Alamodome (65,000) in San Antonio. Kickoff: 3:30 p.m. Television: NBC. Radio: This broadcast can be heard live on SIRIUS Satellite Radio (channel 129). Series Facts: This is the 51st all-time meet- ing between Army and Notre Dame. The Irish beat the Black Knights 27-3 in the previous matchup, a 2010 game at Yankee Stadium. Notre Dame leads the all-time series 38-8-4. Coaches: Army — Jeff Monken (11-22, third season); Notre Dame — Brian Kelly (58-29, seventh season). Noting Army: This will be only the fifth meeting between Notre Dame Army since 1986 … Monken took over for Rich Ellerson, who had just one winning season from 2010-13 … Monken, 49, was previously the head coach at Georgia Southern from 2010-13 … In the past 20 seasons of Army football, it has just two winning seasons (1996 and 2010) … Army and Notre Dame are two of the four Football Bowl Subdivision independents. BYU and Mas- sachusetts are the other two.