Army Preparing Best Shot For Saturday’s Game Versus Notre Dame
Notre Dame last lost to Army in 1958.
Since then the two teams have met 14 times. The Irish outscored Army 494‑79 in those meetings, an average score of 35.3‑5.6.
Despite the long odds facing Army in this weekend’s game — the Black Knights are 13.5-point underdogs according to Las Vegas sportsbooks — it’s a big opportunity for head coach Jeff Monken’s team.
Despite a down year for Notre Dame, Monken talked about what it means to his team to play the Irish.
“When people play Notre Dame, it gets the attention of the guys lining up in the opposite uniform,” said Monken, who is in his third year at Army. “It certainly does for us. Notre Dame is one of the great programs in college football. To have a chance to play them is a big deal for everybody. It certainly is for our team. Notre Dame gets everybody’s very best shot, and it’s certainly a feather in the cap of anyone who can pull off a victory over the Irish.
“They’re one of the great programs in college football. If you look at the history of college football, Notre Dame is a part of it. From decades ago, the Army program played big games against them, down at Yankee Stadium, at Michie Stadium and in South Bend.
"It’s really just a privilege for us to play in a big game like this, against a program with so much history. I think it’s really neat for college football.”
Notre Dame is 3-6 this season, while Army is 5-4 and on the brink of its first bowl bid since the 2010 season.
What does Monken see in Notre Dame that has contributed to its poor record?
“It’s just football, and that happens,” Monken said. “They’ve had opportunities to win a lot of football games and just haven't had a break go their way or the other team has made a play. That’s sports.
“There’s a lot of teams that are very talented that aren’t having the type of season they hoped for. That doesn’t mean they’ve got poor players, poor coaches or aren’t a good team. The guys that line up on the other side have something to do with that as well.”
Army is coming off its own bad game — a 31-12 loss at home against Air Force.
Monken’s team now goes from defending Air Force’s option offense to the pro-style, NFL scheme the Irish present.
“We’re coming off a disappointing loss that certainly was not our best performance of the year,” Monken said. “We were sure disappointed we couldn’t play better and give ourselves a chance to win.
“Our guys played hard and gave an effort, but as you can see there were a lot of mistakes and some errors that were very costly and really hurt us at some bad times. We will move on to face a great program this weekend.”
Army will have a size and speed disadvantage across the board, particularly going up against Notre Dame’s offensive line — which is the biggest in the country.
The Black Knights will attempt to do what Navy did last week against Notre Dame: keep the ball away from junior quarterback DeShone Kizer.
“We have to try to keep the ball away from them. That’s what Navy did last week. Notre Dame only had six possessions in the game,” Monken said. “They have big people, talented people and they are a great bunch of football players. I’ve got so much respect for them as athletes and for Coach Brian Kelly and his staff.
“Their record is not a reflection of what kind of team they are and what they’re capable of. Sometimes things don’t go your way and you find yourself like they are, but they’re an outstanding team. They’re going to give us every challenge imaginable. The 300-pounders on the offensive line isn’t something new, we face that pretty often. The big offensive line is one challenge and the rest of the guys on the team present several other challenges for us.”
