Notre Dame football will be without Howard Cross III again.
The graduate senior nose tackle suffered a left ankle injury against Florida State and missed last Saturday's 35-14 win over Virginia. The Irish program announced prior to kickoff that Cross will again be sidelined as CFP No. 6 Notre Dame (9-1) takes on No. 19 Army (9-0) Saturday night in New York City's Yankee Stadium (7 EST on NBC).
Cross, who was named to multiple preseason All-America teams, totaled 23 tackles, four sacks, 5.5 tackles for loss and three quarterback hurries in his first nine games of the season. The 6-foot-1, 288-pound Cross would have been a key figure in Notre Dame's attempt to slow down Army's prolific rushing attack.
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Notre Dame will continue to rely on sophomore Donovan Hinish with Cross out. Hinish made his first career start against Virginia last week. In the last two games Cross missed time, Hinish tallied nine tackles and three sacks. He's totaled 23 tackles, 3.5 sacks, three quarterback hurries and one pass breakup in 10 games this season.
Notre Dame also declared sophomore wide receiver KK Smith unavailable with a clavicle injury. Smith was not previously on the injury report. Smith has appeared in six games and caught three passes for 38 yards this season.
Notre Dame running back Devyn Ford is available to return to action after missing the Virginia game with a right groin injury. Ford, a special teams contributor and reserve back, totaled 13 rushes for 55 yards, two catches for six yards, two kick returns for 23 yards and one tackle in nine games this season.
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A couple players not on Notre Dame's depth chart are notably unavailable: senior defensive tackle Jason Onye and freshman quarterback CJ Carr. Onye hasn't played since the fifth game of the season. He's been away from the team dealing with a "personal issue." Carr recently resumed throwing as he recovers from a right elbow injury.
Notre Dame has lost five starters to season-ending injuries this year: cornerback Benjamin Morrison (hip), vyper Jordan Botelho (knee), center Ashton Craig (knee), left tackle Charles Jagusah (shoulder) and vyper Boubacar Traore (knee).
Notre Dame previously declared many other players out for the season: walk-on CB Marty Auer (knee), walk-on DL Quentin Autry (shoulder), S Taebron Bennie-Powell (shoulder), walk-on CB Charles Du (shoulder), LB Kahanu Kia (knee), RB Gi'Bran Payne (knee), OL Styles Prescod (shoulder) and CB Chance Tucker (knee).
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