Calling it an honor and an amazing opportunity to meet a Top 25 program that has a lot of history, Notre Dame football coach Marcus Freeman said playing Army on Saturday will be a great challenge for his No. 8-ranked Fighting Irish.
In a wide-ranging weekly press conference in South Bend, Ind., Freeman was quite candid that his 9-1 team will have to be ready for the Black Knights when the two schools meet Saturday night at 7 p.m. at Yankee Stadium in what Notre Dame calls its annual “Shamrock Series” game and Freeman described as “the Super Bowl.”
Notre Dame selected the New York setting in tribute to the 100th anniversary of the “Four Horsemen” game when Notre Dame upset highly-regarded Army 14-7 at the Polo Grounds in 1924.
It will be the first meeting between the two historic rivals since 2016 when Notre Dame beat Army 44-6 in San Antonio, Texas. The Fighting Irish have won the last 15 games in the rivalry with Army last beating Notre Dame, 14-2, in 1958 when Army finished third in the nation with an 8-0-1 record. It will also be the first time the two squads are meeting as nationally ranked opponents since that game.
While Freeman was quite respectful of his upcoming opponent, the Notre Dame press corps seemed more intent on asking the second-year head coach about last week’s 35-14 victory over visiting Virginia as well as coaching techniques, practice habits, returning players next season and previous games this season than on the upcoming game with the Black Knights.
Freeman, though, made it quite clear that he is aware of what Army is doing this year, including its offensive and defensive prowess, and the job that Army coach Jeff Monken has done with the program over the last 11 years.
“I told the coaching staff, I believe it is our toughest challenge to date,” said Freeman, noting that Army is scoring around 35 points and giving up under 10 points per game. “They are a really good football program. They are 9-0 and on a 13-game winning streak, which is number one in FBS and all nine victories came by double digits.
“There is a lot of consistency in their program. They play clean, they don’t hurt themselves and they are a physical, tough bunch. Our guys will understand the challenge.”
Noting that this is the first time since 2016 that Notre Dame is playing two service academies in the same year, Freeman said that he is not going into the game with thoughts of the victory over Navy in September, where the Irish forced six turnovers in the 51-14 win.
“I met with the defensive staff and the first thing we said is the biggest mistake we can make is to think this is Navy 2.0, it is not,” he said. “It is a different offense. They do some different things and they have a different identity and present a different challenge.
“Yes, it is still a version of the triple option that you see with some of the (service academies). But they run it with different personnel. They are led by the offensive line, they are physical and big. It is going to be a great challenge in all three phases. They all present some issues that we have to be prepared for.”
Freeman also gave kudos to Army quarterback Bryson Daily and puzzling Black Knights defense that can throw different looks at an offense. “(Daily) makes really good decisions,” he said. “He can run the ball if he needs to and can throw it if he needs to. What he does is run the offense efficiently, does not put them in bad position and does a great job of taking care of the football.”
