Strip it all away and Army’s task on Saturday at Yankee Stadium is no different than usual.
Strip away the stakes that come with a 9-0 record: the blooming belief, seldom spoken aloud and only then in whispers, that a win here would all but cement their playoff invitation.
Strip away the noise: walloping and deafening, a humdrum of facts and figures and dates propounding the days and months and years since the Black Knights last defeated an AP top-10 team, 1963, the last time the Black Knights defeated the Fighting Irish, 1958.
Strip away the pomp and circumstance: the historic venue, the historic rivalry, the 46,000-plus who will cram in to see the 52nd incarnation of the college football matchup that produced the greatest line in the history of sports writing: “Outlined against a blue-gray October sky, the Four Horsemen rode again.”
Strip it all away and the task at hand — defeating No. 6-ranked Notre Dame — is not so much a task but, in the words of Black Knights head coach Jeff Monken, “an opportunity.”
“For our players, the first time they ever put shoulder pads on and decided they were going to play football, I think they hoped that they would have an opportunity to play in a game like this, in this kind of venue, against one of the blue blood football programs in the country — Notre Dame is college football,” Monken said Tuesday.
His Army is undefeated, ranked No. 19 in the country and on the precipice of their first 10-0 start to a season in program history.
They know what they’re up against. And they know they’re ready for the moment.
“It’s a special night,” senior linebacker Brett Gerena told members of the media on Tuesday. “We’re a special team.”
Army enters Sunday’s matchup — which will kickoff at 7 p.m. Eastern and be broadcast on NBC and Peacock — as 14.5 point underdogs.
In 9-1 Notre Dame, Army faces its most punishing opponent yet: a team composed of bigger, stronger and more talented recruits, led by one of the best coaches in the business, Marcus Freeman.
“There’s three things Army must do to have a chance,” said analyst Todd Blackledge, who will be on the call Saturday. “They cannot turn the ball over — they’ve been great all year, but the Fighting Irish have been outstanding at taking the ball away.”
Case in point: Notre Dame posted 20 points off Navy turnovers three weeks ago. The Midshipmen had two on the season to date, then the Fighting Irish forced six.
Blackledge adds: “Number two, Army has to play great offense and defense in the red zone. Once the field shortens, that’s when they’ve got to play their best.
“And third — this will be very difficult — control the game, limit possessions, avoid negative plays and long-yardage situations.”
A tall task indeed, but a formula that has bred success thus far.
Last week in a 14-3 win over North Texas — Army’s narrowest margin of victory in 2024 — the Black Knights pounded the ground with physical running from quarterback Bryson Daily and running back Kanye Udoh, burnt the clock without remorse and kept the Mean Green offense off the field.
North Texas had just six drives in the game and no points on their final five; two ended on downs, two on interceptions and one by punt.
Come Saturday, Notre Dame will offer stiffer competition than North Texas did on both sides of the ball and at every position. On every snap and in every matchup.
And yet, as Monken says, “the field is still going to be 120 yards long and they’ll still have goal posts the size as those at Mikey Stadium. Once the game starts and we’re on the field, we just got to play.”