Yankee Stadium was not built for Saturday night. Neither were the Black Knights.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish matched up bigger, stronger and more talented at nearly every position and looked it, handing Army its first loss of the season, 49-14, and all but shutting the door on the No. 18 Black Knights’ College Football Playoff aspirations.
“In every phase, they outclassed us,” Army head coach Jeff Monken said after the game. “I thought we’d be competitive, I thought we’d be able to play with them.”
By and large, his Black Knights couldn’t.
The No. 6 Fighting Irish were led by running back Jeremiyah Love’s three touchdowns — two on the ground and one through the air.
The sophomore finished with 136 yards from scrimmage, including a 68-yard touchdown run to start the second half.
It was his 11th straight game with a rushing score, which ties the school record.
With pregame and halftime performances from the Notre Dame marching band (seated on the Bleacher Creatures’ benches), a constant stream of university promotional material on the video board and thousands of fans donning the Irish green, this one felt straight out of South Bend.
And for Army, never quite within reach.
The Black Knights (9-1) had found success all season by pounding the ground between the hash marks, churning the clock and dictating the pace of play.
But the Black Knights had not played a football team the caliber of the Fighting Irish (10-1) until Saturday night.
In the 12th iteration of their home-away-from-home “Shamrock Series,” Notre Dame’s defense was overwhelmingly physical — stacking the box, clogging the middle of the field and holding the nation’s most potent rushing offense to 207 yards, about two-thirds of their season average.
Notre Dame was able to get off blocks on defense and stay on blocks on offense, averaging 9.4 yards per carry to Army’s 3.6.
The Fighting Irish had already put up 14 points by the time the Black Knights secured their initial first down.
The Cadets in attendance had hope, briefly, as that drive continued downfield. Methodical and grinding, 12 plays — all runs — later, quarterback Bryson Daily dashed into the end zone from four yards out to make it 14-7.
The Army defense stopped the Irish on four consecutive tries from within the five-yard-line on the ensuing drive to force a turnover on downs.
This looked like the defense that was giving up 10.8 points per game, the second least in the nation.
But it wouldn’t last.
The Black Knights gave up two more touchdowns in the first half and the game was all but over by the time the teams returned to their locker rooms.
Notre Dame put up another 21 points in the second half, and Leonard finished the game 10 of 13 passing with 148 yards.
Daily, who had bruised defenses all year with his tough running, was held to 139 yards on 39 carries and added only 26 yards through the air.
Kanye Udoh, Army’s leading back, finished the contest with just 35 yards rushing.
With the loss, Army falls to 8-40-4 all-time against Notre Dame, their last win coming nearly seven decades ago.
The season is far from over for the Black Knights, who face Navy on Dec. 14 and have already secured a spot in the American Athletic Conference Championship Game.
But a win Saturday would’ve been the crowning achievement in a historic season few could have foretold.
“I hope we don’t have to play them again,” Monken said jokingly in his post-game presser. “Beat Navy.”