BRONX, NY — On a Saturday night where Yankee Stadium made for the forefront of College Football — hosting the 2024 Shamrock Series with a 7:15PM ET kickoff on NBC/Peacock — the No. 6th ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish pedaled their way past the No. 19th ranked Army Black Knights, 49-14.
Despite only controlling time of possession for 20 minutes compared to Army’s 40, approximately a third of the game, Notre Dame owned the Yankee Stadium gridiron, compiling 462 yards of offense — 273 on the ground and 189 through the air.
Notre Dame’s junior running back Jadarian Price rushes past the Army defense to record a touchdown on Saturday night at Yankee Stadium – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
Complete domination on both sides of the ball as the Fighting Irish scored seven touchdowns, won the turnover battle, 1-0, and held the Black Knights in check throughout the frigid November evening — 233 yards allowed — 207 rushing and just 26 passing.
“Really proud of the performance,” said Notre Dame’s head coach Marcus Freeman after the victory, to mark the program’s ninth consecutive win since their 16-14 loss to Northern Illinois on Saturday, September 7th in Week 2. “You never know how this game’s going to go. We knew we were preparing for a really good opponent and the preparation this week was really good.”
Notre Dame has completely flipped the narrative on their season, winning nine straight after falling in Week 2 to Northern Illinois – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
On catching momentum since the Week 2 Northern Illinois loss, Freeman explained: “We’ve improved but we’re starting to be more consistent. That’s the sign of great teams, great businesses, and great people: consistency. Not the ability to do it one day and be really high, the next day be really low. But the consistency throughout a game, throughout a season.”
All You Need Is (Jeremiyah) Love
To make Yankee Stadium feel like home, Notre Dame’s sophomore running back Jeremiyah Love, a multidimensional talent out of the backfield, recorded a trio of touchdowns — two rushing TDs, including a 68-yarder to the house, and one receiving from senior quarterback Riley Leonard — a six-yard reception which concluded with Love hurdling a defender cleanly to land himself in the end zone.
Notre Dame’s sophomore running back Jeremiyah Love scores one of his three touchdowns in Fighting Irish’s win over Army – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
The 6-0, 206 lb product of Christian Brothers College High School located in St. Louis, Missouri, grounded and pounded for 130 rushing yards across seven carries to go along with the one touchdown reception.
“I’m just doing whatever’s best for the team,” Love said, as he now has 16 total TDs on the season (14 rushing and two receiving). “This is a team sport, as long as we are working together things are going to pop.”
He later added: “Everybody on our offense is dogs. Coach (Marcus Freeman) calls us savages and that’s what we really are. We’re just continuing to grow every single week.”
Shamrock Series History
Becoming an overwhelming success throughout the years, the Shamrock Series, inaugurated in 2009, is an annual neutral-site game that features Notre Dame Football playing in a major US city in a major professional sports stadium/venue.
The Shamrock Series brings out the best of College Football – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
With the intentions in mind of giving their passionate fanbase, one of the largest fan bases in all of sports, a chance to watch their favorite team live in person, since many do not have the time and/or resources to travel to the Fighting Irish’s home stadium in Indiana, Notre Dame has previously played Shamrock Series games at Fenway Park in Boston, MA, Soldier Field in Chicago, IL, and the Alamodome in San Antonio, TX.
Since its inception, there have been only three years where no Shamrock Series has taken place — 2023 because Notre Dame faced Army in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic in Dublin, Ireland, and 2019 & 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Notre Dame’s “Comeback Kid” and NFL Legend Joe Montana in attendance for 2024 Shamrock Series between Notre Dame and Army at Yankee Stadium – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
Behind the Matchup between Notre Dame and Army
On October 18, 1924, en route to their first-ever National Championship winning season, the Fighting Irish, led by the quartet of Harry Stuhldreher, Don Miller, Jim Crowley and Elmer Layden, pulled off a miraculous 13-7 win over Army, at the Polo Grounds.
What came shortly after still lives on to this day as New York Herald-Tribune’s sports writer Grantland Rice, so in awe of what he just witnessed — created arguably the most famous passage in sports journalism and in it, gave Stuhldreher, Miller, Crowley and Layden, the popular title: “The Four Horsemen of Notre Dame.”
“Outlined against a blue-gray October sky the Four Horsemen rode again. In dramatic lore they are known as famine, pestilence, destruction and death. These are only aliases. Their real names are: Stuhldreher, Miller, Crowley and Layden. They formed the crest of the South Bend cyclone before which another fighting Army team was swept over the precipice at the Polo Grounds this afternoon as 55,000 spectators peered down upon the bewildering panorama spread out upon the green plain below.” - Grantland Rice, October 18, 1924
With the two programs facing off 100 years later on Saturday night, while just over a mile away from the original Polo Grounds site, at Yankee Stadium, the 2024 Shamrock Series commemorated Rice’s journalistic creativity and the contributions made by each of Stuhldreher, Miller, Crowley and Layden, to Notre Dame and the entirety of College Football.
Army band lined up in left field’s bleachers of Yankee Stadium on Saturday night for the 2024 Shamrock Series – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
All Time Series: In 52 games played against one another, with the first coming in 1913, Notre Dame leads the all-time series, 40-8-4
What’s Ahead for Notre Dame in College Football Playoff Pursuit
Freeman, and the Fighting Irish will look to keep climbing up the totem pole of College Football’s Playoff rankings, as Notre Dame next matches up with USC this Saturday, November 30th, at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Notre Dame looks to continue their climb up the CFB Playoff Rankings – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
A win will most certainly punch their ticket into the CFB 12-Team Playoff, but also, may secure Notre Dame with a first round home game or a potential first round bye depending on how the CFB committee views their performance and full body of work (season resume).
Additional factors that will come into play are the results from games played this coming week by each respective team ranked above the Fighting Irish, as well as their full season resumes.
For more information on the CFB Playoff Rankings, check out College Football Playoff Rankings on NCAA.com.
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