NEW YORK (AP) — Notre Dame's tribute game to its “Four Horsemen” turned into a pretty good one-man show by Jeremiyah Love.
Love scored three touchdowns, tying a school record with his 11th straight game with a rushing TD, and the No. 6 Fighting Irish ended No. 18 Army's 13-game winning streak with a 49-14 victory on Saturday night at Yankee Stadium.
The sophomore had TD runs of 68 and 14 yards, finishing with 130 yards on seven carries, and leaped over a defender at the goal line to finish a 6-yard scoring pass from Riley Leonard.
“It’s almost like he's anticipating what the defense is going to do and when he breaks through that second level, I don’t see many people that can catch him,” Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said of Love, who had a 76-yard TD run last weekend against Virginia.
Leonard threw for two TDs and Jadarian Price ran for two scores for the Irish (10-1), who won their ninth straight to improve their College Football Playoff chances. Notre Dame was No. 6 in those rankings this week and looks every bit like a national title contender, allowing 14 or fewer points in six straight games.
“Everybody on our offense is a dog,” Love said. “Coach Freeman calls us ‘savages’ and that’s really what we are. We’re just continuing to grow every single week and get better.”
Army quarterback Bryson Daily ran for 139 yards and both touchdowns, giving him 23 on the ground this season. The loss by the Black Knights (9-1) left No. 1 Oregon as the only unbeaten team in FBS. Army came in leading the nation with 334.9 yards rushing per game but managed only 207 against Notre Dame.
“We couldn’t stay on the field and props to them,” Daily said. “They’re a great team.”
Notre Dame beat Army for the 16th straight time in the first matchup where both teams were ranked since 1958, the Black Knights' last victory. This meeting was scheduled to honor the 100th anniversary of Notre Dame’s 1924 victory in New York at the Polo Grounds, when Grantland Rice began his story about the exploits of Harry Stuhldreher, Jim Crowley, Don Miller and Elmer Layden with one of the most famous openings in history, writing: “Outlined against a blue-gray October sky, the Four Horsemen rode again.”
That quote lined the wall above Monument Park in the stadium’s outfield, behind the end zone where Notre Dame took a 14-0 lead on TD passes by Leonard on its first two possessions. Army cut it to 14-7 on Daily’s 4-yard run early in the second quarter, but the Irish went up by two TDs again on Love's 14-yard run that tied Wayne Bullock's record of 11 straight games with a rushing TD in 1973-74.
Army coach Jeff Monken said playing the Irish at Yankee Stadium was a great experience for his players, though wished they could have made it more competitive.
“I mean, every phase they outclassed us,” Monken said.
Notre Dame scored touchdowns on four of its six drives in the first half, then added another 10 seconds into the second half when Love went 68 yards on the first play to make it 35-7.
Army: Saturday's game was a high-profile meeting, but the Black Knights' two most important games remain. Army will face No. 20 Tulane in the American Athletic Conference championship game on Dec. 6, and then has its annual matchup with Navy on Dec. 14.
Notre Dame: With plenty of playmakers on offense and one of the nation's best defenses, the Irish haven't had anything resembling a close game in two months.
With the team right above them falling earlier Saturday when No. 5 Indiana lost 38-15 to second-ranked Ohio State, the Irish could be a top-five team in the next AP poll. Army hopes to stay above Tulane in the College Football Playoff rankings (the Black Knights at No. 19 are one spot ahead) in case they are needed as a tiebreaker to determine who is the host team in the AAC championship game.
Army: Hosts UTSA next Saturday.
Notre Dame: Visits Southern California next Saturday.
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