Yankee Stadium wasn't built for Saturday nights. Neither did the Black Knights.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish faced bigger, stronger and more talented players at almost every position and suffered their first loss of the season, 49-14, to Army, leaving the 18th-ranked Black Knights in college football. I almost closed the door to it. Playoff aspirations.
Pregame and halftime performances by Notre Dame's Marching Band (who sat on the bench for Bleacher Creatures), a constant stream of university promotional material on the video board, thousands of fans wearing Irish green, and more. , this game felt like it was right out of South Bend. And for the Army, it is never within reach.
The Black Knights (9-1) had found success all season by hitting the ground between the hash marks, running the clock and dictating the pace of play.
But until Saturday, the Black Knights had never faced a football team as good as the No. 6 Fighting Irish (10-1).
In the 12th game of the home-away-at-home “Shamrock Series,” Notre Dame's defense was overwhelmingly physical, stacking up inside the box, clogging the middle of the field, and putting up one of the nation's most potent rushing offenses. He held it to 207 yards (about 2 yards). One-third of the season average of 329.
On the first two drives of the contest, Army ran all six plays on the ground for a total of 10 yards.
Each drive ended with a punt.
The first sailed 49 yards, but the second, a harbinger of trouble to come, was stopped deep in Army territory.
The Fighting Irish, led by head coach Marcus Freeman, had no trouble getting the ball down the field.
Notre Dame's first drive went 68 yards in just five plays and ended with a 28-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Riley Leonard to Jordan Faison.
The second was set up at his own 8-yard line thanks to a punt block by Bryce Young, and he missed his third kick of the season, but it ended with Leonard's second pass of the night, this time on running back Jeremiah Love. He gave the Fighting Irish an advantage at the back. 14-0.
Army was finally able to get a first down on their third drive. This deliberate, painstaking 12-play effort ended with an all-run run and quarterback Bryson Daley diving into the end zone from four yards out.
It was a brief glimmer of hope, provided by two Irish gifts, including an offside decision on 4-and-1.
Army's defense allowed Notre Dame 73 yards downfield on the ensuing drive, but held the Irish to four straight tries from inside the 5 and forced turnovers on downs.
But that would be the final high point of the night for head coach Jeff Monken's defense. They allowed just 10.8 points per game, the second-best mark in the nation.
The Black Knights allowed two more touchdowns in the first half, and the game was nearly over by the time the teams returned to the locker room.
Notre Dame scored 21 more points in the second half, with Leonard completing 10 of 13 passes for 148 yards.
Love had three touchdowns, two rushing and one receiving, the second on a 68-yard dash.
Daley was a blue-collar running back who caused damage to defenses all year, but he was limited to 145 yards on 38 carries and 26 through the air.
Kanye Udoh, Army's leading running back, finished with just 35 yards on 10 carries.
With the loss, Army fell to 8-40-4 against Notre Dame, whose last win was nearly 70 years ago.
The season isn't over yet for the Black Knights, but they have already qualified for the American Athletic Conference Championship Game, where they will face Navy on Dec. 14.
But Saturday's victory would be the crowning achievement in a historic season that few could have predicted.
