Notre Dame overwhelms Army in Yankee Stadium battle

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.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 No.6 Fighting Irish (10-1) until Saturday.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 of 329.On their first two drives of the contest, Army ran six plays — all on the ground — and collected a total of 10 yards.Each drive ended with a punt.

The first sailed 49 yards, the second, a harbinger of the woes to come, was blocked deep in Army territory.Head coach Marcus Freeman’s Fighting Irish, for their part, had no trouble moving the ball downfield.Notre Dame’s first drive went 68 yards on only five plays and ended with a 28-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Faison from quarterback Riley Leonard.Their second, set up on Army’s 8-yard-line courtesy of Bryce Young’s punt block — the third kick he’s stumped this season — ended with Leonard’s second passing score of the evening, this time to running back Jeremiyah Love, putting the Fighting Irish ...