Notre Dame football has a super power that the Army Black Knights haven’t seen at any point this season
Notre Dame is set to take on the Army Black Knights on Saturday at Yankee Stadium, a fight between the No. 6 and No. 19 teams in the country respectively. On paper, the Irish should win, and potentially handily but games aren’t won and lost on paper. This Army team is one of the more […]
Notre Dame is set to take on the Army Black Knights on Saturday at Yankee Stadium, a fight between the No. 6 and No. 19 teams in the country respectively. On paper, the Irish should win, and potentially handily but games aren’t won and lost on paper.
This Army team is one of the more balanced groups in all of college football this season. Their offense is one of the more efficient groups in the country, and their defense has been dominant. They are currently ranked as the top scoring defense in college football, allowing just 10.3 points per game.
From a discipline and physicality perspective, this Black Knight defense is excellent. They have been beating up on pretty much every offense they have seen so far, and have consistently held the opposition below their season averages. Notre Dame will provide their biggest test, and a unique challenge they haven’t really seen yet.
You can only play the teams in front of you, but this Army team hasn’t really seen a great offense yet this year. The Fighting Irish are a very fast group, including Riley Leonard, who could be their biggest weapon on Saturday night. Army just hasn’t seen anyone like him yet.
When you really dissect the Army schedule this season, they really haven’t seen a legitimate dual threat quarterback behind center. There hasn’t even really been much of a run threat outside of Quentin Hayes who is the quarterback for Air Force. Comparatively, Leonard has almost been as productive with his legs than every starting quarterback they have seen this Fall.
When you combine the rushing stats of Hayden Johnson (Lehigh), Cam Fancher (FAU), EJ Warner (Rice), Evan Simon (Temple), Kirk Francis (Tulsa), Jacob Zeno (UAB), Katin Houser (ECU), Quentin Hayes (Air Force), and Chandler Morris (North Texas), that group has rushed for 1,343 yards, which is an average 149.2 yards per player. That group has also rushed for 20 touchdowns.
For Leonard, he has rushed for 641 yards and 13 scores just on his own. The former Duke transfer has also averaged 6.2 yards per carry. That is nearly two yards higher than Johnson, who has the best average of any quarterback that Army has seen at 4.3 yards per carry. Leonard is truly a different tier of athlete than the Black Knights have seen.
In the end, Leonard’s athleticism could be a super power for Notre Dame this weekend. He is a unique talent at the quarterback position that the Black Knights will need to prepare for. How they defend him, positively or negatively, could be the difference in the football game.
