Saturday, Nov. 23
7:05 p.m. Eastern, 4:05 p.m. Pacific
NBC, Peacock
The Army Black Knights and Notre Dame Fighting Irish meet in Yankee Stadium in a big game with a classic, old-time college football feel. If you know your college football history, you know that the 1946 Notre Dame-Army game in the old Yankee Stadium is one of the most celebrated and famous games in the 155-year history of college football. The clash was one of the first “Game of the Century” mega-events, pitting No. 1 versus No. 2. Two legends of the game, Army’s Red Blaik and Notre Dame’s Frank Leahy, coached against each other in a battle of titans. The game ended in a scoreless tie, with both defenses playing remarkably well against potent offenses which had dominated other teams all season long. The tie was unsatisfying, but everyone left that game knowing they had witnessed the two best teams of that season, and that both sides put everything they had into the pursuit of victory.
Now Notre Dame and Army meet in the new Yankee Stadium nearly 80 years later. The stakes aren’t quite as high, but they are still extremely substantial. Both teams are playing for a College Football Playoff berth. A win significantly increases Army’s chances. A Notre Dame win would enable the Irish to then lock up a playoff berth with a win at USC one week later, in a game the Irish will be favored to win. It’s a classic matchup in a classic setting. Notre Dame versus Army is old-school college football magic.
Army Black Knights-Notre Dame Fighting Irish Odds
Spread: Army +14.5 (-105), Notre Dame -14.5 (-115)
Total: 44.5 (Over -115, Under -105)
Underdog moneyline: Army +520
Hear T.J. Rives and Jason Powers break this game down more from the “3 Dog Thursday Podcast” by clicking play below,
Will Army get their greatest upset yet?
The betting situation attached to this game comes down to one thing: Army turnovers. Notre Dame had a similar point spread for its neutral-site game against Navy in the Meadowlands a few weeks ago, and blew the doors off the Midshipmen because Navy booted the ball all over the yard.
The Notre Dame defense is tough and does not figure to get lit up by Army’s offense. However, Army’s offense doesn’t necessarily have to score a lot to help the Black Knights cover the spread. Army wants to keep the ball away from Notre Dame and play field position. If Army can engineer a few drives in this game which last over six minutes and get a field goal, reducing the number of possessions Notre Dame gets in this contest, that could be more than enough to help Army shorten the game, minimize the Irish’s opportunities to score, and ultimately create a covered spread for the underdog. If Army commits turnovers and can’t establish field position, then the game is likely to snowball on the Black Knights, who are not as strong up front and will get worn down on defense if they can’t control the ball or the clock.
The lean here is to Notre Dame, but you might want to see first if Army can control the ball in the first quarter. You could make a live bet in the first quarter after the first 10 to 12 minutes.