Notre Dame Football Opponent Summary: Army
Army West Point (Nov. 12)
Series Record: Notre Dame leads 38-8-4.
Last Meeting: On Nov. 20, 2010, Notre Dame won 27-3 at New York’s Yankee Stadium in what was its second game in the Shamrock Series.
2015 Record: 2-10.
Army’s Rivals Class Rankings 2012-16: Not in the top 100 in 2012, 2013 and 2014 (the official list isn’t released at West Point until the summer), No. 92 (2015) and No. 91 (2016).
Notre Dame’s Rivals Class Rankings 2012-16: No. 20 (2012), No. 3 (2013), No. 11 (2014), No. 11 (2015) and No. 12 (2016).
2015 Summary
A glimmer of hope for better days ahead under now third-year head coach Jeff Monken, who came from Georgia Southern, took place because seven of the 10 losses were by seven or fewer points, perhaps most notably to Penn State (20-14) and to Navy in the finale (21-17).
On the flip side, another defeat came to Football Championship Subdivision opponent Fordham (37-35) in the opener. The worst setbacks came at home versus Duke (44-3), and one of the two wins was against FCS foe Bucknell (21-14).
Projected Starters Returning (per ESPN.com’s Phil Steele): 16, seven on offense and nine on defense.
Miami and Army West Point return the most starters in 2016 among Notre Dame’s opposition. Unlike Navy, the Cadets do not have a feature back. Last season, 11 different ball carriers amassed anywhere from 118 to 544 yards on the ground. On top of the chart will be the diminutive but powerfully built 5-6, 210-pound Aaron Kemper, who compiled 544 yards, averaged 5.4 yards per carry and scored seven touchdowns. Late last season, freshman Chris Carter took over at quarterback and in the near upset of Navy he completed 9 of 15 passes for 208 yards with a touchdown and an interception, although his 22 rushing attempts netted only 18 yards. His top receiver will be literally one of the most famous names in college football: 6-4, 215-pound senior Edgar Allan Poe, whose 16 receptions last season averaged 26.6 yards and included six touchdowns.
Leading the defense is linebacker Andrew King, who paced the 2015 Black Knights in tackles (92), tackles for loss (16.5) and sacks (4.5).
Offseason News
• There were three new additions to the staff. Defensive line coach Chad Witt was at Maryland the past two seasons, cornerbacks coach ShaDon Brown plied his trade at Wofford College the last five years, and outside linebackers coach Daryl Dixon had instructed at Ball State since 2009.
• Spring practice won’t begin at West Point until April 1.
2016 Outlook
With Monken now in his third year, the Black Knights returning 16 starters on offense and defense, and having lost seven games last season by seven points or less, the time would appear ripe to legitimately aspire toward finishing .500 or better for only the second time since 1997. In the 19 seasons from 1997-2015, Army is 56-167 for a .251 winning percentage, and its lone season above .500 was a 7-6 campaign in 2010, when it lost to Notre Dame by 24 points.
Six winnable games on the slate include UTEP, Rice, Buffalo, Lafayette, North Texas and Morgan State. Defeating Wake Forest shouldn’t be inconceivable either. Meanwhile, Army has lost nine of its last 10 meetings against Air Force and 14 consecutive to Navy. It did battle the Midshipmen to the wire last year before falling 21-17, and Navy this year returns only eight starters.
Will Notre Dame Be Favored, The Underdog Or Is It A Toss-Up?
This game in San Antonio’s Alamodome will be deemed the easiest one on Notre Dame’s 2016 schedule, including the fact that it comes the week after playing a more renowned triple-option team in Navy a week earlier. The Fighting Irish are expected to be at least a three-touchdown favorite, and if the season goes according to plan, more likely four or more touchdowns.
However, head coach Brian Kelly’s troops have to finish out November stronger than they did last year when the Fighting Irish did not accrue style points against two of its weaker foes, Wake Forest (28-7) and Boston College (19-16), thereby diminishing its chances to reach the College Football Playoff.