Notre Dame vs. Army

As the college football world directs its attention to Columbus for this weekend's match-up between #1 Ohio State and #2 Michigan, it is fitting that the Irish will play their ancient rival Army on the same day. While in modern times the biggest games for the Irish are Southern Cal and Michigan, in years past there was no bigger game than the annual showdown with Army. Throughout the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s, the Irish and the Cadets clashed on the gridiron, frequently with the national championship hanging in the balance. From 1923 to 1946, the game was annually staged in New York, making it one of the premier events in that city's yearly sports calendar. No game represented the glory days of this series better than the famous 1946 contest.

For fans of college football, the 1946 Notre Dame-Army game had all the makings of a great showdown, featuring the two teams that had won the last three national championships. Clearly, there was the history of two successful programs that had squared off consistently since 1913 in one of the great intersectional rivalries in college football. Additionally, there existed an animosity between the schools generated by Army running up the score in 1944 and 1945 against Notre Dame squads that had been depleted by call-ups for World War II. The 59-0 shellacking of the Irish by the Cadets in 1944 still stands as the biggest loss in the history of the N.D. program. Furthermore, Army coach Earl "Red" Blaik and Notre Dame coach Frank Leahy hated each other, so much so that they refused to exchange game films with one another, a standard practice even in the 1940s. This animosity would play a major role in the outcome of the famous 1946 game.

The talent on display by both teams was truly remarkable; Army had won 25 consecutive games dating back to 1943, while Notre Dame had one of the greatest collections of talent in the history of the sport. For the only time in history, one game would feature four Heisman Trophy winners on the field at the same time: QB Johnny Lujack (1947) and E Leon Hart (1949) for the Irish; FB Felix "Doc" Blanchard (1945) and HB Glenn Davis (1946) for the Cadets. Perhaps most importantly, the game squared two of the great teams of the era in a momentous #1 vs. #2 clash in the nation's media capital. College football had never seen anything like it, and few games since have approached it.

Media types before the game trumpeted the explosive offenses of the two teams, but it ended up being the teams' collective defensive efforts that would make the game one for the ages. Blaik and Leahy, not wanting to give anything away to the other, coached the game close to the vest, resulting in extremely conservative play-calling. Both teams would have opportunities inside the opponent's 16-yardline, and both would come away empty-handed. Beyond belief, both teams had opportunities to kick field goals that could have won the game, but both coaches opted not to kick, thinking that doing so would show weakness. Interestingly, the closest either team came to scoring was when Army's Blanchard broke off a long run. A touchdown almost certain, N.D.'s Lujack managed to make a game-saving tackle, pulling "Mister Inside" down at the Irish 37-yardline. An interception later in the series by future Irish coach Terry Brennan preserved the scoreless tie. The game would end with the memorable 0-0 score that is still talked about today.

The Irish had snapped Army's 25-game winning streak, and had avenged themselves, sort of. Both teams left the field with the feeling of emptiness that could only come from a game ending in a tie. Salve for Irish wounds would come in the form of a dominating finish to the 1946 season. Notre Dame would complete the season with an 8-0-1 record, outscoring its opponents 271-24 while securing the program's fifth national championship and second in Frank Leahy's four seasons at the Irish helm. Even still, years later Leahy was haunted by his poor game-day coaching decisions in one of only two games that the Irish failed to win between 1946 and 1949.

Hard feelings would continue in the series. The following year, Army would make its first-ever visit to Notre Dame Stadium, a game that the #1 Irish won over the #9 Cadets, 27-7. Following that game, Blaik would get his long-sought wish to have the series brought to an end. The teams would not meet again until 1957, long after Leahy had retired.

Notre Dame's series with Army, though lopsided in recent years, is one of the most historically significant for the program. The series' first game was Notre Dame's famous 35-13 victory at West Point in 1913, the game that put the program on the map, while 1928's game saw Knute Rockne deliver his famous "Win One for the Gipper" pep talk at halftime, leading to a spirited 12-6 victory. A frequent opponent on Irish schedules from the 1910s through the 1940s, these schools have met less often in the last fifty years. The Irish hold a 36-8-4 (.792) record in games between the schools. Army's last victory came in 1958, Blaik's last season on the Cadets' sideline. This weekend's game will be only the 13th meeting between the schools since Leahy's great rival retired.

In the last 20 years, these old rivals have met only twice. In 1995, Irish CB Ivory Covington made a memorable tackle on the goal line late in the game, preventing a two-point conversion that would have given Army a one-point victory over N.D. As it was, the Irish escaped with a 28-27 victory at Giants Stadium. In the last series meeting, played in 1998 at N.D., Irish K Jim Sanson booted a 48-yard field goal with just over 1:00 remaining for a 20-17 victory.

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Other notes:

-Of the four ties in this series, three of them were scoreless (1922, 1941, and 1946).

-This will be the 49th meeting between Notre Dame and Army. The only schools to have played the Irish more frequently are Navy (80), Purdue (78), Southern Cal (77), Michigan State (70), and Pittsburgh (63).

-Despite having played Army 48 times since 1913, Saturday's game will be only the ninth time Army will visit Notre Dame Stadium. The Irish hold a 7-1-0 record at home against the Cadets. Army's sole win at N.D. was their last in the series (1958).

-This is the first season in which the Irish will play all three service academies since 1995. Overall, the Irish have faced all three academies in one season nine times (1969, 1973, 1974, 1977, 1980, 1983, 1985, 1995, and 2006).

-Notre Dame is 128-22-5 (.843) against the three service academies, including last week's win against Air Force.

-Along with the Navy and Air Force contests, this will be the third and final game of 2006 in which the Irish do not face a BCS conference foe.

-Notre Dame last started a season 10-1 in 2002. Overall, the Irish have had 14 seasons of 10 or more wins in the program's 118-season history, the first coming in 1921, the last in 2002.

-Since the start of the Holtz Era in 1986, the Irish are 14-6 (.700) in home finales.

-With last week's 39-17 win at Air Force, the Irish are guaranteed of back-to-back nine-win seasons for the first time since 1992 (10-1-1) and 1993 (11-1).

-Notre Dame is 9-3 (.750) at Notre Dame Stadium under Charlie Weis.

-On the heels of his brutally efficient 207-yard, four-touchdown effort last week, Irish QB Brady Quinn has been named as one of ten finalists for the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award. Last week's effort moved Quinn up two spots to #17 on the NCAA all-time career passing yardage list, as well as into a four-way tie for 12th place on the NCAA all-time career TD passes list.

-Against the Falcons, Quinn threw 19 passes without an interception, extending his school record to 223. He is now within 48 passes of tying Trent Dilfer's NCAA record of 271.

-This is the last scheduled game between the Irish and Cadets. Given that Army withdrew from Conference USA two years ago in part to schedule N.D. more frequently in football, it would seem that it will not be long before the Cadets appear on the Irish schedule again.

-The Irish are #5 in this week's BCS rankings. This is the latest in a season that the Irish have been ranked so highly in the nine-year history of the BCS. Here's what the top five schools have scheduled for this week:

#1 Ohio State hosts #2 Michigan (3:30 E.S.T. on ABC).
#2 Michigan visits #1 Ohio State.
#3 Southern Cal hosts #15 California (8:00 E.S.T. on ABC).
#4 Florida hosts I-AA Western Carolina (this is not a joke, WESTERN CAROLINA).
#5 Notre Dame hosts unranked Army (2:30 E.S.T. on NBC).

-In the ongoing competition between Michigan and Notre Dame for college football's all-time best winning percentage, here is where things stand after last weekend:

#2 Michigan won at unranked Indiana, 34-3, moving their record to 860-280-36 for an all-time winning percentage of .7466. This week, #2 Michigan travels to Columbus for their annual grudge match against #1 Ohio State.

#9 Notre Dame won at unranked Air Force, 39-17, moving their record to 820-267-42 for an all-time winning percentage of .7449. This stands as N.D.'s highest winning percentage since the week following the Irish victory at Tennessee in 2004. This week, the #6 Irish host traditional foe Army.

Michigan's lead stands at just a shade under 17/10,000ths of a point.

With so many teams ranked ahead of the Irish falling last week, Notre Dame's national title hopes have found new life. Next week's showdown with the Trojans looms ever larger, as the winner of that game could be poised to face the winner of the OSU-Michigan game for the national championship. First things first, however. The Irish have to take care of Army on Saturday. The game kicks off at 2:30 E.S.T. on NBC.

Go Irish! Beat Army!
Big Mike

A Heisman Trophy sponsor is giving fans the opportunity to vote for the Heisman Trophy. Fans can vote once each week for the player of their choice. If you have not done so already, go to https://r.espn.go.com/espn/contests/theheismanvote/ and vote for Brady Quinn. Whichever player has the most votes at season's end will receive one actual vote for the Heisman Trophy.

copyright Michael D. McAllister 2006