Notre Dame vs. Army: First-Quarter Analysis

So far, so good for the Irish.

So far, Notre Dame is off to the start every one of its fans was hoping for in this Shamrock Series game against Army. All you really have to know is that the Irish have a 14-0 lead, but let’s go into specifics anyway because every unit contributed in the first 15 minutes.

The Irish’s defense started out fine by forcing a Black Knights three-and-out. Then, the offense took over, and [autotag]Riley Leonard[/autotag] needed a little over two minutes to lead a drive that consisted of nothing but positive plays and ended with him throwing a 28-yard touchdown pass to [autotag]Jordan Faison[/autotag].

The Knights then went three-and-out again, but the ball never left their side of the field because [autotag]Bryce Young[/autotag] blocked the ensuing punt, and it was recovered by [autotag]Christian Gray[/autotag] to set the Irish up at first-and-goal. After two runs didn’t go very far, Leonard threw to [autotag]Jeremiyah Love[/autotag] for a 6-yard touchdown.

The Knights had better success on their next possession, getting into Irish territory and being aided by an offside penalty by [autotag]Jaylen Sneed[/autotag] on fourth-and-1. When the quarter ended, they were in the red zone. We’ll see how much that makes a difference in this game later on.

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