Notre Dame Football: Army Black Knights Q&A with Black Knight Nation

Let’s get to know the plucky little military academy with AAC title and CFP bid aspirations!!!

Here we are, y’all — the last two weeks of the regular season are upon us, and despite how gloomy things looked after that Northern Illinois debacle in week 2, our Notre Dame Fighting Irish football squad has managed to right the ship considerably, winning 8 in a row to get to 9-1 on the season and to have earned the #6 rank in this week’s College Football Playoff rankings, which right now would slot them in as the 8-seed hosting the 9-seed Alabama (ranked 7th) in South Bend in December.

Obviously the rankings, seeds, and matchups will change considerably between now and the end of Conference Championship Weekend, but damnit if the idea of hosting the Tide in the cold doesn’t just tickle my fancy, ya know??

Anyway, before we as Irish fans — and more importantly Marcus Freeman and his team — can begin getting excited for a CFP game in the house that Rockne built, ND still has business to take care of this weekend and next. We all know a hated rival who’s had a disappointing season but could still find great joy in ruining the Irish’s buzz is waiting in Los Angeles two days after Thanksgiving, but first Notre Dame must travel to the city that Tommy Rees once made his own to take on an undefeated Army Black Knights team ranked 19th in the CFP rankings.

Army’s schedule has been soft to-date, so it’s unclear if the Black Knights will be a serious headache and/or upset candidate this weekend, or if the Irish will be able to dispatch them in a similar fashion to Navy a few weeks ago.

To learn more about the team, their surprising rise to the top of the AAC in their very first season in the conference, and how they may match up with Notre Dame, we reached out to Seth Mendelson, a long-time Army fan and a writer over at Black Knight Nation, your one-stop shop for everything Army football.

Seth provided some fantastic responses to our questions to give us a look into how Jeff Monken has built this program back up from the valley it was in when he took over, how good QB Bryson Daily is, what the Army defense has looked like this year, which Army players represent which Thanksgiving meal staples, and much more.

So, let’s not waste any more time babbling on — time to arm ourselves with knowledge so we’re ready for this Shamrock Series matchup featuring SO much history and surprisingly a lot of CFP relevance to boot.

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1. Let’s start with Jeff Monken and where he has this Army program in 2024. Talk us through the job he’s done to build the program back up over the years, considering they were 20-41 under Monken’s predecessor. How has he done it?

Also, what does it mean for Black Knight fans that their squad is undefeated in late November, has clinched a conference title game berth, and is playing Notre Dame at Yankee Stadium for a shot at making the Playoff?

Seth Mendelson, Black Knight Nation: Monken has matured along with the program. Frankly, he has taken giant steps in his personal development to make himself a better coach and Army a better football program. I think he really understands what needs to be done to make a service academy football program successful.

And, he has surrounded himself with an excellent supporting cast of coaches, particularly his offensive and defensive coordinators. But let’s be clear, Monken is winning the recruiting battle for players where he can. Not many top players want to come to the service academies and the three schools are normally locked in a battle for those who are interested. Monken is winning that battle right now, AND he is taking these raw recruits as freshmen and making them into better football players by their junior and senior years. Look at Bryson Daily. Raw as a freshman; a physical presence as a junior and senior.

Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images

In its first year in the AAC, Army is 9-0 and shocking the world and that has every Army fan pretty excited. As a fan for decades, I am one of them and having the opportunity to play Notre Dame and the chance to possibly get into the national playoffs is super exciting for all of us. But there are other goals too. Winning the Commander-in-Chief title is vital and Army needs to beat Navy on Dec. 14 to accomplish that; winning the AAC is second on the list; a bowl game is third and winning it is fourth. Making the national championship playoff would be icing on the cake for most fans.

Yes, it seems that everyone loves the national attention Army is getting this season and, specifically, this week before Notre Dame.

2. Bryson Daily is having one helluva season quarterbacking the Army offense. What makes him so good, and does he have any weaknesses or limitations that might allow the Irish defense to corral him on Saturday?

Seth Mendelson, Black Knight Nation: Daily is built like a fullback, runs like a tailback and, thinks like a quarterback. And, yes, he can throw, when needed, like a quarterback also. He has developed into a smart quarterback and a great leader at West Point. But, lets be clear, the army offensive line is playing a huge role here too. They have played extremely well all season and are opening holes for Daily to get through. It is a great partnership.

My guess on stopping him would be to fill the holes along the line and force him to throw the ball more often.

3. Besides Daily, who are the other key skill players on offense whom Irish fans should be worried about?

Seth Mendelson, Black Knight Nation: Kanye Udoh, Army’s sophomore running back, is pretty hard to bring down and picks up where Daily lets off.

Junior slotback Noah Short and senior Tyrell Robinson, who missed nearly a full year, are speedsters who can open up the offense on the outside.

4. Defensively, how’s Army looked this year? Which position groups/players are strengths vs. weaknesses, and how do you anticipate they’ll hold up against an ND offense that is great running the ball and sometimes okay throwing it?

Seth Mendelson, Black Knight Nation: The overall defensive unit has greatly outperformed expectations this year. Frankly, few of us had any idea that they would be this good and consistent. Still, they do give up some big plays (though very few scores) and that is a great to the overall defensive team. Every game, someone else seems to step up.

Let’s be honest, Notre Dame is the best team Army is playing in the regular season or entire year. The defense is going to have to put a lot of pressure on the ND quarterback to make sure he does not have enough time to find receivers, and the secondary will have to play smart and fast to stay up with the ND receivers. It is going to be a challenge.

5. How has the first season in the AAC been this year? Do you wish Army had remained independent, or do you like that they not only can compete for conference titles now, but in their first season actually have a shot to win one?

Seth Mendelson, Black Knight Nation: I was a HUGE advocate for joining a league and the AAC made the most sense. Year One has been great, thus far. The league gives Army something else to play for…a league championship. And, it brings in a steady number of good and decent teams into West Point. Army wants to host the league championship game against Tulane but some things have to happen to ensure that.

6. FAN QUESTION:

Seth Mendelson, Black Knight Nation: Don’t know enough about it, but enabling Army players to go pro will help with recruiting.

7. FAN QUESTION:

Seth Mendelson, Black Knight Nation: LOL. It is a great movie from the 1950s and talks about just how great a place West Point is. Back in the day, Army was one of the best teams in football and the movie captures that time period in the 30s to 50s….A much simpler time, it seems.

But, college football has changed and, fortunately, West Point has not changed as much and that is a good thing

8. Let’s do a festive question — which Army players/coaches best represent the following Thanksgiving meal staples (and why)?

Seth Mendelson, Black Knight Nation:

• Turkey: Bryson Daily – the All-American kid eating the all-American meal
• Mashed Potatoes: Kanye Udoh – the important sidekick to the main event. What’s turkey without mashed potatoes?
• Gravy: The offensive line. They got you covered.
• Cranberry Sauce: The defensive line. That extra taste that completes the meal.
• Stuffing: The defensive secondary. Without them, Army is not so good this year. So they also complete the meal.
• Green Bean Casserole: Noah Short/Tyrell Robinson. They add some additional excitement to the running game.
• Rolls/Bread: Jeff Monken and his coaching staff. Boy, I am just so impressed with the job they are doing this year (and in recent years) developing the players and getting them game ready. They took a loser program a decade ago and have them playing great football, year in and year out. And, a bit better this year.
• Pumpkin Pie: Trey Gronotte, Army’s place kicker. Steady and needed to finish off the big wins.

9. Alright, let’s get down to it — who wins, what’s the final score, and how do you think we get to that result?

Seth Mendelson, Black Knight Nation:

Two answers: My head says that Army is going to have trouble with ND’s speed, size and ability. So ND 45, Army 10.

My heart says that this is the year we have been waiting for for over 50 years. This team has heart, courage, skill and ability and they could pull off an upset, Army 32, ND 28. The key is going to be 1) turnovers; 2) controlling the ball on offense and using lots of time.

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Okay folks, I want to give a huge shout-out to Seth for answering all our questions with great aplomb — he took each one in stride, no matter how weird, and really gave some thoughtful and insightful responses that made it way easier to understand what the Irish may be up against this weekend.

I highly encourage you all to head on over to Black Knight Nation and check out the in-depth coverage they’ve got going on heading into Saturday — there’s tons of great stuff over there right now and more to come in the next couple days leading up to, during, and after the game.

Also, definitely give their Twitter a follow, as you’ll want an insider on your Twitter feed to give fast thoughts and analysis from the Army side this weekend, no question.

Otherwise, that’s all for this week — per usual, GO IRISH, BEAT ARMY!!!