Notre Dame vs Army 100 years later after the legendary Four Horsemen were named

 

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Notre Dame moves up to sixth in the AP Top 25 and will now focus on 52nd meeting against undefeated Army in the Shamrock Series. Head Coach Marcus Freeman reflects on how special the game will be for both programs.

"I remember when Jack Swarbrick (former Athletic Director) told me that this was going to be our Shamrock Series game for this year. The first thought was "Navy and Army in the same year. Come on, Jack" and then he told me why," Freeman explained.

The why goes back to a legendary foursome that once played for Notre Dame.

"He never wanted to have a Shamrock series game just to have it. But he said, what better Shamrock Series opportunity to have a game, in New York City versus Army, 100 years later, after the Four Horsemen were named and I think it's a great opportunity. Just doing my history, my research on who the Four Horsemen were, I know one of them is from Massillon (OH), which is a shout out to my wife. She's a Massillon Tiger, and two of them for Ohio. So, you know, there's a little bit of connection there with the four horsemen," Freeman said smiling.

The matchup comes full circle for the Irish, but none of it matters if they don't get the job done.

"Like, what I expect them to do as we get ready to play this game, like, this is the Super Bowl. This is super bowl this week versus army. Yankee Stadium is the Super Bowl," Freeman said.

"They're a really good football program. 9-0, right and on a 13-game winning streak, which is number one in FBS. All nine of their wins this season coming by double digits and the one of three undefeated teams in FBS. So, we understand the challenge they present," Freeman added.

The biggest challenge could be Army's third-ranked run defense among FBS teams. An area of the offense Notre Dame depends on.

"They just do a good job of saying, we're not going to let you run the ball," Freeman said.

That's exactly what the Irish offense has done in 10 games. 32 of the 47 offensive touchdowns coming from the run game.

"We got a mindset that, hey, we still want to run the ball. We got to find ways to get hats on hats. But the other thing I think they do is they move right is they're not stagnant. They're not your typical just three down and they don't move. They're able to move the front and be aggressive," Freeman added.