| Notre Dame vs. Army
GAME: Army at Notre Dame
TIME: 02:30 P.M. EST
VENUE: Notre Dame Stadium
The pieces keep falling into place for Notre Dame, and its chances of playing for a national championship keep getting better.
The sixth-ranked Irish look to extend their winning streak to eight games when they host Army Saturday, one week before their highly anticipated visit to No. 4 Southern California.
Notre Dame (9-1) began last week ranked ninth in the AP poll, but following a 39-17 win at Air Force - and losses by some of the nation's top teams - the Irish moved up three spots, renewing hope for a spot on the national stage.
The Irish moved up four spots to fifth in the Bowl Championship Series standings.
"I think their expectation level is going up," coach Charlie Weis said. "Just like every fan and follower of Notre Dame football, when things around them start helping, when other teams start losing, that causes optimism for them as well."
So does a seven-game win streak, which started after a disappointing 47-21 home loss to No. 2 Michigan on Sept. 16.
"We've already had our blemish, it's been well documented," Weis said.
Weis hopes this weekend's matchup against Army (3-7) - the team's third meeting against a service academy this season - won't stop his team's run.
"I think that they will all be fired up to play their last home game here," Weis said. "I think that's where we are right now, and I think that's the way I'm trying to get them to think."
After a convincing victory over Air Force, Notre Dame now hosts an Army team it's defeated in 13 of the last 14 contests since 1947. The Irish have won 12 straight in the series, but have not played the Black Knights since a 20-17 home victory in 1998.
Despite Notre Dame's success against Army, Weis doesn't want the Irish to look ahead to their matchup with the Trojans.
"All I can do with our program is to go beat Army, and if we beat Army, then we try to beat the next guys," he said. "And if we've done that, we've done what we can do."
Notre Dame had a strong offensive effort against Air Force, racking up 383 total yards despite controlling the clock for just 21:25.
"With the very few chances we had, we had to make them count," said running back Darius Walker, who rushed for a season-tying 153 yards and a touchdown.
Walker, who has 921 rushing yards this season, could have a big day against Army. The Black Knights are ranked 111th in the nation against the run, allowing 190.2 yards per game, but are giving up just 164.3 passing yards a contest - tied for 18th in the country.
Army will be trying to contain Irish quarterback Brady Quinn, who has thrown four touchdowns passes in each of the last two games and is third in the nation with 29 TD passes.
Quinn found four different receivers in the end zone last weekend, including senior Jeff Samardzija on the opening drive of the game. Samardzija, who had six receptions for 106 yards, holds the team record for most career touchdown receptions with 24.
Quinn, however, will not be able to throw to tight end John Carlson, who will miss the next two games with a right knee injury. Carlson ranks fourth in the nation among tight ends with 62.1 receiving yards per game.
Army, meeting a ranked team for the first time this season, is mired in a four-game skid after a 43-7 home loss to Air Force on Nov. 3. The defeat cost the Black Knights a chance for a berth in the Poinsettia Bowl.
"The first thing I'm going to do is try to forget about it," quarterback Carson Williams said. "You have to forget about your losses."
The Black Knights scored their only touchdown with 1:39 left in the game on a pass by David Pevoto, who was 4-for-5 for 54 yards. Williams completed 8 of 16 passes for 62 yards and four interceptions.
Army will play Navy in its season finale On Dec. 2.
Notre Dame is 35-1 against service academies since 1986. |