Nick Saban reveals key advantage Notre Dame has in Shamrock Series game vs. Army

Facing off against the U.S. service academies — Army, Navy and Air Force — tends to cause palpitations for defensive coordinators all across college football, mostly due to their opposition’s unorthodox offensive approach.

Navy has long utilized a hybrid Wing-T offensive system that has routinely caused other programs fits over the years.

Meanwhile, Army head coach Jeff Monken has returned to his patented “flexbone” triple option attack this season after trying and failing to modernize the Black Knights’ offense in 2023. Air Force also utilizes its own version of the triple option.

Of course, while the Wing-T and triple option differ slightly from a schematic standpoint, their traditional run-dominant philosophies are quite divergent from the spread, pass-happy offensive attack used throughout the Power 4 level.

But it’s Army’s reliance on the ground-and-pound approach that former coach-turned-ESPN analyst Nick Saban believes gives No. 6 Notre Dame (7-1) a rare advantage entering Saturday’s Shamrock Series game against the 19th-ranked Black Knights (9-0, 7-1 AAC) inside Yankee Stadium.

“I think the big thing is, at this point in the season, having to play such a different offense as an option offense. The advantage for Notre Dame is they played Navy, and there’s a lot of similarities,” Saban said Friday afternoon on the Pat McAfee Show. “So their scheme is probably going to have had a lot of reps because they played Navy.

“But playing option football where they move the point of attack on the run, is not something that modern-day current football players really play much. Because everybody is in the spread. So this is usually a huge adaptation and a huge adjustment for your team late in the season. But Notre Dame has an advantage because they have played against it recently.”

And just based on the result of the Navy game — when Notre Dame outgained the Midshipmen 466-310 and forced six turnovers — it’s clear the Irish can handle a run-heavy attack.

The Black Knights have their own advantage

Still, Army isn’t without an advantage of its own: playing inside Yankee Stadium.

Saban suggested the iconic home of Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees could provide a much-needed emotional boost for the Black Knights.

“I think it is for Army, because they don’t have the same kind of stadium as Notre Dame. But what I think what Army’s going to do in this game – and they’re built for it – they’re going to try to shrink the game every way they can,” Saban said. “They run the ball 87 percent of the time. And they’re going to keep running it and if they can average 3 yards a play, they’ll go for it on fourth down. They’re going to try to keep the ball away from Notre Dame, and hopefully keep the game close so maybe they have an opportunity in the end to win it.”

With a potential College Football Playoff bid still at play for both programs, whichever team makes the most of their advantage could have wide-ranging implications across the college football landscape.