Notre Dame football score predictions: Irish vs. Army staff picks

Notre Dame takes on Army at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, N.Y., with a chance to stretch its winning streak to nine games.

Once again, our staff is unanimous: We believe the Irish will take this one. But by how much?

Here are Blue & Gold‘s staff predictions.

Tyler Horka: Notre Dame 35, Army 13

We’ve seen this act before. Notre Dame is up against an undefeated service academy in the New York City area. A bunch of outsiders are thinking this could be a spot for an upset special. It’s Army’s year, yeah? Well, wasn’t it Navy’s year, too? The Fighting Irish thrashed the Midshipmen, 51-14. 

This one will be a bit closer because Army’s defense is better than that of Navy, and Bryson Daily is probably a more productive quarterback than Blake Horvath, but the presence of Daily will only result in one more score and one fewer point — a touchdown and two field goals opposed to two touchdowns. None of those combinations is enough to beat a Notre Dame team finding out a lot of good things about itself offensively. Irish win big. 

Jack Soble: Fighting Irish 31, Black Knights 14

This game is interesting, because while Army has steamrolled through its schedule, it has played the 133rd-best slate (out of 134 teams) in the country. The Black Knights haven’t played a group anywhere near as good as Notre Dame on either side of the ball.

I think Army’s defense will give the Irish fits at times. It’s been too dominant this season — even if it was against poor competition — not to. I’m less concerned, though, about the Black Knights’ traditional triple-option offense. The Irish are well-versed in stopping that by now, and if North Texas can hold it to 14 points, so can Notre Dame. 

This will be closer than the Navy game, perhaps with some look-ahead to USC. But I still like the Irish by three scores.

Kyle Kelly: Notre Dame 38, Army 10

Entering Army’s bye week — which occurred one week before its matchup with Notre Dame — the Black Knights held the nation’s top scoring defense, only surrendering about 10 points per game. So, I won’t expect the Irish to put up another 50 points like they did against Navy. Still, even with its tough defense, Army allowed 28 points to East Carolina. At the very least, I think the Irish can get at least 10 more points when they face the Knights at Yankee Stadium. Notre Dame’s defense is similarly stout, making it tough for Army to sneak points past Al Golden. 

Todd D. Burlage: Notre Dame 27, Army 13

For the first time since 1957 and only the fourth time in series history, No. 6 Notre Dame and No. 19 Army will meet as ranked opponents on Saturday. And sitting at 9-0 for the first time in 28 years, the Black Knights still remain firmly in the playoff hunt, as do the Irish (9-1), who have won eight straight games.

As expected, Army leads the nation in rushing at 334.9 yards per game, and it’s also averaging a robust 35.2 points a game. But somewhat surprisingly, it’s been the Army defense that has also helped it stay undefeated. Only one opponent this season (East Carolina) has scored more than 14 points against a team that ranks second nationally in scoring defense at only 10.3 points allowed per game.

Army’s resurgence has been one of the feel-good stories in college football this season. But given that the Black Knights haven’t beaten the Irish in 15 tries and 66 years, this feel-good story takes a new turn at Yankee Stadium this weekend.

Steve Downey: Notre Dame 26, Army 17

Army has been a great story this year but has yet to be really tested. The Black Knights’ strength of schedule ranks 133rd out of 134 FBS teams per ESPN’s Football Power Index and their best win to date was a 14-3 triumph at North Texas (5-4) Nov. 9. That’s not to take away from what Army has accomplished, but rather to illustrate they haven’t seen a team with the talent, speed, skill and depth that Notre Dame possesses. 

It won’t be easy for the Irish, though. They caught a break when Navy put the ball on the ground with 5 unforced fumbles earlier this year. Army won’t beat itself in a game in which possessions will be at a premium. The Black Knights ranked first in the country with just 3 giveaways (2 lost fumbles, 1 interception) through Week 11. The bet here is that the Irish will control the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, slowing down Army’s nation-leading rushing attack just enough while grinding out a hard-fought win with their multi-pronged ground game.