One hundred years ago, Notre Dame beat Army 13-7 at the Polo Grounds.
Grantland Rice, who was working for the New York Herald Tribune at the time, turned the subsequent Irish victory into the most famous introduction in the history of sports writing.
“Into the blue-gray October sky rode the Four Horsemen again,” Rice wrote. “They are known in the dramatic tradition as famine, pestilence, devastation, and death. These are merely pseudonyms. Their real names are: Stohldreher, Miller, Crowley, and Leiden.”
These Notre Dame linebackers would forever be known as the “Four Horsemen,” and the Irish would go on to a perfect 10-0 season, complete with a Rose Bowl victory and Knute Rockne's first national championship.
Looking at the lead-up to this game, if Army pulls off the upset, their quarterback, Bryson Deeley, could end up being a folk hero among the Irish linebackers.
To put it simply, this is the biggest Army vs. Irish game in 66 years.
The 1958 matchup between the Irish and Cadets was a top-five showdown in South Bend. Army went 14-2 and finished the season 8-0-1 and third in both major polls.
Undefeated and ranked 19th in the CFP rankings, Army is back on the college football map.
An Irish team has been waiting for them, which has been playing at the elite level for two months.
Notre Dame has real national title aspirations and a roster to make a splash heading into January.
The Irish have won eight in a row and have beaten their last five opponents by 33 points per game. This included dismantling Navy at MetLife Stadium, 51-14.
But this landslide win over the Military Service Academy was handed to the Irish on a silver platter.
Navy turned the ball over six times, accounting for nearly half of the Midshipmen's giveaways for the entire season. The military is incredibly disciplined in this regard.
With the daily attack workout, the Cadets have just three giveaways this fall (their second).
When talking about day-to-day offense and Army, the Cadets hit the rushing hat-trick – ranking first in rush success rate, line yards, and offensive tackle rate.
As a unit, they are never behind bars, which explains why the army takes first place in avoiding ruin.
And if they need an extra downstroke to move the sticks, they are ruthlessly efficient on fourth down (84.2 percent, second). This translates into long drives, effectively shrinking the size of games.
This was on display against North Texas two weeks ago. The Mean Green entered with a top 10 offense (points per game, total offense).
Army's “stay away” strategy provided UNT with only six drives for the entire game.
The result? A 14-3 Army victory and another great rushing performance from the Cadets' triple-option captain (ran every day 36 times for 153 yards and two touchdowns).
On the injury front, defensive tackle Howard Cross (ankle) remains questionable for Notre Dame.
Without Cross, Virginia ran it effectively at times last week, finishing with 128 yards on the ground.
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On the other side of the ball, Notre Dame is vulnerable when its running game doesn't produce big results. The military can be bullied in the box, but it ranks in the top 10 in explosive impulse reduction.
Northern Illinois slowed down ND's running game in the September upset (123 yards), forcing ND and Riley Leonard into clear passing situations on third down.
The Irish rank 86th in third-down conversion rate, and if the Cadets come off the field, they'll run the clock dry.
Army took advantage of the bye week, so I expect OC Cody Worley to do everything he can in the trick play and aggressive play calling department.
Recommendation: Army Moneyline +500 (FanDuel)
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Mike Calabrese is a staff writer for the New York Post, with a heavy focus on college sports. His betting tips often revolve around situational points, including travel, comfort and elevation variance.
