Notre Dame Cannot Afford to Play Sloppy Football Against Army

Notre Dame must avoid mistakes and execute cleanly against Army to maintain momentum and solidify its postseason aspirations.

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman speaks with officials during a NCAA college football game against Virginia at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, in South Bend. / MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It's been easy to overlook mistakes most of the season

Notre Dame has dominated the middle part of its 2024 schedule. From the Purdue game through the Virginia game the Irish have beaten opponents by a combined score of 343-85 with Notre Dame eclipsing 50 points twice and reaching over 60 against Purdue.

In these games that have gotten out of hand, it's been very easy to overlook or ignore mistakes or areas where Notre Dame has been a bit sloppy since they had no material impact on the game result. This will not be the case forever though.

Let's examine some areas Notre Dame must clean up in order to defeat Army, USC, and any team the Irish may face in the CFP should they make it there.

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Penalties are drive killers

Against Virginia, Notre Dame was tagged for nine penalties for 89 yards. Many of these calls were legitimate hands to the face or holding calls against the offensive line while others were more controversial like the flag that wiped Notre Dame's special teams trick play TD off the board.

When facing a team as disciplined as Army is, Notre Dame cannot afford to give up nearly 100 yards of hidden yardage in a game. These mistakes must get cleaned up quickly.

Notre Dame was 1-12 on 3rd down

Against Virginia, Notre Dame was 1-12 in third-down conversions. Luckily, the Irish were able to overcome this putrid stat and emerge victorious anyway, but this low hit rate in such a key stat will not lead to a win against an Army team that likes to eat up the clock.

In many instances, the large amount of penalties Notre Dame had led directly to many third and very long situations that are statistically unlikely to be converted. If the Irish can clean up the penalties, the third down conversion rate will increase. These items are very much related.

The kicking game is a concern

Notre Dame's starting FG kicker Mitch Jeter is not operating at 100% health. As a result, Zac Yoakam and Marcello Diomede each had chances to kick field goals against the Cavaliers. Neither kick was even close to being made.

Notre Dame either needs to hope Jeter quickly gets back to full health, find someone else who can make kicks, or commit to using all four downs to gain a first down rather than attempt field goals from now on.

All of these areas must be cleaned up in order for the Irish to beat not only just Army but any team the Irish may face in the postseason as well.

For more Irish news & notes follow John on Twitter @alwaysirishINC, Always Irish on Youtube and or your preferred audio podcast provider.

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