Army’s West Point rushing attack faces a huge challenge in Notre Dame’s defense

The Army West Point Black Knights have used an elite running game to establish an undefeated record thus far, but this weekend they could be headed for a brick wall against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

In previewing the Black Knights’ biggest game on offense, Pro Football Focus’ Dalton Wasserman and Max Chadwick made the obvious choice by asking how the run game will fare against an elite defense like the Fighting Irish .

Entering the game, Army has the best rushing attack in the country by a wide margin. The Black Knights are averaging 334.9 rushing yards per game, with the next highest being the Boise State Broncos (mainly Ashton Jeanty) with 268.6 yards.

It’s not just volume. The Army has an average of 6.2 yards per rush. While that doesn’t lead the country, it’s still in the top three. The volume, combined with that average, doesn’t hurt.

Quarterback Bryson Daily has done the most damage single-handedly with 1,062 yards despite missing a game. He has not finished under 100 meters since the first race of the year.

He is especially dangerous within scoring range, accounting for 21 rushing touchdowns. That puts him in joint second place in the country, again behind Jeanty.

The toughest defense they’ve faced thus far has been against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane, which is only the 70th-ranked defense in the country at 149 yards per game.

The Black Knights had no problems running the ball on them, with 40 carries for 321 yards and five touchdowns. Daily was also a perfect 5-for-5 through the air for 140 yards and two more scores.

While Notre Dame doesn’t have the best run defense in the country, the Fighting Irish are making a significant leap forward over Tulsa.

The Fighting Irish have the 43rd-ranked defensive line in the country with 126.2 yards allowed per game. Notre Dame is also slightly more efficient at stopping the play per play, at just 3.52 yards per play.

Army and Notre Dame have a common opponent in the Navy Midshipmen, although Army has not yet met the Middies and won’t until after the regular season. Notre Dame gave up just 14 points to Navy, thanks in part to forcing turnovers and good third-down defense.

The Midshipmen were able to operate on a fairly average basis on the ground, picking up 222 yards at over five yards a pop.

It will be a big test for the military, but it seems like a test that is at least realistic for them.