Notre Dame vs. Army: Game Grades, Analysis for Irish

It finally happened. Something Notre Dame fans have been waiting for all season—a blowout win—finally has Irish fans feeling more like Irish fans.

Typically, beating Army isn't anything to write home about, but West Point has five wins under its belt this season (more than Notre Dame), and the Irish were coming off a loss to a similarly schemed Navy attack. Saturday's game against Army in the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, was, for better or worse, another test of the mettle of the Notre Dame football team.

The Irish passed that test and moved to 4-6 while still remaining in the hunt for bowl eligibility. Let's break down the performances in our weekly game grades.

Pass Offense

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Army isn't a team that passes the ball much, if at all, but that doesn't mean that the Black Knights can't defend an aerial assault. DeShone Kizer put up 209 passing yards and three touchdowns with 17-of-28 passing.

Sure, there was an ill-advised cross-body throw that killed a 16-play drive in the end zone, but when your team is leading by a few touchdowns in the second half, it doesn't seem quite as horrible.

Kevin Stepherson continued a good-looking freshman season with five catches for 75 yards and a touchdown, but the big highlight was senior tight end Durham Smythe, whose two catches for 41 yards were both touchdowns. Saturday wasn't the end of his career, but with the sun setting on his time at Notre Dame, this was a great start to the tail end of his Irish days.

Pass Offense: B+

Run Offense

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There have been times this season that Notre Dame really needed to rely on some solid ground gains, but the running attack wasn't able to establish any consistency. This game was not one of those times.

The Irish ran for 261 yards and two touchdowns, led by Tarean Folston (finally), who had 84 yards and a touchdown on 13 attempts. DeShone Kizer added 72 yards on seven credited carries, and Josh Adams added 70 yards and a score on 15 touches.

The offensive line did a great job all game of opening up holes and sealing blocks on the edge—not only opening up holes for Folston and Adams but also giving Kizer enough time in the picket to pick up solid gains on scrambles.

Just like the passing game, the run attack was solid all afternoon, and head coach Brian Kelly should be happy with the performance.

Run Offense: B+

Pass Defense

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It doesn't matter what team Army is playing—it's next to impossible to get a good handle on the opposing pass defense. Army rarely throws the football, and again, the Black Knights had a low number of pass attempts.

Malik McGue attempted three whole passes, completing two for 13 yards.

There were, however, several deep completions that could have been big offensive sparks for the Black Knights were it not for some ill-timed penalties. Notre Dame has a penchant for giving up big plays, and Army penalties bailed out the Irish on several occasions.

It's hard to punish the Irish secondary for holding Army to 13 passing yards, but it's also hard to reward Notre Dame's secondary, either—especially with the aforementioned deep balls.

Pass Defense: B

Run Defense

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Army, like Navy, runs an annoying and tough-to-defend option attack that drives defensive coordinators crazy. If your defense isn't perfectly prepared and doesn't play assignment football on every down, you can find yourself chasing ball-carriers all over the field all game long.

Notre Dame, with few exceptions, did a stellar job of staying home and focusing on assignments. The result was holding the nation's No. 2 rushing offense to nearly 100 yards below its season average.

Army came into this game averaging 320.6 rushing yards per game. Even after running the football 42 times against the Irish, Army gained "just" 229 yards on the ground. While most offenses would be pretty happy with that number, it won't win many games for Army, which has to overcome its almost non-existent passing game.

Run Defense: A-

Special Teams

Associated Press

To say Notre Dame's special teams have been a mixed bag this season would be an understatement. Despite possessing quite a bit of talent, special teams have cost the Irish dearly.

It was the opposite Saturday. C.J. Sanders started off the game by returning the opening kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown. That perfect start to Notre Dame's afternoon was the spark that ignited the fire, and the Irish never trailed.

Chris Finke averaged eight yards on his two returns, although one went for 22, while the other went for minus-six yards.

Justin Yoon connected on his only field-goal attempt of the game, but he did shank an extra point, finishing 5-of-6. While that's OK when you're leading 44-6, missing points could be deadly against teams like Virginia Tech and USC—two teams Notre Dame must beat to make a bowl game this season.

Special Teams: A-

Coaching

Associated Press

We haven't been shy about criticizing Brian Kelly and his staff this season. We stand by our earlier criticism for the reasons we were dishing it out. But we're also willing to give credit when credit is due, and after this game, it's due.

Notre Dame—especially on defense—was well-prepared to take on Army, and the Irish had the perfect game plan to beat a team like the Black Knights. While Army isn't the toughest opponent on the schedule, the Black Knights are capable of throwing a couple of pitches past you if you're not ready for them. Army does, after all, have five wins, including victories over Wake Forest and Temple.

Has Notre Dame turned a corner? It's way too soon to determine that. But we are beginning to see some positive signs and maybe—just maybe—a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. 

Coaching: A

All recruiting information via Scout. Stats from NCAA.com, CFBStats.com or B/R research. Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow Bleacher Report CFB Featured Columnist and Notre Dame Live Correspondent David Luther on Twitter @davidrluther.