Yankee Stadium wasn’t built for Saturday night. Neither were the Black Knights.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish matched up bigger, stronger and more talented at almost every position and looked it, handing Army its first loss of the season, 49-14, and all but closing the door on the No. 18 Black Knights “College Football Playoff Aspirations.

“They outplayed us at every stage,” Army head coach Jeff Monken said after the game. “I thought we would be competitive, I thought we could play with them.”

Overall, his Black Knights couldn’t do that.

The No. 6 Fighting Irish were led by running back Jeremiyah Love’s three touchdowns – two on the ground and one through the air.

The sophomore finished with 136 yards from scrimmage, including a 68-yard touchdown run to start the second half.

It was his 11th consecutive game with a rushing score, tying the school record.

With pregame and halftime performances by the Notre Dame marching band (sitting on the Bleacher Creatures’ benches), a constant stream of university promotional material on the video board and thousands of fans donning the Irish green, this felt straight out of South Bend.

And for the army it is never completely within reach.

The Black Knights (9-1) had found success all season by hitting the floor between the lines, running the clock and dictating the pace of play.

But the Black Knights had only played a football team of the caliber of the Fighting Irish (10-1) on Saturday night.

In the 12th installment of their home-away-from-home “Shamrock Series,” Notre Dame’s defense was overwhelmingly physical, stacking the box, clogging the middle of the field and holding the nation’s most potent offense to 207 yards, about two – third of their seasonal average.

Notre Dame was able to get off blocks on defense and stay on blocks on offense, averaging 9.4 yards per carry compared to Army’s 3.6.

The Fighting Irish had already scored 14 points by the time the Black Knights secured their first loss.

The cadets present felt hopeful for a moment as that ride through the field continued. Methodical and grinding, twelve plays – all runs – later, quarterback Bryson Daily burst into the end zone from four yards out to make it 14-7.

The Army defense stopped the Irish on four consecutive attempts from the five-yard line on the ensuing attempt to force a turnover on downs.

This looked like a defense giving up 10.8 points per game, the second fewest in the country.

But it wouldn’t last.

The Black Knights gave up two more touchdowns in the first half and the game was all but over by the time the teams returned to their locker rooms.

Notre Dame scored another 21 points in the second half, and Leonard finished the game 10 of 13 passing with 148 yards.

Daily, who had bruised defenses all year with his heavy running, was held to 139 yards on 39 carries and added just 26 yards through the air.

Kanye Udoh, Army’s leading defender, finished the game with just 35 yards rushing.

The loss drops Army to 8-40-4 all-time against Notre Dame, their last win nearly seven decades ago.

The season is far from over for the Black Knights, who face Navy on December 14 and have already secured a spot in the American Athletic Conference Championship Game.

But a win on Saturday would have capped a historic season that few could have predicted.

“I hope we don’t have to play them again,” Monken said jokingly in his post-game presser. “Defeat the Navy.”