Noah Eagle has had a heck of a year. He called the French Open for TNT and USA Basketball at the Paris Olympics for NBC. He called the NFL’s first game in Brazil on Peacock and the huge Ohio State-Oregon game on NBC.
He has another notable game for NBC on Saturday night: 9-0 Army vs. 9-1 Notre Dame at Yankee Stadium (6 p.m., NBC 5, 780-AM).
“This is exactly what you envision when you’re a kid that wants to do this,” Eagle said, “getting to do high-level events in really cool places.”
Believe it or not, this won’t even be the first time Eagle, 27, calls a football game at the baseball venue. In 2018, he called Syracuse-Notre Dame for WAER, Syracuse’s student radio station.
“We were right behind where the baseball booth is, which is behind home plate,” Eagle said. “So we were in the back of an end zone. But, you know, student radio, that’s how it goes. But it was awesome just to be in the building.”
Eagle will be joined by his usual “Big Ten Saturday Night” partners for the crossover broadcast, analyst Todd Blackledge and sideline reporter Kathryn Tappen. The trio also called Notre Dame’s prime-time game against Florida State two weeks ago.
Army-Notre Dame is more than a battle between nine-win teams. It will have implications on the College Football Playoff rankings, which have the Irish sixth and the Black Knights 19th. Army is one of three remaining unbeaten teams, the others being No. 1 Oregon (11-0) and No. 5 Indiana (10-0). All are vying for spots in the first 12-team playoff.
“Army has been one of the great stories in college football,” Eagle said. “It’s a traditional Army feel; you’re going to see a lot of that triple option. But they do pass the ball. Their quarterback, Bryson Daily, is excellent. I’m excited to see him up close because he is as tough as they come at the position.”
Daily has run 174 times for 1,062 yards and 21 touchdowns. He has thrown for 644 yards (29-for-51) with seven touchdowns and one interception.
“When they get to third down, it’s not a death sentence anymore,” Eagle said. “Now they can throw it, they can get creative, and he’s showcased his skill set when they’ve needed him to do that. On top of that, they have great pieces around him, [running backs] Kanye Udoh, Noah Short, etc.
“The biggest key for Army is they have to make sure that they win the time of possession substantially because [Notre Dame quarterback] Riley Leonard and the Notre Dame offense have gotten better as the year has gone on, and their defense is one of the best in the country.”
Eagle pointed out that both teams are elite defensively. Army ranks fifth in the nation in total defense (273.9 yards allowed per game), and Notre Dame is sixth (277.1).
The Irish have rallied since a stunning home loss to Northern Illinois in Week 2 that followed an impressive road victory against then-No. 20 Texas A&M. The loss dropped the Irish in the Associated Press poll from fifth to 18th, and they’ve been steadily climbing back. They're sixth in that poll, too.
Eagle credited coach Marcus Freeman for the turnaround.
“The biggest thing that he has stressed is keeping the pain from that Week 2 loss,” Eagle said. “It’s maybe not something they did over the last two years. They would say, Let’s flush this and move on. Now it’s, We’re winning, but it could go away quickly. I think they’ve learned to be more consistent in how they mentally approach each game.”
The game will be Eagle’s penultimate of the season before he dives into college basketball for NBC. He already has dipped his toe, calling Arizona-Wisconsin last Friday. He stayed in Madison to call Oregon-Wisconsin football Saturday, then flew home to New York to call Nets-Knicks on Sunday for YES.
“I love it,” Eagle said of calling three games in three days. “I love both sports so much that this is my favorite time, the overlap season.”
He’ll finish his big year by calling the Ravens-Texans game Christmas Day with Fox’s Greg Olsen for Netflix. Eagle’s father, Ian, will call the first game of the Netflix doubleheader, Chiefs-Steelers, with CBS' J.J. Watt and Nate Burleson.
“The feeling from many people that the Eagles never stop working is only going to continue,” Noah said.
