1 in the Associated Press college football poll, played the University of Notre Dame, of South Bend, Indiana, ranked No.

[1][2] This matchup, with the national attention it received in the era before the service academies ceased to be major football powers, was usually played at a neutral site, often in New York City.

Lujack, along with several other teammates and coach Frank Leahy, had returned to the team for the 1946 season after serving in World War II.

Notre Dame had defeated eventual 1947 Rose Bowl champion Illinois in Champaign, 26–6, to open the season.

The teams combined for ten turnovers: Army had four, which all occurred in the second half, and Notre Dame had six, three of which were interceptions caught by Arnold Tucker.

That play, which "became a piece of Notre Dame lore",[4] and a subsequent interception on a halfback pass thrown by Army's Glenn Davis amounted to "the last scoring threat for either team".

[9] Notre Dame's defense did something no other team had ever done — it held the famous "Touchdown Twins", Blanchard and Davis, to a total of 79 yards.

Joe Steffy, an Army guard who helped shut down the Notre Dame running game, won the honor, followed closely by Notre Dame right tackle George Sullivan and freshman lineman Jim Martin, who helped stifle Army's running attack and dropped Davis on consecutive plays for losses totaling 17 yards.

[10] Notre Dame quarterback Johnny Lujack later said, "Our field-goal kicker, Fred Earl[e]y, wasn't even in pads.

Both teams would finish the season undefeated with this one tie, but it was Notre Dame that was awarded the national championship by the Associated Press, with Army coming in second.

[14] With Blanchard, Davis and Tucker having graduated, Army's unbeaten streak would be broken the next year, by Columbia University.

Moreover, in a joint statement both schools agreed that the "'game had grown to such proportions that it had come to be played under conditions escaping the control of the two colleges, some of which were not conducive to wholesome intercollegiate sport.