Relentless Army Ground Attack and Gritty DefenseCarry Black Knights to 14-3 Win Over North Texas
By John ChuhranCaMMVets Media
Denton, Texas – Army football Head Coach Jeff Monken has preached one sentence all year: “Bend don’t break.” On Saturday, the undefeated Black Knights lived those words for 60 intensely hard-fought minutes and came away with a 14-3 win over the powerful offense of North Texas. It was the victors’ most impressive performance so far this season.
This was a game that was stunningly unexpected. The host Mean Green came into the contest averaging 40.6 points per game (sixth best in the nation), 527.6 total yards per game (third nationally), and 371.6 passing ypg (second nationally). Few if any observer expected it to be a defensive struggle. Army’s talented defense executed the fundamentals when it counted, holding North Texas to a field goal on the first possession of the game, shutting the Mean Green out the rest of the day while limiting them to 283 total yards and just 214 passing yards.
“The last time I was in that locker room at the end of the game (2017) it was 52-49 and they had just beaten us,” Monken said, “so it’s nice to come down here and get a win. What a great football team they’ve got – wow. They just played their hearts out, played really hard. We gave up some plays, but, gosh, it’s hard not to. They’re so athletic. They're going really fast – I mean it's like NASCAR pace and they're really good at it. The stop (we made) in the first half down there in the goal line, it was just huge, obviously, to keep them out of the end zone.”
The opening Mean Green drive started on North Texas 25 and QB Chandler Morris methodically began to move down field, completing passes of 4, 8, 7, 71 and 3 yards as part of an 18-play, 62-yard drive.
With 10:28 left in the first quarter and North Texas in a first-and-goal situation on the Army 10, the Black Knights defense took charge. Kody Harris-Miller broke into the backfield and brought down North Texas running back MacKenzie McGill for a 3-yard loss. A false start penalty by a North Texas player cost another 5 yards, and DT Sheffield could gain only two yards before Army’s Kalib Fortner tackled him.
In a third-and-16 situation, Morris tried a quick toss up the middle and completed it to Wyatt Young, but Army’s Max DiDomenico (who had a team-high nine tackles) brought him down on the Army 13. The field goal unit came on and Kali Nguma delivered a 32-yard boot that split the uprights to give North Texas a 3-0 lead – the first time that Army had trailed this season. There was still 8:10 left on the first quarter clock.
The Army defense stopped the Mean Green where it mattered – in the Red Zone. After the field goal on the initial drive, North Texas had three more drives that ventured inside the Army 20. The Mean Green’s second possession was stopped on the Army 2 yard line (Andon Thomas, DiDomenico, Kalib Fortner (2 on this drive, 7 for the game), Kyle Lewis and Chance Keith all had tackles inside the Army 5 in another classic Army goal-line stand) while the other two (the final two North Texas drives of the game) ended with fourth-quarter Army interceptions in the end zone by Justin Weaver and Donovan Platt. After the North Texas field goal, the Mean Green (5-4, 2-3 in the American Athletic Conference) tried to catch Army (8-0, 6-0)by surprise with an onsides kick. The Black Knights were ready and linebacker Hamilton Baker fell on the ball, giving Army excellent field position at the North Texas 48. Then it was up to the Army offense, which featured an unexpected surprise.
Calling signals for the Black Knights was senior quarterback Bryson Daily, the stellar Army field leader who had missed last week’s 20-3 win over Air Force with a foot injury that required hospitalization. Daily had been the offensive catalyst in Army’s first seven wins this year, setting Army single-season records for most touchdowns scored (19) and responsible for (26) and leading the team in rushing yardage (138 carries for 909 yards – 6.5 avg. yards per carry)with four games left in the regular season. The Texas native picked up where he left off, and led a 9-play (all rushes), 48-yard drive that ended with Daily dashing 10 yards around left guard into the endzone for six points. Trey Gronotte maintained his perfect scoring for 2024 with the PAT and Army led 7-3. For the rest of the first half, the teams waged a brutal fight. North Texas tried its nation-leading passing attack with limited results and then attempted to compensate with an unexpectedly effective running game, while Army focused on its traditional running attack led by Daily and halfback Kanye Udoh, who had run for a career-high and game-leading 153 yards last week against Air Force. Daily finished with 153 yards and both touchdowns on 53 carries; he now has 1,062 rushing yards and 21 rushing TD for the season. Udoh gained 65 yards on 13 carries, boosting his total season rushing yardage to 786.Exceptional defense prevented further scoring in the second quarter, though Army had a chance to build its margin in the final seconds before the break. After the Black Knights gained possession on downs and started on the North Texas 41 with 1:20 on the clock, Daily called four rushes and Army was in a fourth-and-1 on the North Texas 29 with 22 seconds on the clock. Daily seemed unaware of the seconds clicking away but finally unleashed a pass to David Crosson on the goal line. Crosson was hit early by Mean Green defenders and a flag for pass interference was thrown with 1 second left.Monken had noticed a Mean Green defensive scheme on the earlier PAT that made him think a fake field goal could produce a touchdown, but for this field goal attempt the hosts were positioned differently. Monken thought the holder would notice it and call a timeout, but he didn’t and the fake field goal attempt turned into a 12-yard run off right guard that was stopped three yards short.
After intermission, Daily started another drive that got to the North Texas 43 before he threw his first interception of the year to end the attack. After a three-and-out followed by a North Texas punt that pinned Army on its own 6, Daily launched the drive of the day – indeed, the drive of the season and perhaps the definitive drive of Monken’s 11-year Army career.
This was a choreographed, battlefield attack – a textbook demonstration of patience, execution and effectiveness. Sharing the ball carrying with Udoh, Noah Short (who had several exceptional carries that turned the corner for strong gains), and Miles Stewart, Daily played the crucial role, sometimes blasting forward with 100 percent commitment, sometimes holding back for a fraction of a second to let a hole fully open before charging full speed ahead (and logging a 17-yard gain by waiting). Ultimately, Daily pushed into the end zone from the North Texas 2 to cap a 21-play, 94-yard effort that chewed 13:54 off the clock.
While the ball carriers got the recognition during the telecast, Monken was quick to share the credit with the players on the offensive line – LT Connor Finucane, LG Bill Katsigiannis, C Brady Small, RG Paolo Genneralli, and RT Lucas Scott – who enabled the drive to happen.
“That's the best offensive line I've ever had on a team,” Monken said. “They're mature, they're tough, they're strong. Coach Hughes, our strength coach, has done a great job to build and develop the players on this team. We’ve got a strong football team. That group in particular – they do a really good job of handling the front. We didn't blow open seams – they were wide open just enough to keep getting some yards. That's a great group.”
After Gronotte drilled his second PAT to make the score 14-3, the Army defense got back to work with 11:44 left in the game. The Mean Green threatened a comeback as Morris and his receivers began to make catches that gained significant yardage while expending little time from the game clock. But on their final two possessions, the drives collapsed as North Texas approached the Army goal line. First, with the Mean Green on the Army 10 and 9:01 on the clock, Morris dropped back and fired into the left side of the end zone where Platt grabbed the pigskin and end the threat.
Army followed with a seven-play drive that seemed likely to add another score and seal the win, but the usually reliable Udoh fumbled with two defensive players bringing him down. North Texas had new life with 4:34 left and the ball on its own 45. Six plays later, the Mean Green was on the Army 3 and Morris again dropped back to pass and looked left for D.T. Sheffield. Sheffield was in heavy coverage and Army’s Justin Weaver stretched to his right and grabbed the ball to stop the threat and effectively seal the win for the Black Knights.
“The second half, I’ve been saying it all year: ‘bend don't break,’” Monken said. “We bent enough to allow them to get down in the Red Zone and then (Defensive Coordinator) Nate (Woody) got those guys in position and Platt made a great play and then Weaver made a great play. I’m just so proud of those guys – they didn't flinch, they just kept playing. I can't say enough for Nate Woody – he just does an incredible job. We played a triple-option team last week, a completely different offense this week and was able to (get our guys to) hold them to three points.”
Army remains one of four unbeaten teams among the 133 in FBS competition. The 13-game winning streak (including the last four games of 2023) is the longest in the nation and the longest for a West Point team since the 1949-50 season.
Now Army has a week off to prepare for a nationally televised primetime game (7 PM Nov. 23 on NBC) at Yankee Stadium against No. 8 ranked Notre Dame. At the start of the year, some pundits thought the best that Army could hope for against the Fighting Irish would be to stay close. After the game against North Texas, all who watch Army football know that the hope of a victory – maybe the biggest victory in more than half a century – over vaunted Notre Dame is a realistic possibility.
(-CaMMVets-)