Army Dominates to Earn Record 12th WinTopping Louisiana Tech 27-6 in Independence Bowl
By John ChuhranCaMMVets Media
12-28-2024 Shreveport, LA – It wasn’t quite redemption for the Army Black Knights (12-2), but the team from West Point played exceptionally well in Saturday night’s Independence Bowl and came away with a convincing 27-6 win over late replacement opponent Louisiana Tech (5-8).
Louisiana Tech had already ended its season when regularly scheduled opponent Marshall was forced to withdraw from the game due to player defections. The Bulldogs re-assembled and worked on finding their rhythm and on trying to adapt to new offensive coordinator Tony Franklin, who tried to introduce an all-new game plan with a new collection of plays in the nine days leading up to the game.
It didn’t take long for the Black Knights to show their dominance, scoring touchdowns on their first three possessions in the first half to take a 21-3 lead at intermission. Army continued to roll in the second half and finished with the 21-point margin of victory. It was Army’s 12th win of the year, the most by any team in the institution’s football history dating back more than a century.
“Our guys responded,” said Army Head Coach Jeff Monken, “after a very emotional and difficult loss (in the Army-Navy game) two weeks ago with just a great effort tonight. I thought our guys were ready to play. They took the field and were excited, prepared, and really played a hard football game. I’m proud of the accomplishments of our senior class -- just how they led this team to a twelfth victory and being able to play in a bowl game and win the bowl game. It was just a great experience for our guys.
“To be able to play in this game and get a victory just finishes off the season on a positive (note) for us. Obviously a big goal of ours is to win the Commander In Chief’s trophy and we weren’t able to do that two weeks ago, but we were able to win a conference championship in our first year in the league. I’m really proud of our seniors in leading us to that and they responded tonight with a twelfth victory. There’s not many teams in college football that have accomplished that and not many this year, either. So ,being one of those really makes us proud. Our whole football team really played well and hard tonight.”
The measure of Army’s advantage could be seen in two glaring first-half stats. Army’s third scoring possession was a 21-play drive; Louisiana Tech ran just 23 plays in the entire first half. Army ran for 196 yards in the first half; their opponent ran for 1.
Louisiana Tech won the coin toss and elected to receive. After an initial rush gained three yards, the Bulldogs shifted to a passing attack and quarterback Evan Bullock was out of synch with his receivers, completing just one of four passes and forcing the home-state squad to punt after five plays that gained just 13 yards. Army took over on its own 20 and Bryson Daily began to do what he does – planning a running attack, reading opposing schemes, waiting the crucial fractions of a second for gaps and blocks to develop, deciding whether he or another back has the best opportunity to make a gain.
The Black Knights’ relentlessly methodical attack began to quickly move downfield, gaining 7 or more yards on five-of-six rushes. Sharing the running with Hayden Reed (replacing the Arizona State-bound Kanye Udoh) and Noah Short, Daily took seven plays to advance to the Louisiana Tech 15. On the eighth play, Daily rolled left, saw a gap before reaching the perimeter, cut hard right and dashed into the end zone for his 30th rushing touchdown of the year. Trey Gronotte’s point after kick was good and Army was ahead for good.
The second Bulldogs’ possession was also futile, gaining just 12 yards on five plays. Army took over and Daily (27 rushes for 127 yards and three TD, 2-of-9 passing for 65 yards) again controlled the action with confidence. In a fourth-and-1 situation on its own 29, Army coach Monken elected to go for the first down and Daily delivered, gaining four yards on a quick dash through the left side B-gap. After nine plays, Reed (who logged a career-high 20 carries for 114 yards and a TD) got the call and dashed 12 yards to cross the goal line and make it 14-0 before the end of the first quarter.
Following a 27-yard Louisiana Tech field goal, Army continued to advance the ball as Daily scored his second touchdown on the Black Knights’ third possession. This time, fans got to see the clock-chewing, slow-advance offense that had become so familiar this year while frustrating opponents and leaving them with little time or opportunity to respond. “This team wanted to win for this team,” Monken said. “They wanted to win for each other. They love each other. Brotherhood gets thrown around and used a lot, but the shared experiences our players have together are really unique. From the moment they show up on campus, the freshmen class reports to the cadet in a red sash and for about a month they get worked over. It’s not easy and every one of our guys has endured that. They’ve gone through that and become better and stronger because of it, but they grow together and there’s a bond that’s forged through that shared experience. And, they continue to do that throughout their careers at West Point.
By John ChuhranCaMMVets Media
12-28-2024 Shreveport, LA – It wasn’t quite redemption for the Army Black Knights (12-2), but the team from West Point played exceptionally well in Saturday night’s Independence Bowl and came away with a convincing 27-6 win over late replacement opponent Louisiana Tech (5-8).
Louisiana Tech had already ended its season when regularly scheduled opponent Marshall was forced to withdraw from the game due to player defections. The Bulldogs re-assembled and worked on finding their rhythm and on trying to adapt to new offensive coordinator Tony Franklin, who tried to introduce an all-new game plan with a new collection of plays in the nine days leading up to the game.
It didn’t take long for the Black Knights to show their dominance, scoring touchdowns on their first three possessions in the first half to take a 21-3 lead at intermission. Army continued to roll in the second half and finished with the 21-point margin of victory. It was Army’s 12th win of the year, the most by any team in the institution’s football history dating back more than a century.
“Our guys responded,” said Army Head Coach Jeff Monken, “after a very emotional and difficult loss (in the Army-Navy game) two weeks ago with just a great effort tonight. I thought our guys were ready to play. They took the field and were excited, prepared, and really played a hard football game. I’m proud of the accomplishments of our senior class -- just how they led this team to a twelfth victory and being able to play in a bowl game and win the bowl game. It was just a great experience for our guys.
“To be able to play in this game and get a victory just finishes off the season on a positive (note) for us. Obviously a big goal of ours is to win the Commander In Chief’s trophy and we weren’t able to do that two weeks ago, but we were able to win a conference championship in our first year in the league. I’m really proud of our seniors in leading us to that and they responded tonight with a twelfth victory. There’s not many teams in college football that have accomplished that and not many this year, either. So ,being one of those really makes us proud. Our whole football team really played well and hard tonight.”
The measure of Army’s advantage could be seen in two glaring first-half stats. Army’s third scoring possession was a 21-play drive; Louisiana Tech ran just 23 plays in the entire first half. Army ran for 196 yards in the first half; their opponent ran for 1.
Louisiana Tech won the coin toss and elected to receive. After an initial rush gained three yards, the Bulldogs shifted to a passing attack and quarterback Evan Bullock was out of synch with his receivers, completing just one of four passes and forcing the home-state squad to punt after five plays that gained just 13 yards. Army took over on its own 20 and Bryson Daily began to do what he does – planning a running attack, reading opposing schemes, waiting the crucial fractions of a second for gaps and blocks to develop, deciding whether he or another back has the best opportunity to make a gain.
The Black Knights’ relentlessly methodical attack began to quickly move downfield, gaining 7 or more yards on five-of-six rushes. Sharing the running with Hayden Reed (replacing the Arizona State-bound Kanye Udoh) and Noah Short, Daily took seven plays to advance to the Louisiana Tech 15. On the eighth play, Daily rolled left, saw a gap before reaching the perimeter, cut hard right and dashed into the end zone for his 30th rushing touchdown of the year. Trey Gronotte’s point after kick was good and Army was ahead for good.
The second Bulldogs’ possession was also futile, gaining just 12 yards on five plays. Army took over and Daily (27 rushes for 127 yards and three TD, 2-of-9 passing for 65 yards) again controlled the action with confidence. In a fourth-and-1 situation on its own 29, Army coach Monken elected to go for the first down and Daily delivered, gaining four yards on a quick dash through the left side B-gap. After nine plays, Reed (who logged a career-high 20 carries for 114 yards and a TD) got the call and dashed 12 yards to cross the goal line and make it 14-0 before the end of the first quarter.
Following a 27-yard Louisiana Tech field goal, Army continued to advance the ball as Daily scored his second touchdown on the Black Knights’ third possession. This time, fans got to see the clock-chewing, slow-advance offense that had become so familiar this year while frustrating opponents and leaving them with little time or opportunity to respond. “This team wanted to win for this team,” Monken said. “They wanted to win for each other. They love each other. Brotherhood gets thrown around and used a lot, but the shared experiences our players have together are really unique. From the moment they show up on campus, the freshmen class reports to the cadet in a red sash and for about a month they get worked over. It’s not easy and every one of our guys has endured that. They’ve gone through that and become better and stronger because of it, but they grow together and there’s a bond that’s forged through that shared experience. And, they continue to do that throughout their careers at West Point.
“These seniors, for Bryson (Daily) and his class, these guys have been doing it for five years. From prep school through Beast Barracks, which is our cadet basic training. Through summer training sleeping outside at Camp Buckner when it’s 41 degrees and it’s raining on you and there’s no tent and rain is just peppering you in the face and your sleeping bag is soaking wet. Then the next day you’re up with a 100-pound rucksack on your back and it’s 90. These guys do that. And, it’s not fake. It’s not manufactured, you don’t bring people in to do that. That’s what they train to do – to go and be an infantry officer.
“That’s the thing about West Point and what it does to create leaders of character and tough, hard-minded people that are going to lead our Army, and defend our nation, and give us the freedom and opportunity to sit right here today. It’s because of the commitment that these guys and their classmates and all of our men and women that serve have. And so, the brotherhood that’s created and the bond that’s built, it’s about this team. These guys were fighting as hard as they could for each other tonight to be able to get that twelfth victory. It’s great to win it here.”
Daily choreographed Army’s longest drive (in terms of plays – 21) that marched 75 yards and used up 12:21. It was the longest drive in FBS play this season. In the process, Army converted three fourth-down situations, effectively sending the message that the Black Knights could gain a yard any time they needed to do so. From the moment that Gronotte’s PAT sailed through the uprights to make the score 21-3, it became apparent that, barring multiple severe Army injuries in the second half, the result had been determined.
“That’s just toughness by this team,” said Daily about being able to convert four of five fourth downs in the game. “We’ve done it all year. We are very aggressive on fourth down. That is just mental toughness. If we get close on fourth down we are going to go for it. Wish we would have the other one, too. It was there. I’m really proud of the guys. They don’t flinch when those big moments come on fourth down.”
Another Army player was also pleased with that drive.
“It was an awesome experience, for sure,” Reed said. “It definitely feels like forever when you're out there for 21 plays. That is what this culture is about. Putting your head down and being a tougher team and not getting tired. “
Daily, who finished sixth in Heisman Trophy balloting this year and became just the sixth player ever to run for 30 or more TD in college football history, was named the Offensive Player of the Game for his performance. His 32 rushing TD this year are the most ever by a QB (breaking the old standard of 31 set by Navy’s Keenan Reynolds in 2013) and the third-most (behind the 37 of Oklahoma State’s Barry Sanders in 1988 and the 33 of Wisconsin’s Montee Ball in 2011) in NCAA history. Daily finished the season with 1,659 rushing yards and 1,007 passing yards, becoming only the second Army QB to have 1,000 yards rushing and 1,000 yards passing in the same season after Kelvin Hopkins Jr. (2018).
Army LB Kalib Fortner earned Defensive Player of the Game honors on the strength of a team-high seven tackles, one sack and a pass breakup. While nothing can ever overcome the sting of losing the Army-Navy game, in future years the Army seniors will probably be able to fondly remember winning the most games ever in a single season for an Army team, becoming a conference champion for the first time, and adding Saturday’s bowl game victory as highlights of a very good – but not great – season.
(-CaMMVets Media-)
“That’s the thing about West Point and what it does to create leaders of character and tough, hard-minded people that are going to lead our Army, and defend our nation, and give us the freedom and opportunity to sit right here today. It’s because of the commitment that these guys and their classmates and all of our men and women that serve have. And so, the brotherhood that’s created and the bond that’s built, it’s about this team. These guys were fighting as hard as they could for each other tonight to be able to get that twelfth victory. It’s great to win it here.”
Daily choreographed Army’s longest drive (in terms of plays – 21) that marched 75 yards and used up 12:21. It was the longest drive in FBS play this season. In the process, Army converted three fourth-down situations, effectively sending the message that the Black Knights could gain a yard any time they needed to do so. From the moment that Gronotte’s PAT sailed through the uprights to make the score 21-3, it became apparent that, barring multiple severe Army injuries in the second half, the result had been determined.
“That’s just toughness by this team,” said Daily about being able to convert four of five fourth downs in the game. “We’ve done it all year. We are very aggressive on fourth down. That is just mental toughness. If we get close on fourth down we are going to go for it. Wish we would have the other one, too. It was there. I’m really proud of the guys. They don’t flinch when those big moments come on fourth down.”
Another Army player was also pleased with that drive.
“It was an awesome experience, for sure,” Reed said. “It definitely feels like forever when you're out there for 21 plays. That is what this culture is about. Putting your head down and being a tougher team and not getting tired. “
Daily, who finished sixth in Heisman Trophy balloting this year and became just the sixth player ever to run for 30 or more TD in college football history, was named the Offensive Player of the Game for his performance. His 32 rushing TD this year are the most ever by a QB (breaking the old standard of 31 set by Navy’s Keenan Reynolds in 2013) and the third-most (behind the 37 of Oklahoma State’s Barry Sanders in 1988 and the 33 of Wisconsin’s Montee Ball in 2011) in NCAA history. Daily finished the season with 1,659 rushing yards and 1,007 passing yards, becoming only the second Army QB to have 1,000 yards rushing and 1,000 yards passing in the same season after Kelvin Hopkins Jr. (2018).
Army LB Kalib Fortner earned Defensive Player of the Game honors on the strength of a team-high seven tackles, one sack and a pass breakup. While nothing can ever overcome the sting of losing the Army-Navy game, in future years the Army seniors will probably be able to fondly remember winning the most games ever in a single season for an Army team, becoming a conference champion for the first time, and adding Saturday’s bowl game victory as highlights of a very good – but not great – season.
(-CaMMVets Media-)
