Rarely a week goes by, at his weekly press conference, where Jeff Monken does not call the upcoming opponent and its coach outstanding and hard to beat. It is standard coach-speak, a sound decision by just about every coach in the country to not bad-mouth the competition and give them something to put on their bulletin boards for additional motivation.
This week, traveling to 5-1 (2-0 in the American Conference) Tulane Saturday starting at noon EDT, Monken is absolutely right.
The Green Wave have knocked off two Power 4 teams (Northwestern and Duke), losing only to No. 4 ranked Mississippi, and has a multi-talented quarterback in senior Jake Retzlaff, a transfer from BYU, where he led the Cougars to an 11-2 record in 2024 and threw for nearly 3,000 yards and 20 touchdowns. Last week, against an East Carolina team that dominated Army in September, Retzlaff, who has not thrown an interception this year, passed for 347 yards to 12 different receivers and two touchdowns in a 26-19 victory over the Pirates.
“It is awesome watching them play,” Monken said on Tuesday, noting that Army does not even travel with 12 players who can catch the ball. “We have turned our sights on these guys. They are talented, well-coached and just a tremendous football team. Since 2022, they are number one in the country for best win percentage in a conference. This is a program that has risen to among the nation’s best.
“They are stout on defense and great against the run. They have done a terrific job of taking the ball away from people. They have one of the best turnover margins in the country. I think they are plus six right now. We have a lot of challenges, but we are excited for the opportunity.”
It is also a program that Monken’s Army team needs to beat if the Black Knights want to be considered among the best squads in the American Conference this year. The read on Army (3-3 overall and 2-2 in the American) thus far is a team that somehow managed to beat host Kansas State in early September and also somehow managed to lose two overtime games at home where they had a chance to win both in the closing seconds of regulation.
The big question is whether Army is improving game by game, or whether the American Conference schedule makers accidentally threw two bottom feeders, UAB and Charlotte, into this part of the schedule to create an impression that the Black Knights look better than they really are.
Army’s offense played well into the third quarter against Charlotte at Michie Stadium on Saturday, grabbing a 24-0 lead on the 49ers. But, coincidentally at the same time that Monken took starting quarterback Cale Hellums out in favor of backup Dewayne Coleman, the offense struggled the rest of the game.
“In the first half, on offense, (we were) controlling the clock and being able to run the football,” said Monken, who beat Tulane in the American Conference championship game last December at Michie but has an 1-4 record overall against the Green Wave. “We want to improve on those things and be ready to play what is a great Tulane football team.”
Hellums will get the start again Saturday and the hope is that winning two straight games might give the Black Knights enough confidence to compete with Tulane, which comes into the game a 10.5 favorite, according to oddsmakers.
To win, Army will have to continue to control the clock (Army is best in the nation in time of possession at 36:17 minutes per game) and keep Retzlaff and his offense off the field for as long as possible. It also means implementing plays that keep the Green Wave defense, ranked 95th in the nation, off balance. Obviously, the Black Knights are going to have to win the turnover battle, as well.
An improving Army’s defense, which has given up just three touchdowns in the last 11 quarters, will need to put pressure on Retzlaff and, at the same time, keep up with his speedy receivers.
“I think (the defense) has improved,” Monken said, noting that there are seven new starters on defense. “What we did the last two weeks was tackle a little better. We cut our missed tackles in half from the East Carolina game to the UAB game and cut them a little bit more against Charlotte.”
