In years past, it could have been another heartbreaking loss. It could have been another game of inches where the bounce of the ball went against Army and in favor of the opponent.
But not this year. Not with senior quarterback Bryson Daily again firmly in charge and the Army defense making the key plays that can result in victory. Not with this united team of players.
On Saturday, with its nation-best rushing game not producing as needed, Army turned to the arm of Daily and its defensive unit which caused three turnovers to hold off UTSA, 29-24 in an American Athletic Conference game at Michie Stadium.
The victory clinched first place in the conference for No. 25 Army, now 10-1 overall and 8-0 in the AAC, and the opportunity to host Tulane at 8 p.m. Friday in the league’s championship game in the Black Knights’ first year in the conference. It also secured the Black Knights fourth 10-win season in program history, three of them coming during the 11-year reign of Jeff Monken, who won his 80th game as the Army head coach.
The victory wasn’t easy. UTSA, 6-6 overall and 4-4 in the AAC, came into the contest on a hot streak, winning three games in a row and scoring at least 44 points in each of its last four games. There was little doubt that the Roadrunners wanted to make a statement against one of the conference’s best squad.
The Roadrunner defense was prepared to handle the Army running game, containing much of the Black Knights’ inside attack and outside game. The result was just 217 rushing yards on 60 carries for Army, well off the Black Knights average of 322 yards per game this year.
But, UTSA had no answers for Daily, who still managed to run for 147 yards on 27 carries, his ninth straight 100-plus rushing game, and two touchdowns. He now has 25 rushing touchdowns this season and has tied the single-season AAC rushing touchdown record with three more games to play. More impressively, Daily also threw for 190 yards on 10 completions, including one touchdown pass in the first quarter to Tyrell Robinson, his first score of the year, that put the Black Knights ahead 7-0.
He also found senior Casey Reynolds for four passes that accounted for 81 yards and Liam Fortner grabbed his first catch of the year, a 28-yarder that set up kicker’s Trey Gronotte’s third field goal of the day.
“Seeing guys like Liam (Fortner), T-Rob (Tyrell Robinson) make big plays is awesome,” said Daily. “Guys like Casey (Reynolds), who has been there all season making plays, ran some really good routes against some tight man coverage and made some plays.”
Army’s defense actually decided the game. A potential game-winning UTSA drive late in the fourth quarter was stopped when Gavin Shields deflected a long pass from the Roadrunners’ Owen McCown that was then snatched in the air by teammate Casey Larkin on the Army 14-yard line with 1:14 left in the game.
Before that, little-used backup safety Collin Matteson, a junior that Monken said he thought might never play a snap at Army a couple of years ago, had his first day in the sun for the Black Knights, grabbing a McCown pass, also deep in Army territory, to end a UTSA drive early in the fourth quarter. Two plays later, Daily raced for a 42-yard touchdown to put the Black Knights ahead, 28-17.
There were more outstanding defensive plays. Teammates Kalib Fortner and Chance Keith stopped UTSA’s Brandon High on a high-stakes, 4th-and-1 on its own 16-yard line on the first play of the fourth quarter. Less than three minutes later, Daily pushed over from the one-yard line to give Army a 22-17 lead.
Near the end of the first half, Andon Thomas recovered a UTSA fumble on the Roadrunners’ 45-yard line, which led to a 35-yard field goal by Gronotte to give the Black Knights a 13-10 halftime lead.
“It was a great team win,” said Daily. “It was great to see the defense play their hearts out like they’ve done all season. We knew a close game was coming at some point this season. That was today. I’m just proud of the fight in our guys. That was really good to see.”
Monken made a point to compliment Thomas and Fortner, his two starting inside linebackers. “Those two guys are both guys that are team leaders,” he said. “They’re not team captains, but they’re on the leadership council voted by their teammates and classmates on the team. Deservedly so. They’re both really, really good players and good leaders. They’ll probably find themselves as captains next year just because of who they are and how much they meant to our team.”
Thomas, who has emerged as a force on defense called it a team effort, on Saturday and throughout the season. “I’m super proud of the guys,” the junior who registered 14 tackles in the game said. “Everybody is doing their 1/11th. Obviously, it was not a great outing last week (a 49-14 loss to No. 6 Notre Dame.) So, we had a great week of practice this week, bounced back, and put it in the past. Everybody did their job well, communicated well. I’m just proud of the guys.”
Gaining the homefield advantage for the conference championship game is something that no one can ignore, especially against a team like Tulane, which is 9-3 overall and 7-1 in conference play.
“I’m excited to know we’re going to get a chance to play one more time here at Michie Stadium next Friday night,” said Monken. “We’re looking forward to the opportunity to play in the championship game. It’s going to take a great effort next week. Tulane has an unbelievable team, well-coached. It will take the very best effort we’ve shown this entire season to win the game, but I know our guys are excited about having that opportunity. It’s great to get a win for our guys today.”
