Sure, Army quarterback Bryson Daily returned to the field after missing the Air Force game because of an injury and rattled off 153 rushing yards and two touchdowns. And, sure, with Daily in control, Army dominated the time of possession by more than a two to one ratio.
But, on Saturday, it was the Army defense that truly made the difference as the Black Knights throttled a high-powered North Texas offense in route to a 14-3 victory over the Mean Green in Denton, Texas.
The victory moved No. 18-ranked Army to 9-0 on the season and 7-0 in the American Athletic Conference and into the driver’s seat for not only a spot in the league’s championship game but a strong chance to host that game on Friday night, Dec. 6. It was also Army 13th victory in a row, dating back to last October.
North Texas (5-4 overall, 2-3 in the AAC) entered the game with one of the nation’s top scoring offenses. The Mean Green were averaging about 41 points and more than 500 total offensive yards per game. Junior quarterback Chandler Morris had thrown for more than 300 yards in five straight games, was fourth in the nation in passing yards and second in passing touchdowns with 26. Plus, Morris had his pick of four receivers who had accumulated at least 205 receiving yards thus far this season.
But, the Army defense had something to say about that on Saturday. Coming into the game with a nation-leading 11 points allowed per game, the Black Knights seemed to have the North Texas offense confused, especially as the Mean Green got closer and closer to the end zone.
Morris did manage to complete 24 of 37 passes for 214 yards, but he was picked off in the end zone twice. In fact, after North Texas settled for a field goal on the game’s opening drive in the first quarter, the Mean Green were stymied the next three times they got into the red zone, including a four-down, goal-line stance in the first half. In the second half, the Black Knights’ Donovan Platt picked Morris in the end zone midway through the fourth quarter and Justin Weaver followed up with another interception in the end zone with just over two minutes left.
“The big thing for us was just not giving up the big one,” said senior safety and co-captain Max DiDomenico. “The key for us was mixing up our disguises, mixing up so we can throw the quarterback off a bit and not give up the home run balls. We did that pretty well today. I was proud of the guys. The D-line did their job. They only ran the ball about 10 times. It was a good game.”
It was the second time in a row that the Army defense held its opponent to just three points in a game. “We take pride in the red zone,” said DiDomenico. “If we can give them just three points, that is a win for us. We know our offense can control the ball and get a score. I think everyone (on defense) kind of amps up a little bit and gets ready to win on the goal line.”
Offensively, Army seemed to have a few problems of its own. After just one turnover in its first eight games, Daily was intercepted for the first time all season early in the third quarter and Kanye Udoh fumbled the ball with just four minutes left in the game. Plus, the Black Knights were called for five penalties that hampered the offense.
But, Daily was back to form, carrying the ball 36 times and scoring on a 10-yard run to put Army ahead 7-3 in the first half. In the second half, Daily scored on a run from the two-yard line to complete a 94-yard, 21-play drive that took nearly 14 minutes of the third quarter and put the Black Knights ahead, 14-3.
“That was incredible and that is what we needed at that point of the game,” said Daily. “I am just so proud of all the guys to be locked in for all those plays. That is really tough and it was awesome to see that.”
Noting that the last time Army played at North Texas, the Black Knights came out a 52-49 loser in 2017, Monken gave a lot of credit to Nate Woody, Army’s defensive coordinator.
“Well, what a game, it is nice to come down here and get a win,” said Army coach Jeff Monken.
“I can’t say enough about the job Nate Woody does. He is a tremendous defensive coordinator to be able to translate from a triple option team (Air Force) to an air raid team and give up three points. This is one of the most prolific offense in the country. They are scoring points against everybody and lots and lots of yards against everybody. (Morris) has thrown for 400 yards in a game four times this year and nobody else in the country has done that. That is a good football that we played today and a tremendous offense.
“Our defense played our hearts out. We had our backs to the wall in the first half and got the goal line stand. We gave up some plays to get them down there in the red zone in the second half, but we came up with a couple of interceptions. If they don’t come up with those plays, it is obviously a different football game.”
Photo: J Banzet (Army Football)
