Tulane, a good football team, just never stood a chance against Army.
Despite knowing exactly what the Black Knights would do – run the ball time after time after time – the Green Wave simply had no answers for a high-powered Black Knight offense or its stout defense, playing without three injured starters, on Friday night.
The result was a relatively easy 35-14 victory for No. 24 Army, giving the Black Knights the American Athletic Conference championship in their first year in the league and creating some talk that maybe this team, made up of future military officers who might one day be called to defend the nation, does deserve a spot in the College Football Playoffs when the 12 teams are announced tomorrow.
This game, played before just 14,016 frigid fans at Michie Stadium who came out for an 8 p.m. kickoff on a cold December night, has also raised some additional buzz that Army’s stellar senior quarterback Bryson Daily should get serious consideration for the Heisman Trophy when the award for the best college football player is announced next Saturday night.
Yes, Tulane, now 9-4, caused some of its own troubles. Yes, the Green Wave botched two field goal attempts, fumbled the football on a kickoff return and quarterback Darian Mensah threw an interception in the second quarter. Yes, Tulane had some untimely penalties that helped keep Army drives alive.
But this was Army’s night to shine and make a statement on primetime national television and the Black Knights, now 11-1 heading into their annual showdown with arch-rival Navy next Saturday in Washington, were perfect.
How so? Well first, Army was able to give punter James Wagenseller the night off. The Black Knights had six possessions and scored touchdowns on five of them (excluding possessions to end the half and game.) The sixth ended at the Tulane 4-yard line when coach Jeff Monken decided to go for it on an 4th-and-3 from the 5-yard line instead of trying a short field goal in the second quarter.
On top of that, the Black Knights had zero turnovers, zero penalties, had no offensive plays for a loss, were successful on four of five fourth-down conversions, dominated the time of possession with long drives and totaled 335 yards on the ground on 57 carries.
Daily, who ran for 126 yards and four touchdowns and was named the Most Outstanding Player of the game, was a perfect 2-for-2 on passing attempts. Daily, who has rushed for at least 100 yards in 10 straight games and multiple touchdowns in nine straight games, has now accumulated 29 running touchdowns this season, just two short of the FBS-level record of 31 rushing touchdowns by a quarterback, ironically set by Navy’s Keenan Reynolds in 2013.
This was not just the Bryson Daily show. Kanye Udoh ran for 158 yards and a touchdown, becoming only the third sophomore at Army to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a season. His 72-yard off-tackle scamper to the 2-yard line in the second quarter resulted in the Black Knights second score moments later. And, junior slotback Noah Short had 50 yards on eight carries and caught a crucial 8-yard pass from Daily to keep an early drive going.
The unsung heroes of this team came through as well. Army’s veteran offensive line dominated. They opened holes and pushed the bigger Tulane defensive front back two or three yards in the first half and, in the second half, opened holes and pushed the Green Wave defense back four or five yards at a time.
“I think it was their best game of the season, they played incredible,” Daily said about his offensive line. “They came into the game with an attitude, hearing that (the Tulane) defense would know our offense and would play really well against us. They really stepped it up today.”
The Army defense was just as good. Andon Thomas’ interception in the second quarter set up the Black Knights third score, another Daily run, that moved Army ahead 21-0 and the depleted defense, without those three starters, barely missed a beat, holding Tulane, which came into the game averaging nearly 40 points per contest, to just a season-low 14 points, seven coming very late in the game. Sophomore outside linebacker Elo Modozie had a key sack in the second quarter.
Special teams? Hmmm. All kicker Trey Gronotte had to do was convert five extra points and cause a fumble when he raced down the field on a kickoff and punched the ball out of Tulane kick returner Rayshawn Pleasant’s arms, a ball that was recovered by the Black Knights senior safety Tommy Zitiello.
“Hats off to Army, a really good football team,” said Tulane coach Jon Sumrall. “The quarterback is a warrior, a battler and I have total respect for Bryson Daily. We tried to limit them, I didn’t think we could stop them. You know they are going to get yards. They bullied us a bit and got a lot of extra yards because we did not tackle the ball very well. They created a lot of positive plays.”
Even with the big Navy game and a bowl game ahead, Monken was happy to throw out kudos to his squad. “What a great night for Army football and what a great night for West Point,” said Monken, now in his 11th season at West Point. “I think tonight is just an embodiment of what this entire season has been for this team. The determination, the effort, the toughness, discipline, the brotherhood, the love for each other, the grittiness these guys have displayed since day one and game one. That is what showed up tonight.
“It has been fun to be a part of this team with them all season long. I have coached a lot of seasons and a lot of games and a lot of teams. There are very few times in my career that I can say I was as proud of a team as I am as this one. Great to be champions and celebrate with these guys.”
