Army Football Is Having A Historic Season
After amassing a 12-12 record over the past two seasons, Army football was due for a resurgent 2024 campaign. That is exactly what has happened - and in a big way, too.
In fairness, 2022 and 2023 were not devoid of triumph for the Black Knights. After all, they won the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy last year, and they have defeated Navy two consecutive times.
Plenty of things were missing from those previous years, though. Army did not attain bowl eligibility in either of the aforementioned seasons, and the mostly dominant stretch from 2016-2021 had seemed like a distant memory.
Army Is Off To Its Best Start In Nearly 30 Years
The Balck Knights of the Hudson are 6-0 overall, and 5-0 in American Athletic Conference play. Not too shabby for a program that had not been in a conference for 20 years.
Making this season even greater is the fact that Army remains without a loss this far into a season for the first time since 1996. That year, it was Bob Sutton's sixth season as the sideline boss. In fact, it was so long ago, that West Point's football team was still called "The Cadets" and not the "Black Knights". The team was officially called the Black Knights beginning in 1999.
The 1996 team, one of the greatest teams in the storied history of West Point, started off 9-0, won the coveted CIC Trophy, and finished 10-2. They were also ranked 25th in the final Associated Press poll.
Ronnie McAda was QB1 for the majority of that esteemed 1996 campaign. Despite sustaining an injury, the Irving, Texas native impressed that season. McAda rushed for a career-high 134 yards in an epic victory against Navy that year. He finished his career with 4,036 yards of total offense, which is seventh-best all-time in program history.
Fun fact: McAda was the final pick of the 1997 NFL Draft. He was selected by the Green Bay Packers and was the last Black Knight to be drafted until the Lions drafted Caleb Campbell in 2008.
A Historical Program Continues To Make More History
Thought that was it? Not quite.
Head coach Jeff Monken has catapulted his troops to No. 23 in the Associated Press poll. This is Army's first appearance in the AP Top 25 since 2020, and the third time overall under Monken that they have attained a national ranking.
In 2018, Army was ranked No. 19 in the final AP poll - their highest ranking under Monken. Arch nemesis Navy also found itself in the Top 25. The Associated Press has the Midshipmen at No. 25, which means that this is the first time since 1960 that both Army and Navy are ranked in the same season.
Oh, and how about the longest active winning streak in the FBS?
Yes, the Cadets have now won ten consecutive games, dating back to a 23-3 dismantling of Air Force on November 4th of last year.
Nearly 365 days have passed since Army has lost a game. This matched Army's longest winning streak under Jeff Monken, back when they won nine straight to finish 2018, and the opener in 2019.
The Black Knights Are Going Bowling Again
As if this season could not have started any better, the brave, old Army team has earned another prize: bowl eligibility. Following a 44-10 demolition of UAB,
Army, whose most recent bowl game appearance was in the 2021 Armed Forces Bowl, had this objective underlined and accentuated all throughout training camp. Now, that is one goal that can be checked off.
West Point has had ample success in bowl games since Monken got the job. In five bowl games since 2016, Army is 4-1, with three of those wins coming in the Armed Forces Bowl. The other win was the Heart of Dallas Bowl in 2016.
Army Is Seeking Something Greater Than A Bowl Game Appearance
The American Athletic Conference has tie-ins with the Fenway Bowl, the Military Bowl, and, on a rotating basis, the Armed Forces Bowl and Hawaii Bowl. However, Army is seeking something far more prestigious: a potential College Football Playoff bid.
While it sounds asinine, Army does in fact have a pathway to the new 12-team tournament. Right from the College Football Playoff's website, it goes like this: the 12 participating teams will be the five conference champions ranked highest by the CFP selection committee. In addition to that, the rest of the playoff field will be comprised of the next seven highest-ranked programs.
It gets more intricate. The four highest-ranked teams will be seeded one through four, and all will receive a first-round bye. The fifth conference champion will be seeded where it was ranked, or at No. 12 if it is ranked outside the top 12.
The eight teams ranked fifth through 12th will compete in a first round, with the higher seeds hosting the lower seeds either on campus or at other sites picked by the higher seed.
There is much more to it, but the bottom line is this: Army could very well be in the College Football Playoff when it is all said and done. ESPN's Playoff Predictor currently gives Army a 25% chance of advancing to the Playoff - higher than Ole Miss and Kansas State, and right behind LSU.
Bryson Daily Is A Bona Fide Heisman Candidate
When West Point last produced a Heisman winner, Alaska and Hawaii were not yet admitted to the Union. It was 1958, and Pete Dawkins hoisted college football's most cherished hardware.
That year, Dawkins finished fifth in receiving yards - yes, you read that correctly - and hauled in six receiving touchdowns. West Point's First Captain that year also had the third-most scrimmage yards in the nation, with 922.
With 1,394 votes, Dawkins usurped Iowa quarterback Randy Duncan to take home the Heisman. Now, nearly 70 years later, a new Heisman candidate has emerged for Army.
Under Daily's stoic leadership and gritty durability, the Black Knights easily have the country's best rushing offense, and Army's field general himself is seventh in rushing. ESPN has Army's vaunted flexbone option ranked as the fourth-best offense in the entire FBS, to boot.
Daily is on pace to rush for 1,476 yards, which would surpass Collin Mooney for the second-most in a single season in program history. He is also on his way to amassing 2,440 yards of total offense, which would be the most in academy history in a season.
The "Weak Schedule" Argument Is Nonsense
Army has passed every test, overcome every hurdle, and has decimated every opponent so far. Yes, they have had a weak schedule, but this is a program that had not played in a conference since George W. Bush was seeking re-election. There are plenty of other teams with weak schedules that have not performed at the level Army has.
It's not like Army has played down to its competition, either. Their plus-179 point differential is way better than every team in the AAC. In fact, the only other teams in the FBS that have a better point differential are Ohio State, Indiana, Texas, Tennessee, and Ole Miss.
Through six games, Army's closest contest is a 24-7 win against Florida Atlantic University. Their final October game will be at home against conference rival East Carolina on the 19th. After that, a difficult five-game stretch is what remains.
The Final Five Games Will Define Army's Season
Air Force is having a difficult season, but the Falcons will be seeking revenge after being humiliated by Army last year. Service academy games, for obvious reasons, are generally very close and hard-fought. Blindly expecting a repeat of last year would be unwise.
The following week, Army will play old foe North Texas - a team that is 5-1 with one of the most prolific offenses in the country. Quarterback Chandler Morris, a junior, is seventh in passing yards, second in touchdown passes, and is ranked by Pro Football Focus as the third-best quarterback in the nation.
Five days before Thanksgiving, Army has a showdown against the now-12th-ranked Fighting Irish at Yankee Stadium. Their final home game will be against common opponent UTSA, and then the annual battle for glory against currently undefeated and 25th-ranked Navy.
To this point, it has been a historic, special season for Army. Their slate of November and December games will determine the full extent of the history they continue to make. For now, Army is a frightening matchup for anybody.
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