Army football: Black Knights woes can be traced to fundamentals
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WEST POINT – Jeff Monken didn’t mince words as he discussed the plight of his Army football team.
“We’re a team that needs to win badly,’’ Monken said ahead of Saturday night’s perilous showdown at No. 15 Wake Forest. It comes a year after the Demon Deacons won a wild 70-56 game at Michie Stadium with many of the same characters – namely slinging quarterback Sam Hartman – in place.
Army is coming off a disappointing 31-14 home setback to Georgia State, a game fraught with mistakes that the Black Knights can’t make with a razor-thin margin of error. Two fumbles lost, a shanked punt and missed targets in a passing attack were just some of the critical miscues, but Monken points to one essential aspect – blocking – that is affecting both sides of the ball.
“Here’s what I know,’’ Monken said. “If you block the guys that are trying to take the ball from you or stop you and they can't get off the block, you're going to win every time.
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“When you block well, you win on offense. When you defeat blocks and tackle well on defense, they play good defense. We’re not blocking or sustaining blocks or getting off blocks and getting ball carriers to the ground consistently enough. When we do, we'll be a better football team.’’
Army’s defense actually improved, with single-digit missed tackles, Monken said, “but one is too many,’’ he added.
Running near empty
Army’s vaunted rushing attack has been hampered by a series of injuries.
Bullish fullback Jakobi Buchanan injured his left knee on a long run against Villanova on Sept. 24. He ran for 56 yards against Georgia State wearing a brace but couldn’t defeat a goal-line standoff from the 1 which could have put Army on top in the fourth quarter. Fellow fullback Tyson Riley has been battling ankle issues (even with his 158-yard game against Villanova) and left Saturday’s game with an apparent injury to his right side.
More:Army struggles in loss to Georgia State
Freshman Hayden Reed continues to impress the coaches and Army had to call upon sophomore Markel Johnson – coming off his own nagging injury – as well at fullback.
“Some young guys are stepping up,’’ Monken noted. “It was good to see that.’’
“That's an impressive duo there,’’ quarterback Cade Ballard said. “It takes a lot to play that position at a high level in our offense. For those guys to be that young and execute the way they do and to physically be able to do it is impressive, and that earns nothing but respect from their teammates and from me.’’
Instability at the position, though, is forcing the coaches “to conjure up other things we can do with different plays within the scheme in the system,’’ said Monken, who can turn to his slot backs and quarterbacks for more running plays. “(The fullbacks) are still a big part of what we do … (and) the threat of them running the ball and what they can do is a big part of the offense.
“We’re going to work as hard as we can to get them healthy and have them ready for Saturday, and that goes for our whole team.’’
Army still ranks No. 2 in the Football Bowl Subdivision with 298.8 rushing yards per game.
Don’t give up the ship
Things may look bleak but Army players say don’t write us off yet.
The 1-3 start is “not where we want to be,’’ Monken stated, but the players have not given up hope.
“We're always going to continue to work, no matter the circumstances,’’ said linebacker Peyton Hampton. “There's a lot of guys that are just angry with the situation, and not necessarily in a bad way but in a way that we're going to use that anger to try to continue to build, continue to grow into a better team. … We just have to work.’’
Following Wake Forest, the schedule does get demonstrably easier. FCS foe Colgate (currently 1-4) and Louisiana-Monroe (2-3) come calling after Wake. There will be a spirited rematch with Air Force (4-1) in Arlington, Texas, on Nov. 5, followed by Troy (3-2), Connecticut (2-4) and Massachusetts (1-4). Then there’s always the unpredictable nature of Army vs. Navy (1-3) on Dec. 10.
Flashback:Army drops wild 70-56 game to Wake Forest
Notable
There are only 14 FBS teams with records worse than Army. … The Black Knights are 17-point underdogs to Wake Forest – that is the biggest spread since host Michigan was favored by 19 in 2019, a game Army lost in double-overtime. … Saturday’s 7:30 p.m. game will air on YES Network, ESPN College Extra, ESPN3.com and other ACC regional outlets.
Twitter: @KenMcMillanTHR
This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Army West Point Wake Forest NCAA college football Georgia State
