2021 MMQB (UConn) Sponsored by Crown Plaza (Suffern, NY)
A Tale of Two Halves
The Army Black Knights was an overwhelming favorite coming into the game against the UConn Huskies. The Huskies were 0-3 and playing under a new head coach. Army was 2-0 on the season and undefeated in their last 11 games at Michie Stadium. So it came as no big surprise that the Black Knights jumped out to a 42-0 lead at end of the first half and were able to cruise to victory in the second half. Although UConn outscored the Black Knight reserves in the second half, but never really came close to closing the big gap that Army built up in the first half.
Wide receiver Sean Eckert, Quarterback Tyhier Tyler, Fullback Tyson Riley, and Center Connor Bishop were missing from the offensive lineup due to injuries, and Cornerback Julian McDuffie was out on defense; so the lineup in the first half of the game was essentially the same as the one that finished the game against WKU last week.
Calling up the Reserves
With the big 42 point lead, Head Coach Jeff Monken had an opportunity to look at a lot of his reserves in the second half of the game. According to the participation list in the Box Score, 80 players participated in the game for the Black Knights, but that would include all special teams as well as offense and defense; so we took a look at the PFF lists.
PFF identified 31 players who took snaps on defense, which would mean that at least 9 of them were not on the 2-deep depth chart. Likewise, PFF identified 37 players who took snaps on offense, indicating that at least 13 players on offense were from 3d team or lower on the depth chart. Zooming in on those stats we took a closer look at who those players were.
With the number of fresh jersey numbers in the game, it was difficult to determine just how deep Monken dipped into his reserves but we do have a few solid examples that we think are indicative. Third string quarterback, Jemel Jones, played more than half the game (46 of the 79 offensive snaps); and senior 5th string fullback Wilson Catoe was in for most of the second half (25 snaps) along with 6th string sophomore FB Shacori Williams who played 14 snaps.
In addition, the two slotbacks who took most of the snaps in the second half were freshman Laquan Veney (38 snaps with 1 carry for 12 yards) and junior Justin Lescouflair (38 snaps with 3 carries for 7 net yards) neither of whom is listed on the depth chart.
While the second team OL played most of the second half, there were a few new numbers there as well. I was not sure who #55 was at RT the second half, but the roster says it’s freshman Chris Hunter and PFF showed him with 15 snaps in the game. I had the same identity issue with #45 who played 17 snaps at WR, and the roster says he was another freshman, Casey Reynolds. At any rate, it’s fairly evident that neither of them is among the two-deep.
On the defensive side, several players who are not on the two-deep depth chart showed up in PFF list and in some cases the defensive stats as well, including sophomore OLB Jimmy Ciarlo (15 snaps, 1 tackle); freshman DB Max DiDomenico (4 snaps, 1 tackle); and junior DL Darius Richardson (13 snaps, 1 tackle); safety Damon Washington (11 snaps); LB Tyler Rafferty (14 snaps); DT Nikai Butler (5 snaps); DT Dre Miller (5 snaps); LB Keeron Henderson (10 snaps); and DT Tyler Komoroski (12 snaps). I’ve found that PFF is notoriously bad about identifying players correctly, so we can’t say for certain that these names are accurate, but it’s still quite apparent that it wasn’t just the second stringers playing in the second half of the game. Finding a few weaknesses in that level of inexperience should not have been all that difficult for the UConn defensive coordinator. DCs are always on the lookout for numbers they don’t see on the opponent’s depth chart.
Lots of Good, A little Bad but no Ugly
As might be expected in a big win like this, we saw a lot of Good things, very few Bad things, and, considering it was the reserves who played the entire second half, we really didn’t see anything we’d describe as Ugly. We made some allowances for players getting their first tastes of college football in the second half.
The Good
• Another Awesome Display of Passing Efficiency: Army West Point came into the game leading the country in Passing Efficiency, and they undoubtedly improved on their lead in the NCAA ratings. Christian Anderson and Jemel Jones combined for 3 completions in 3 attempts for 107 yards and 1 TD with no interceptions for a team Efficiency Rating of 399.6 for the game. Junior WR Ryan Jacovick made a particularly nice catch to boost the efficiency rating. The Black Knights averaged 35.7 yards per catch, which almost certainly boosted their NCAA lead in that category as well.
• Balanced Rushing Offense: UConn appeared determined to stop the fullback dive; so Monken and OC Brent Davis attacked the perimeter again this week, more so in the first half when they were going for scores than they did in the second half when the focus was more on controlling the clock. By my calculations, the Slotbacks carried the ball 12 times for 185 yards, Fullbacks carried the ball 32 times for 124 yards and Quarterbacks carried the ball 23 times for 91 yards. The slotbacks were particularly dominant in the first half with Tyrell Robinson and Brandon Walters combining for 142 yards.
• Another Broughton Interception: For the second time in as many weeks, captain and safety Marquel Broughton picked off an opponent pass for the only turnover of the game.
• Ball Control: Once again, Army dominated the clock with a Time of Possession of 40:36 despite the fact that they scored rather quickly on their first three possessions. The reserves led by Jemel Jones did an exceptional job of controlling clock in the second half against the UConn starting defense. Army’s reserves controlled the ball for 23:36 in the second half, severely limiting UConn’s opportunity to narrow the scoring gap. Jones engineered the two longest drives of the game, the first taking 7:37 off the clock and the second taking 11:17 off the clock.
• Better Overall Defense: With a young freshman quarterback at the helm, we wouldn’t expect to see UConn’s offense provide too much trouble for the Black Knight defense, although he did demonstrate good athleticism and real potential as a passer. The starting defense held the Huskies to 37 yards rushing and 47 yards passing while holding UConn scoreless in the first half. The Army reserves held the Huskies to a modest 79 yards rushing and 62 yards passing in the second half. UConn exploited the defense’s inexperience in the second half but that’s to be expected.
• Winning the Turnover Battle: Once again Army West Point won the turnover battle with a margin of plus 1. We were impressed with the fact that the reserves didn’t turn the ball over in their half of the game despite a lot of new faces in the backfield.
• Mental Discipline: One factor that generally distinguishes service academy teams from others is their team discipline, as exemplified by fewer penalties and fewer turnovers. Despite playing reserves the entire second half, Army had just one penalty in the game, and it was a pass interference call that we generally don’t attribute to a mental lapse.
• Kicking Game: The place kicking team had another flawless day with 1 of 1 in field goals and 7 of 7 PATs. For the second week in a row, Monken didn’t have to send out the Punt unit. That was good news for everyone but the punt team, which is not getting many opportunities to display their talents this season.
The Bad
Not too much Bad to comment on this week. We do not hold the reserves to the same standard that we hold the starters; so we’ll go a little easier on the second half performances.
• Giving up a Touchdown on a Kickoff: Frankly, we don’t know if it was the regular kick coverage team or a reserve group that allowed the kick return for a touchdown in the third quarter, but it’s never good to see that happen. It will give Special Teams Coach Sean Saturnio something to work on this coming week.
Nothing Ugly to Report
Notable Performances
With the game time divided about equally between the regulars and reserves, naming MVPs was a little tougher this week, particularly on defense. With UConn limited to 45 plays total, divided about equally between first and second half, there wasn’t as much opportunity for individual defenders to distinguish themselves.
Offensive MVP
Joe’s Pick: Tyrell Robinson - could have gone w Anderson again but for variety Im going with Robinson for his 70-yard TD run.
AM’s Pick: This was a tough one for me because offensively, I could start with the entire offensive line, QB Christian Anderson and slotback Tyrell Robinson. I was really impressed with Anderson's maturity running the offense throughout the game, along with his decision-making... he's my offensive MVP for Saturday's game.
Gordon’s Pick: Tyrell Robinson was my choice for Offensive MVP. He led the team with 84 yards rushing, and his 70 yard up the middle was a highlight of the game.
PFF’s Highest Rating: went to Josh Lingenfelter with a 92.9. Christian Anderson was a close second with a rating of 91.7.
Defensive MVP
AM Allan Opines: This was truly a team effort on defense, but I will have to go with junior safety Marquel Broughton. His 1st quarter INT set the pace for the first half, which flowed throughout the half.
Joe chose Marquel Broughton again for his INT and 3 tackles in the first half. When the starting D plays that little its hard to pick an MVP.
Gordon: With 45 defensive plays covered by 31 defenders, there wasn’t a lot of opportunity for any one individual to stand out in the team effort. Marquel Broughton’s interception for the second game in a row gave him the edge in my opinion.
PFF’s Highest Rating: went to Marquel Broughton with an 86.0. Andre Carter’s 83.1 was a close second.
Other Notable Performances
• Senior QB Christian Anderson had another stellar performance despite playing just 22 of Army’s 70 snaps. His 2 completions in 2 passing attempts with 1 TD earned him a Passing Efficiency rating of 559.0 for the game. He added 21 yards rushing on 6 attempts with 2 rushing TDs.
• Sophomore WR Isaiah Alston scored his first career touchdown on a 39 yard reception from Anderson in the first quarter.
• Senior FB Wilson Catoe scored his first career touchdown. He had 35 rushing yards in 10 attempts in the second half.
• Junior WR Ryan Jackovic, playing in his first game of the season made his first career reception, a terrific catch against tight coverage in the third quarter.
• Junior MLB Peyton Hampton had a career high 4 tackles, tying him with Malkelm Morrison for the game high. Morrison had 0.5 TFLs as well.
• Junior Nate Smith led the team in Sacks with 1.5.
• Sophomore SB Tyrell Robinson topped his previous season high with 84 yards in 3 carries in this game. Robinson also returned 2 punts for 14 yards.
• Junior Place Kicker Cole Talley was a perfect 4 of 4 in PATs, and sophomore Quinn Maretski converted all 3 of his PAT attampts as well as a 28 yard field goal.
• The Offensive Line had another good outing with Noah Knapp ably filling in for the injured Connor Bishop at Center. The second team OL distinguished themselves with an absence of penalties belaying their relative inexperience.
• Senior OG Zack Ward and Junior DL Chris Frey made their first career starts.
Next Up: Army West Point hosts Miami of Ohio
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