Army was a huge favorite going into the game and the Black Knights built an insurmountable 42-0 lead before Jeff Monken sent in the reserves to play the entire second half.
UConn took advantage by outscoring the Army reserves in the second half, but the outcome was never in doubt as the reserve offense still dominated time of possession to keep UConn from getting close.
Here’s how it all unfolded:
First Quarter - Army jumped out to an early 14-0 lead
Army West Point won the toss and deferred to the second half. UConn was held to 6 yards in 3 downs and was forced to punt. Tyrell Robinson fielded the punt on the Army 36 and was dropped immediately. Fullback Cade Barnard was held to 2 yards on the first play of the Army possession, but slotback Brandon Walters took a pitch on second down and ran 58 yards to the UConn 5. Two plays later, Christian Anderson scored from 2 yards out to give Army a 7-0 lead. (4 plays, 64 yards in 1:56)
On their second possession, UConn picked up 2 first downs to midfield before Army forced a turnover on downs at the UConn 49.
UConn held Army to 9 yards on the next 3 plays, but Jacobi Buchanan got just enough yardage for the first down on fourth and one. On the next play, Anderson found Isaiah Alston wide open for a 39 yard TD to increase the lead to 14-0. (5 plays, 49 yards in 2:31)
UConn lost 7 yards in three plays and had to punt again. Robinson fielded the punt on the Army 45 and returned it 15 yards to the UConn 40.
The Black Knights picked up three straight first downs and closed out the quarter threatening to score again with a second and goal at the UConn 2 yard line.
Second Quarter - Army scored 28 unanswered points to buile a 42-0 lead at the half
Anderson was stopped short on the first play of the second quarter, but followed the surge of his offensive line into the end zone on the next play to increase Army’s lead to 21-0. (8 plays, 40 yards, 4:27)
UConn picked up 1 first down but an illegal block held them to negative yardage on their second series and the Huskies had to punt again. The punt rolled dead on the Army 18.
Anderson picked up a quick first down to the 30 and Robinson followed with a 70 yard run up the middle for Army’s fourth score. (2 plays, 82 yards, 0:51)
What appears to becoming a habit, Safety Marquel Broughton jumped the route on a UConn pass attempt to take the ball back at the UConn 33.
Anderson went to the air to find TE Josh Lingenfelter for a 64 yard gain to the UConn 3 yard line. Buchanan finished off the drive 2 plays later to increase Army’s lead to 35-0. (3 plays, 33 yards, 1:26)
UConn picked up 2 first downs before Army held them at downs on the Army 45.
Jemel Jones came in to replace Anderson at QB, and led the Black Knights on a 10 play scoring drive capped off by a 1 yard plunge by Anthony Adkins to increase the lead to 42-0 with 16 seconds left in the half. (10 plays, 55 yards, 5:49)
First Half Statistics
• Total Offense: Army 323 yards; UConn 84 yards
• Rushing Offense: Army 30 attempts for 253 yards; UConn 13 attempts for 37 yards
• Passing Offense: Army 2 completions in 2 attempt for 70 yards and 1 TD with no INTs; UConn 7 completions in 18 attempts for 47 yards and no TDs with 1 INT.
• Penalties: Army none; UConn 1 penalty for 15 yards
• Turnovers: Army led the turnover battle 1-0
• Time of Possession: Army 17:00; UConn 13:00
Third Quarter - Army scored again but UConn scored twice to “narrow" the gap to 49-14
OC Brent Davis dipped deep into his reserves to start the second half, and UConn stopped the Black Knight offense for the first time, forcing Army to turn it over on downs after the Black Knights passed and ran the ball to the UConn 32.
DC Nate Woody sent his reserves out as well, and UConn took advantage to score their first points of the game narrowing the gap to 42-7 on a 68 yard scoring drive capped off by a 38 yard quarterback draw.
Jones led the reserve offense 65 yards to the UConn 10, where it appeared that UConn had stopped them on third down, but an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty gave Army a first and goal at the 5 and Wilson Catoe carried the ball twice to score Army’s 7th touchdown of the game. (13 plays, 75 yards, 7:57)
On the ensuing kickoff, the UConn kick returner found a gap and ran 94 yards for a touchdown to close the gap to 49-14.
The Army offense ran 4 plays for first down to their own 36 before time ran out in the third quarter.
Fourth Quarter - UConn outscored the Army reserves 7-3 to close out the scoring at 52-21.
Jones led the team to the UConn 11 before UConn held, and Quinn Maretski came in to kick a 28 yard field goal that increased Army’s lead to 52-14.
UConn appeared to have scored another touchdown on their next kick return, but a penalty brought the ball back to the UConn 12 yard line. The Huskies moved the ball to the Army 24, where they faced a 4th down and 3. A fourth down pass attempt was short of the target but Jimmy Ciarlo was called for Army’s only penalty of the game, a pass interference that gave the Huskies a first down on the Army 9. Three plays gained 5 yards to give UConn a 4th down and goal at the 4, but Ty Phommacanh scored his second TD of the game on a quarterback draw to close out the scoring.
The icing on the game for the entire Army team was having Jabari Laws come in to run out the clock for the Black Knights.
Final Statistics
• Total Offense: Army 504 yards; UConn 225 yards
• Rushing Offense: Army 379 yards on 67 attempts; UConn 116 yards on 19 attempts.
• Passing Offense: Army 3 completions in 3 attempts for 107 yards and 1 TD with no interceptions; UConn 11 completions in 26 attempts for 109 yards, no TDs and 1 INT.
• Penalties: Army 1 penalty for 15 yards; UConn 2 penalties for 25 yards
• Turnovers: Army won the turnover battle 1-0
• Time of Possession: Army 40:36; UConn 19:24
We will provide additional statistics and analysis in our Monday Morning QB article.
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