Key Stats:
• Army won the turnover battle, 2-1.
• The Black Knights rushed for 467 yards on 55 carries for an 8.5 yard/carry average.
• QB Jemel Jones led all rushers with 12 carries for 113 yards and 2 touchdowns.
• LB Leo Lowin had his first interception of the season.
• Army converted 8-10 third downs.
• Five different Army players scored touchdowns.
GAME SUMMARY:
Colgate opened the game with an effective drive led by QB Michael Brescia and RB Max Hurleman that stalled on Army’s 32-yard line, but Kicker Spencer Briscoe connected on a career-long 49-yard field goal to open the scoring and give the Raiders a 3-0 lead.
On Army’s first play from scrimmage, QB Jemel Jones ran QB zone, and a huge hole opened. Jones took the ball 75 yards for a 7-3 Army lead. Jones mentioned in the post-game press conference that OC Brent Davis told him on Friday he was starting and that would be the first play. Davis made a good decision, and Jones and the Army offensive line executed to perfection.
On the ensuing possession, Colgate again ran right through the Army defense and scored on a Brescia QB sneak after an 8-play, 75-yard drive to take a 10-7 lead.
Army’s next possession started almost as well as their first. Fullback Hayden Reed took a Jones handoff 40 yards before being brought down at the Colgate 30-yard line.7 plays later, Reed went into the end zone from the 2-yard line to give Army back the lead for good, 14-10.
Army’s defense started to play better as they held Colgate to a missed field goal and a 3-and-out on their next two possessions. Meanwhile, the Army offense added 2 more touchdowns on option plays to slotbacks Braheam Murphy and Ay’Juan Marshall on successive drives to extend their lead to 28-10.
On Colgate’s next drive, Brescia broke off a 19-yard run and was stripped by LB Leo Lowin. Cornerback Cam Jones recovered for Army. Army couldn’t capitalize on the turnover as, on the ensuing possession, Jemel Jones was attempting to throw a swing pass that was batted down by a Colgate defensive lineman. The officials called the pass incomplete on the field, but instant replay overturned the call, saying it was a backward pass and giving Colgate the ball back in Army territory with 2:54 left in the half.
Brescia and the Colgate offense went 47 yards in 9 plays and scored their first passing touchdown of the season on a 19-yard pass to Treyvohn Sanders to close the gap to 28-17 before halftime.
Army started the 2nd half with a classic “Army football drive” – 77 yards in 16 plays (all runs). With 6:33 left in the 3rd quarter, Jones capped the drive with a 1-yard touchdown plunge to make the score 35-17.
After LB Leo Lowin intercepted a Brescia pass at the Colgate 34, Army took advantage of the short field with a 24-yard touchdown run by FB Markel Johnson to give Army a 42-17 lead and effectively put the game out of reach with 4:15 remaining in the 3rd quarter.
Both Army and Colgate chose to play a lot of reserves/back-ups in the 4th quarter. QB Bryson Daily got some quality playing time and showed some flashes of what Army fans might be in for the next two seasons. Unfortunately, because there were a lot of players seeing their first game action in many cases, there were also a lot of penalties and sloppy play. Army’s offense was called for four false starts and a hold that negated a long run by Daily. Neither team could muster much offense the rest of the game, and Army’s defensive back-ups produced a nice stop in the red zone to end the game and secure the 42-17 win for the Black Knights.
POST-GAME PRESSER WITH HEAD COACH JEFF MONKEN & PLAYERS
POST-GAME THOUGHTS
In the post-game press conference, we learned that Coach Monken and OC Brent Davis made the decision to start Jemel Jones at Quarterback on Friday. Tyhier Tyler was being held out due to injury, and Jones and Ballard had an open competition all week. Monken said Jones performed better, but also Cade had injured his forefinger. It was getting better, but he re-injured it on Thursday or Friday.
For what it’s worth, this writer tends to think the offense may have found something with Jones. He doesn’t run as fast as Tyler, or throw as accurately as Ballard, but he can do both, and he has a lot more power and a build that’s more akin to Kelvin Hopkins or Ahmad Bradshaw. His size seems to help him break tackles, fall forward, and avoid injury. We wouldn’t mind seeing more of Jones the rest of the way.
The young B-back group of Reed, Johnson, Dickson, and Williams showed some flash. While none of them are the bruisers that Buchanan or Riley is, and they’ll all need work in strength and conditioning over the next few years, there’s some speed, blocking ability and real versatility with this group that should give Army fans a lot of hope at that position. None of them had any ball security issues either.
While many of Army’s best players were injured, the offensive line got some key pieces back in Tackles Shayne Buckingham and Jordyn “Boobie” Law. They were both welcome sites and the offensive line had their best game of the year, Colgate’s defense notwithstanding.
The two biggest things Army will need to fix if they hope to go bowling and win the Commander in Chief’s trophy haven’t changed.
1. Get healthy.RB Tyrell Robinson, WR Isaiah Alston, FullbacksJakobi Buchanan and Tyson Riley, QB Tyhier Tyler, Dog OLB Andre Carter, and CB Jabari Moore were all out due to injury. If Army is going to make a run, they’ll need some of these key pieces of their puzzle back soon, most notably Carter in our opinion.
2. This brings us to the second point. The defense is continuing to struggle “against all enemies.”They played an FCS team averaging 17 points/game who hadn’t scored a touchdown through the air all season.By the end of the first half, Michael Brescia and Max Hurleman of Colgate looked like Peyton Manning and Edgerrin James. They had scored 17 points and their first passing touchdown of the season. Thankfully, Army’s defense shut Colgate out in the 2nd half. This shutout included some impressive stops by the second-team defense to end the game. If Army wants any chance of competing the rest of the way, the defense will have to play more as they did in the second half.
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