Army drops game to North Texas, 35-18
Actually, there’s really no way to sum up the Army Black Knights performance on Saturday, other than they looked unprepared, while the North Texas Green Machine looked extremely prepared ... especially in the 2nd half.
Well actually, Army head coach Jeff Monken summed it up more candidly during his post game press conference.
“They beat us in every phase .... offense, defense and special teams and I don’t know if there’s anymore to say than that,” stated an obviously very disappointed Monken, who went on to add a view more characterization on his team’s performance and 3rd lose on the season.
“I think we positively sucked in every way,” said Monken when asked if he could find any solace in the fact that his team was down by 10 points in the 4th quarter despite the turnovers.
It was 46 degrees with a 70% chance of rain as North Texas kicked off to Army West Point to start the game. The weather may have been a factor, but more likely it was 7 turnovers by the offense, a few too many lapses by the defense, and a UNT defense that was well prepared for the TO that stopped Army West Point from winning its 5th game of the season.
An Error Filled 1st Quarter
On the third play of the game, fullback Andy Davidson fumbled the ball, turning it over to UNT on the Army 45, an early preview of what was to come, but two plays later linebacker and co-captain Jeremy Timpf ; dropped back in coverage to make an interception that gave Army the ball back on the 42. Three runs by Davidson left them with 4th and 2, but Bradshaw converted to get the ball into UNT territory. From there, the ground attack gained momentum, and back-up fullback Darnell Woolfolk ran it in from 9 yards out to give the Black Knights an early 7-0 lead.
A short kickoff gave UNT the ball on their own 23, and North Texas took to the air, aided by a 15 yard personal foul penalty by defensive lineman Raymond Wright, and the Mean Green evened the score at 7-7 on a 34 yard completion.
On the second play of the next series, Bradshaw threw the ball over the outstretched hands of senior wide receiver Edgar Poe and a UNT defender caught the deflection and ran it into the end zone for a 34 yard pick 6, and UNT took the lead at 14-7.
Tyler Campbell returned the kickoff to the UNT 40, but an illegal block in the back negated the run and brought the ball back to the Army 8. The offense reached the UNT 28 as the first quarter ended.
Mistakes Continue In The Scoreless 2nd Quarter
The UNT defense held on their 22 and Blake Wilson came in to kick a field goal to close the gap to 14-10.
Three good defensive plays forced the first punt of the game and Army took over on their own 28. Monken went for it on 4th and 1 and Davidson converted for a first down, but then on third and five, a UNT lineman batted down a Bradshaw pass and Army was forced to punt. A bad snap sailed over JD Mote’s reach and he was fortunate to recover and hold it to a 12 yard loss, and once again, UNT had the ball with good field position on the Army 32. The defense held and a 48 yard field goal attempt came up short and Army got the ball back on their own 31.
On the next series, an illegal block call negated a third down conversion on 3d and 7 by Kell Walker, and faced with 3d and 15 on the UNT 46, Edgar Poe could not hold onto the pass from Bradshaw and Army was forced to punt. The punt coverage team appeared to have the ball downed insider the UNT one yard line, but the ball rolled just over the line, and UNT had it on their 20 instead. The Black Knight defense pushed UNT back 10 yards and a UNT punt gave Army the ball back in UNT territory. A five yard false start moved the ball back into Army territory and UNT held on two straight downs, bringing up a 3d and 15. A UNT defender got to Bradshaw on the attempted pass, but his fumble rolled out of bounds to bring up 4th and 15 on the Army 42, and UNT got the ball back on a punt to their 31 with 1:30 left on the clock. The defense pushed UNT back to their own 8, and UNT let the clock run out.
Army had 185 yards rushing but was 0-5 passing with an INT in the first half and fumbled 4 times, one of which was a turnover. The defense held UNT to negative 2 yards rushing and 58 passing with 1 interception. Army had 6 penalties for 53 yards while UNT had 5 penalties for 49 yards in an error filled first half.
North Texas Gains In The 3rd Quarter
A short kickoff gave UNT the ball on their own 33. Marcus Hyatt hesitated on a potential interception and UNT got a 21 yard completion instead. An offside penalty moved the ball to the Army 41 and on the next play, Jeff Wilson broke loose for a 41 yard TD to put UNT up 21-10, the first of a few big plays allowed by the defense.
Army got one first down to the UNT 49, but on 4th and less than a yard, Bradshaw fumbled the snap from center and UNT took over at midfield. On third and 16, Mason Fine threw the ball short, but cornerback Elijah Riley slipped, allowing the UNT receiver to make the catch to the Army 1. Two plays later, UNT punched the ball across to increase the lead to 28-10.
On the next series, Bradshaw got his first completion of the game on a 4th and 6 to keep the Army drive alive on the UNT 33. Bradshaw appeared to have fumbled the ball on the UNT 11, but the call was reversed and 2 plays later, Bradshaw broke free for an 8 yard TD and then converted on the two-point attempt to close the gap to 28-18.
Errors continue to plague Army in the fourth
UNT drove the ball to the Army 19 at the end of the third, where they started the 4th quarter. A five yard false start penalty, a 5 yard TFL, and a 6 yard sack by Alex Aukerman brought up 4th and 18 on the Army 33 and the FG attempt came up short.
Army was moving the ball well, but after a 31 yard reception, tight-end Dalton Mendenhall fumbled the ball away to give UNT the ball back on their 12 yard line. After stopping UNT twice, Mason Fine scrambled for a first down to the 23, and on the next play, Jeff Wilson broke loose for a 56 yard gain to the Army 21, and a personal foul penalty on John Voit moved the ball to the Army 10. UNT scored from a yard out to increase the UNT lead to 35-18 with 5:55 left in the game.
Army went to the air in an attempt to get back in the game. A fumble called on a reception by WR Christian Poe was overturned on review, and Bradshaw completed a pass to fellow WR Jeff Ejekam to convert on fourth down and 5, but on the next play, Bradshaw overthrew his target and UNT intercepted in the end zone for a touchback.
Army defense forced UNT to punt again, but Bradshaw ended the game by throwing his 4th interception.
Too Many Turnovers
The Black Knights out-gained UNT 396 to 320, but more than doubled their number of turnovers lost for the season. Army came into the game with just 6 turnovers lost but added 3 fumbles lost and 4 Interceptions to bring their season total to 13 and change their turnover margin from +5 to a -1. Two of the turnovers came on Bradshaw INTs when Army went to the air in an attempt to catch up in the fourth, but there were too many turnovers before that as well.
It was a poor performance all around by the Black Knights and significantly dimmed their chances for a bowl bid. UNT was effective in stopping the triple option, and the defense gave up more big plays than they have all season.
Stay tuned for our followup in our weekly Monday Morning Quarterback as we take a closer look at the good, bad, and ugly aspects of the game and what it could mean for the balance of the season.
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