FINAL SCORE: Army 21- Air Force 14 (OT)

Key stats:

• This was the first overtime game against an Academy rival in Army history.

• Army retains the Commander-in-Chief’s trophy for the fourth time in five years and has defeated Air Force for the fourth time in five years.

• Army threw for 214 yards and only rushed for 102.

• Air Force beat Army in almost every statistic except turnovers.Army won the turnover battle 1-0.(It’s why I often say turnovers are the only stat that really matters).

Both top-ranked rush defenses assert their strength

• Both teams exchanged punts on the first 3 drives of the game and neither team had much success at all moving the ball.

• On the Black Knights' second drive, Christian Anderson replaced Tyhier Tyler at QB and led Army on a 12-play, 72-yard drive that included a 4th and 1 conversion by Anthony Adkins and a 48-yard pass from Anderson to wide receiver Isaiah Alston to set Army up in the red zone.Unfortunately, Air Force’s tough defense stiffened, and Army was forced to kick a 26-yard field goal that sailed wide right.

• The remainder of the quarter ended in punts and turnovers on downs and mostly dominant defense and listless offense on both sides.

Defenses continue to flex their muscles

• Honestly, not much changed in the 2nd quarter.Both teams continued to pun to each other.Neither team was turning the ball over or making critical mistakes, but it was clear that this game would become a classic Army-Air Force battle for the Commander-in-Chief’s trophy.

Army finds success in the passing game (no, this is not a typo)

• Army opened the second half with a nice kick return by Tyrell Robinson to the 36-yard line.Tyhier Tyler commanded a very nice drive mixing passes and runs to lead Army to the first touchdown of the game.Just as the CBS announcers were “dissing” Tyler’s passing skills, he completed a 39-yard pass to Tyrell Robinson to set Army up at the Air Force 15-yard line.After a 5-yard loss on 1st and goal from the 4 on a sweep to Braheam Murphy, Tyler looked as though he was going to be bottled up for a short gain on 2nd and goal from the 9. He kept churning his legs and aided by a legal grab and push by RT Mason Kolinchak, Tyler broke through a few Air Force tackles to score. Army led 7-0 in what looked like might be enough points to win the game.

• On the Falcon’s next drive, they found a weakness in Army’s defense that had lined up in Cover 0 to stop the run. They through a post over the middle to a wide-open Brandon Lewis who found himself in man coverage with Cam Jones for a 36-yard gain to the Army 22. Army’s defense stiffened and forced an Air Force field goal to make the score 7-3.

• Christian Anderson came in at QB to start the next drive for Army. On the second play from scrimmage, he found a wide-open Tyrell Robinson streaking up the sideline for a 79-yard touchdown pass to put Army ahead 14-3.

• Air Force began moving the ball again on their next possession mixing passes and runs and then they tried a trick play. The Dane Kinamon throwback pass was tipped by OLB Andre Carter and intercepted by the aforementioned Jones. The cornerback had a nice return, but Carter was called for a taunting penalty that took the ball back to the Army 46 to start their drive.

• Behind runs by Tyhier Tyler and fullback Anthony Adkins, Army picked up a first down at the Air Force 43 to end the quarter.

Air Force mounts a furious comeback to tie the game and take it to OT

• Army started the quarter with runs by Tyler and Buchanan to bring up a 4th and 3.Army ran a toss play to Brandon Walters that came up a yard short and ended up turning the ball over on downs at the Air Force 34.

• Haaziq Daniels and Air Force began exposing the Army pass defense as they mounted a 7-play, 66-yard drive that culminated in a 4-yard play action pass to Kinamon to score and cut the lead to 14-9. Air Force went for 2 and got it to make the score 14-11 and pull within a field goal.

•Army’s offense began to bog down and went 3-and-out on their next drive.

•After Air Force completed a couple passes to move to near midfield, Army’s defense got a great 4th and 1 stop to turn over Air Force on downs.

•Army went 3-and-out again and gained no yards in the process.

•After Zach Harding’s punt pinned Air Force at their own 9-yard line, Daniels put together a 15-play, 78-yard drive that culminated in a Matthew Dapore 30-yard field goal to send the game into overtime. Heading into the extra frame, Air Force had all the momentum.

Right Time, Right Place, Boobie Law

• Air Force won the toss and chose to play defense as is the smart move in overtime.Army started with a run that gained two yards and an incomplete pass.Then Christian Anderson hit Isaiah Alston on a beautiful slant, “pitch and catch” to pick up the first down.

• Army mixed some runs and passes to get the ball to the 6-yard line for a 3rd and 5. Anderson found some room on a keeper to the goal line but was stripped just before crossing the plane. The ball landed on the ground and Jordyn “Boobie” Law recovered the Army fumble in the end zone for a touchdown. Talley added the PAT to go ahead 21-14.

• Air Force took over and after an Andre Carter sack of Haaziq Daniels to force a 3rd and 15 at the 30, Daniels completed a pass to Lewis to set Air Force up at the 11.

• Army held Air Force to force a 4th and goal from the 6 for the game. They ran a slant that was perfectly diagnosed and defended by cornerback Jabari Moore. Moore deflected the 4th down pass and Army held on to win a thriller and retain the CiC trophy, 21-14 in overtime.

• The 1-2 punch at quarterback seemed to work exceptionally well for Army.Even though they weren’t lighting up the scoreboard, Air Force has a great defense and Christian Anderson’s passing and Tyhier Tyler’s running managed to put up 21 points on them.

• Anderson finished 7-12 for 175 yards and a touchdown through the air and Tyler carried 15 times for 39 yards and a touchdown.

• Army held Air Force’s top ranked rushing offense to 175 yards rushing on 50 attempts and no touchdowns.

• Slotback Tyrell Robinson led all Army receivers with 2 catches for 118 yards and a touchdown.

• Safety Marquel Broughton continued to show how good he is against the run as he led the team with 10 total tackles.

• OLB Andre Carter added a sack, a deflected pass, 2 TFL’s, a QB hurry, and 8 total tackles as he continued to be a nightmare for opposing offensive lines and OC’s.

• In Coach Monken’s postgame presser, he mentioned how desperate all 3 academies are to win these CiC games. Bob Sutton used to say the most desperate team wins these games. On this day, Army appeared just a little more desperate than a game Air Force squad. Army was always in the right place at the right time. This was never more evident than Boobie Law’s fumble recovery for a touchdown. Air Force was a great team who played a tough game. At the end of the day, as I mentioned in my preseason preview article, Army just wanted it maybe a hair more. That hair is what won the game today.

Next up for the Black Knights: Army hosts FCS Bucknell at Michie Stadium next Saturday with a chance to become bowl eligible.

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