We (GoBlackKnights.com) don’t have an official list of the team’s goals for 2018, but we would surely include this as one of the goals, and their success in achieving this goal will have a strong bearing on a couple of other goals we would consider for the year.
A 2017 Goal Achieved
This was one of the goals that the team achieved in 2017, and it certainly didn’t come easy. The team got off to an easy head start with a romp over Fordham, but then needed a big 14-0 fourth quarter to beat Buffalo 21-17 for their second home win. The third home win was substantially easier as they pulled ahead early in the second half to beat Texas El Paso 35-21.
Win #4 was a nail biter that kept fans in their seats until the final moments of the game as Eastern Michigan scored to get within 1 point and then went for the 2 point conversion. James “Gibby” Gibson made one of the highlight plays of the season to stop the EMU running back on the 1 yard line and preserve the win.
Win #5 was another 4th quarter thriller, and it was the game that gave fans their first real look at Kelvin Hopkins as he led the team for the tying score with a little over a minute left on the clock, and Army West Point went on to beat Temple in overtime 31-28.
Win #6 was probably the biggest up front challenge of all the home games as the Black Knights played host to Duke, a power 5 conference team that was bowl bound in 2017. Army jumped out to a surprising 21-10 lead at the half, but then the defense had to hold Duke to 6 points in the second half to secure the 21-16 win.
Only 9 other teams that went undefeated at home in 2017
How does the 6-0 home season stack up with other home records in 2017?
We ran a quick check of home field records for all FBS teams in 2017 and came up with the following 9 teams who were perfect at home. Seven of the nine were power 5 conference teams.
- Penn State: 8-0
- Alabama: 8-0
- USC: 8-0
- Washington: 7-0
- Washington State:7-0
- Stanford: 6-0
- TCU: 7-0
- UCF: 7-0
- UAB: 6-0
The Challenge In 2018
Just looking at the schedule, it would appear that the Black Knights should have an easier time sweeping at Michie this year than they did in 2017. Two of this year’s home games are against FCS opponents Lafayette and Colgate, teams that Army should beat with relative ease if they expect to have a winning season. A third home game is against provisional FBS team, Liberty, and though we don’t want to sell Liberty short, that is another team that Army needs to beat to post a winning season.
The remaining three teams on the home schedule are far more likely to pose tougher challenges, and, while they are all winnable games, we would advise caution in predicting a sweep of those three. Hawaii can be a bit of a mystery in D1 football, coming off a bowl season in 2016, they dropped to a 3-9 season last year. While they are generally ranked low by most pundits, they shouldn’t be overlooked. The Orlando Sentinal ranked Miami of Ohio at 63d, which would make them the strongest challenge in the home season if that ranking holds true. The Redhawks proved to be Army’s alter ego last season, often stumbling in the 4th quarter of games and ending up with a 5-7 season. If they learn to finish stronger, it will be an interesting contest.
The last of the teams on this list presents the biggest home challenge for the Black Knights as they host the Falcons of Air Force with the CiC Trophy on the line. While we expect Army West Point to be favored in the game at this point, we should keep in mind that the outcome of the last two Army/Air Force games at Michie didn’t go the way it was expected. Frankly we’d gladly trade a loss to one of the other 5 teams on the home schedule for a win against the Falcons. We will have a better understanding of the importance of this game after we see the results of Navy at Air Force this year. The winner of that earlier game will have to get by Army to capture the CiC.
The Outlook
The Black Knights should not need the same level of heroics to pull off a 6-0 season at home again this year. All that’s likely to be required is that they win games in which they are favored; but that is not always easy to do.
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