The #22 Army Black Knights made its first road trip of the season to take on the 14th ranked Bearcats of Cincinnati. The Black Knight offense was unable to sustain any drives against the Cincinnati defense, but the Army defense came up with some big plays to keep the game within one score into the fourth quarter.

Here’s how it unfolded:

Army won the toss and deferred to the second half. The Bearcats returned the opening kickoff to the 29 to start their first possession. On the third play of the game, cornerback Jabari Moore knocked down an attempted lateral, picked it up and ran 45 yards for a touchdown to give Army an early 7-0 lead.

Cincinnati started their second possession on their own 35 and drove the ball to the Army 17, but the Black Knights held, and the Bearcats had to settle for a field goal to make the score 7-3.

Army started its first offensive possession from their 25. Army picked up 2 first downs to the Bearcat 47, but an incomplete pass and a chop block call brought up a 2d and 25. Quarterback Christian Anderson ran for 7 to make it third and 18, but a false start set Army back another 5 yards for a third and 23. Anderson threw a pass to wide receiver Isaiah Alston that initially looked complete but a review of the play ruled that Alston did not have control, and Army was forced to punt.

Cincinnati started their third possession on their own 20, but Ridder overthrew his target on third down and Jabari Moore intercepted for his second turnover of the game.

Army had the ball on the Cincinnati 43 and picked up a first down to the Bearcat 21, but Army was held to 8 yards on the next 3 downs and failed to convert their 4th down attempt giving Cincinnati possession on their own 21.

The Black Knight defense held the Bearcats to 8 yards on three plays forcing a punt that Tyrell Robinson fielded on the 17 and returned to the 31-yard line. Sandon McCoy picked up 3 yards before the quarter ran out with Army holding on to a 4 point lead.

Army was unable to make a first down on their next two plays and had to punt the ball away to the Bearcats on their own 9.

Cincinnati offense launched their best drive of the day moving the ball 91 yards in 14 plays to take the lead at 10-7.

Army started their third possession on the 25. An illegal block in the back negated a first down run by Robinson and the offense could not get the lost yardage back, forcing them to punt it away again. The Army punt was blocked by Cincinnati giving them outstanding field position on the Army 7 yard line. The defense held the Bearcats to 6 yards on 3 plays bringing up a 4th and goal at the 1. The Bearcats decided to go for the touchdown, but the Black Knight defense held on to keep the lead at 10-7.

With the offense starting at their own 1, McCoy gave Army some breathing room with a 2-yard plunge to the 3, and then Artice Hobbs took a pitch outside for a 16 yard gain to the 19 and an Army first down. Army picked up two more first downs to the Cincinnati 49, but a holding call on Cade Barnard set them back to their own 41. Three plays recovered 10 of the lost yards but Army was forced to punt it away again with 26 seconds left in the half.

The defense held Cincinnati again, to go into halftime trailing 7-10.

Army received the kickoff to start the second half, but an illegal block call on the second playset Army back to a second down and 25. But on third and long, Anderson found a hole for a 24 yard gain and a first down at the 36. Anderson followed it with an 8 yard gain, and Jakobi Buchanan gained 4 for another first down on the 48. Two plays gained only 1 yard, but Hobbs broke through for 9 yards and another first down at the Cincinnati 42. Just as it looked like the offense was going to sustain a drive, Anderson fumbled and Cincinnati recovered to take possession on their own 40.

Cincinnati combined two passes with 5 running plays for a 60-yard touchdown drive and the Bearcats to capitalize on the turnover and increase their lead to 17-7.

Army started on their 25, and on the first play, Anderson threw a bad pass into traffic that Cincinnati intercepted on the Army 42 to even the turnovers at two for each team.

Cincinnati gained 10 yards to the Army 32, but a personal foul set them back 15 and they were forced to punt it away. Tyrell Robinson called for a fair catch on the Army 7.

Anderson broke loose around end for 26 yards and a quick first down, and Cole Barnard added another 28 yards on the next play to move the ball into Cincinnati territory at the 38. A pass to Tyrell Robinson picked up another first down at the 16, but the Bearcat defense held Army to no gain on two plays, and a false start penalty set Army back to the Bearcat 21 with a 4th down and 15 as time ran out in the quarter.

Landon Salyers came in to kick a 36-yard field goal and close the gap to 17-10.

Cincinnati started on their 25, and then picked up 9 yards on their first two plays. Chris Skyers dropped Jerome Ford for a 2-yard loss on third and 1, but a hands-to-the-face penalty on Amadeo West gave the Bearcats a first down. The defense held again on the next three plays, and Cincinnati was forced to punt. Robinson fielded the punt on the 6 and returned it 10 yards to the 16.

Two running plays netted no yardage, and a pass to Hobbs came up short of the first down; so Army had to punt it away. Cincinnati had the ball back on their own 38.

Ridder threw incomplete on first down, and then West sacked him for an 11-yard loss bringing up a 3d and 21. Ridder missed his target again, and Cincinnati had to punt it away. Robinson fielded it on the 28 and returned 12 yards to the Army 40.

The offense was held to no gain on three plays and was forced to punt it away again.

Cincinnati started on their own 32, and Doaks gained 8 yards to the 40. On the next play, Doaks was left completely uncovered, and Ridder connected with him for an easy 60-yard touchdown that gave Cincinnati a commanding 24-10 lead with 6:55 left in the game

Working against the clock, Army started on their own 25 needing to pass the ball, and Anderson competed an 11-yard pass to for a quick first down. Brandon Walters was dropped for a two-yard loss on a sweep, and then Isaiah Alston slipped attempting to catch a pass, which brought up a third down. Anderson failed to connect on a pass attempt to Robinson, and the Black Knights were forced to punt again.

Cincinnati got the ball on their own 22. Two plays gained 6 yards, but Doaks broke through for 10 yards and a first down at the 38. The defense held Cincinnati to 4 yards on the next three plays and the Bearcats had to punt with 3:08 left on the clock.

Anderson went back to the air and managed to move the ball as far as the Cincinnati 21 aided by a couple of interference calls, but it was too little too late and Army turned it over on downs with 1:31 left on the clock and no timeouts remaining. The Bearcats could go into the victory formation to close out the game.

• The Black Knight offense was held to 3 points and 276 yards of Total Offense, with 182 yards rushing and 94 yards passing.

• The defense held Cincinnati to 69 yards rushing but gave up 268 passing yards for a total of 331 yards. The defense scored the only Army touchdown of the game.

• Each team had two turnovers consisting of 1 interception and 1 fumble lost.

• Army had a slight advantage in Time of Possession with just under 31 minutes.

• Army had 10 penalties for 87 yards. Cincinnati had 7 penalties for 79 yards.

We will provide additional statistics and analysis in our GBK Monday Morning QB article.

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