Army dominates Houston to win Armed Forces Bowl

Army dominates Houston to win Armed Forces Bowl

In Saturday's Lockheed-Martin Armed Forces Bowl, Army dominated on both sides of the ball en route to a 70-14 win over Houston (8-5) at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas. In some ways it was an unusual win – Army (11-3) utilized its time-consuming, grinding offense to score just one of its 10 touchdowns, capitalizing on big plays to amass a season-high 592 yards and score the other nine.

But the stingy Army defense played exactly as expected and limited a team that had averaged 528 yards per game to just 317 yards. Army logged 10 quarterback sacks on the day, a team and Armed Forces Bowl record.

The win over the Cougars completed a remarkable season for Army. This year’s Black Knights became the first Army team to win 11 games in a season, back-to-back Commander-In-Chief's trophies and bowl games in three consecutive years.

Add in victories in the last three Army-Navy games (after a losing streak that lasted 14 years) and it is easy to see why experts regard the 2018 team as the best Army squad since the undefeated team of 1958.

"This is a great team and just a great bunch of guys," said Army head coach Jeff Monken. "We never claimed to be the most talented team, but you don't have to have the best players to win — you have to have the best team to win and this is a great team.”

He pointed out that when the seniors were freshmen they endured a 2-10 season.

“It’s incredible,” Monken said. “There are just so many milestones this senior class has helped this program reach. I couldn't be more proud. This is a great day for Army football. We do this to represent all those men and women who serve around the world who wear these Army colors.”

The Black Knights entered the game leading the nation in average time of possession per game (38:50, nearly four minutes more than the next best team) and ranked second in the country with an average of 296.3 rushing yards per game. Long, grinding drives had been Army's trademark this year and the Black Knights had used them effectively to build a 10-2 record. The Army defense had allowed an average of just 17.4 points per game despite a front line that was almost always smaller than its opponents.

Houston offered a completely different style, ranking 129th among FBS teams in average time of possession (just 25:03) but using big plays to score at least 31 points in each of the Cougars' games and scoring 40 points or more in 10 of their first 12 games. Houston started the season 7-1 but a torn meniscus sidelined starting quarterback D'Eriq King last month. And All-American defensive tackle Ed Oliver sustained another injury and did not play in the finale.

Replacement quarterback Clayton Tune, a freshman, had played as well as could be expected for Houston, completing seven touchdown passes in the next four games, but his lack of experience led to mistakes that had contributed to the Cougars losing three of their last four games entering the bowl game.

Army was at full strength against Houston and it showed. Quarterback Kelvin Hopkins tied the Army single-game record of five rushing touchdowns and finished with 170 rushing yards (on just 11 carries, including one for 77 yards) and 70 yards passing (completing all three attempts he made) before leaving late in the third quarter with an apparent arm injury. He was still named MVP of the game and he'll be back for his senior year in 2019.

"It was just a team effort," Hopkins said. "I couldn't have done anything without these guys (teammates). I'm just so proud of them. We had a goal to do what we did and it's an amazing feeling to know that we achieved that."

But as good as the offense was, the defense was even better. And no one played better than senior linebacker James Nachtigal, who logged 16 tackles and four quarterback sacks that forced three fumbles.

Afterward, seniors reflected on their football careers representing West Point and the U.S. Army.

"We're the type of team that's really tough and never wants to give up," said senior running back Darnell Woolfolk, who ran for 71 yards on 11 carries. "So for us to score so much and keep them from scoring is just a testament to our team's will. We're always playing for each other and I think that's exactly what happened today. I love my teammates; that's something I will always cherish. It's been a long journey from a 2-10 season. It's a testament to how much everybody cared and to the culture that has been built."

The bowl game victory was bittersweet for Army center Bryce Holland.

"I'm just so proud of this team — it was just so much fun," he said. "It's bittersweet — my last game ever. I'm just so happy and so proud the way this team ended the season. That 70 points shows we don't quit. We take a lot of pride in carrying the flag and we're so blessed to represent the men and women that are fighting overseas and are training to go.”