Friends, your Army Black Knights have their 2026 season opener tomorrow, and it’ll feature the debut of the new East Stands, the linchpin of the Michie Preservation Project. This is pretty damned exciting, especially given that expectations for this year’s team have lately started running sky high.
First, though, the Black Knights have to beat the Bryant Bulldogs. We’ve got four Keys to Victory this week to show how they can get that done.
A new era built for the future.
— Army Football (@ArmyWP_Football) September 2, 2026
A new look Michie Stadium preserved by @USAA opens this Saturday.
Narrated by 1958 Heisman Trophy Winner Pete Dawkins.#GoArmy pic.twitter.com/Ot4Kne6T0N
Four Keys to Victory Over the Bulldogs
Stop the Run
The Black Knights have a new Defensive Coordinator in longtime Safeties Coach and Passing Defense Coordinator Daryl Dixon. Dixon has plenty of experience with Army’s defense, but this will be his first time actually calling that defense all season long, and he has four brand new linebackers playing right in the middle of his defensive scheme.
Yearling Jaquavious Moss and cow Elijah Walton will be getting their first starts at middle linebacker tomorrow. Walton played in 11 games last year, but Moss spent all of 2025 on the Scout Team. Similarly, firstie Rush Linebacker Noah Nixon played in all 13 games the last two years, but even with all that experience, this will be his first year as a full-time starter. On the other side, NB/LB Zane Tallman will get the start at Apache as a yearling. That’s actually incredible. Tallman played in all 13 games as a plebe, but even so, the Apache position is one of the most demanding in Army’s defense.
We mention all of this to note that these new Black Knights have something to prove. First and foremost, they’ll have to prove it against the run. We expect they’ll see Bryant run the ball early and often tomorrow. The Bulldogs ran 44 times last week for 205 yards (4.3 yards/carry) and three touchdowns. By way of comparison, Bryant QB Brennan Myer went just 10/20 through the air in their opener for just over 100 yards.
If the Bulldogs want to keep this game competitive, they’ll need to run the football. If the Black Knights want to bulldoze these ‘Dogs and get their backups some playing time, they’ll need to stop Bryant’s running game and force Myer to try to make plays through the air.
2. Diversify the Offense
Last year, the Black Knights wound up starting a guy who’d been projected as their third string quarterback. It took them five games to figure out who would start full time. Meanwhile, they cycled through a series of fullbacks looking for someone to carry the load between the tackles. The upshot of all of this had eventual starting QB Cale Hellums carrying the ball a lot in an oft-simplified offense. Hellums played great at times, but the wear started showing over the course of the entire season, and that arguably cost the team a couple of games late, including Army-Navy.
2026 is a new year, and we expect the offense to evolve. Hellums returns as the starter. He knows the system, and the Coaching Staff knows him. At the same time, RBs Godspower Nwawuihe, Jake Rendina, and Carson Smith come into the season as known quantities. Nwawuihe is a slashing runner who had a breakout game against UConn at the Fenway Bowl. Rendina is a banger and the team’s best blocking back. Smith can do a bit of everything. Those three together should give Offensive Coordinator Cody Worley a lot more tools for his triple-option attack.
Hellums certainly could carry the ball fifty times tomorrow and win this game. However, if his offense is going to win games over the course of this entire season, he’ll need to spread the ball around, make good reads, and really use the full power of Army’s power-option offense. If he can do that, the Black Knights should be in good shape, not just tomorrow but throughout this entire season.
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— Army Football (@ArmyWP_Football) September 3, 2026
3. Force Punts
Army’s bend-but-don’t-break scheme has given up some yardage over the past few years, but they’ve played good defense down in the red zone. That’s fine against high-powered passing teams, but against run-first offenses like Bryant’s, we’d rather see the Black Knights bottle up those backs and force punts.
If Army’s defense can force a few three-and-outs, they’ll make it damned hard for Bryant to keep this game competitive.
4. Limit Mistakes
Army played excellent ball-control offense in the games they won last year. In the games they lost, though, they often lost because of turnovers. As we heard on a recent episode of the As For Football Army Football Show (Talking O-Line), every turnover counts as about a five-point swing on the scoreboard. Especially given the way the Black Knights play football, they really need those points! They also — badly — need to keep their opponents from possessing the football.
Army wins this game if they can avoid turnovers and costly penalties while taking advantage of opponent mistakes. If the Black Knights play clean ball, we’re all looking at a fun day at Michie Stadium for tomorrow’s opener.
Final Thoughts
Friends, we’re super-excited for the game this week and for the return of Army Football in general. For those going to the game, GET LOUD. Remember, we’re not there to watch a football game. We’re there to PARTICIPATE.
We’ll see you out there.
Go Army! Beat Bryant!!!
