I don’t know what to tell you, friends. I honestly cannot believe what we just saw. Army lost a game in which they wound up rushing for almost 300 yards on over 6 yards/carry. Before today, I would’ve said that was impossible without committing a ridiculous number of turnovers. They finished with 421 yards of total offense, earned *25* first downs, and broke multiple explosive plays, both on the ground and through the air, and they still lost. Moreover, it’s not like they snatched defeat from the jaws of victory or dropped a winnable game in weird conditions. No, this team did all of that even while getting physically manhandled on both sides of the ball. Honestly, they deserved to lose given the way the game played out.
Final score: LA Tech 31, Army 29
— Army Football (@ArmyWP_Football) October 4, 2026
If you’re the Army defense, and you can’t stop the run, can’t rush the passer, and don’t play solid coverage in the secondary, what exactly is your identity? On the flipside, we’ve seen the offense become unquestionably more varied this season, but they’re not necessarily better this year than they were a year ago. They’re undeniably more explosive, but they’re nowhere near as consistent.
I feel like we all need to buckle up because this shit is about to get bumpy.
It’s frustrating because the Black Knights caught PLENTY of breaks down in Ruston last night. And while they played really well in spurts, they could seemingly only make about half of those breaks work. Meanwhile, the defense couldn’t stop La. Tech’s offense under any circumstances, and they rarely even slowed that offense down. And while we saw some scoring from Army’s offense, this game became a track meet from almost the first play. We didn’t see nearly the level of offensive execution they needed to stay competitive in that kind of game down the stretch. Instead, we saw any number of ridiculous penalties, a mind-bogglingly bad interception thrown into double-coverage that only the defender had a chance to make a play on, and eight or maybe ten running plays that got blown up in the backfield.
We also saw big play after big play from La. Tech’s offense, most not even designed to break for big yardage. The Black Knights just can’t tackle, so seemingly everything the Bulldogs did went for a touchdown. La Tech RB Dylone Brooks hit two game-breaking 70+ yard touchdown plays, and while one of them came on a well-executed double-pass, the other was just a straight midline run that he broke through an actual wall of defenders. Even in hindsight, it’s hard to believe how relentlessly these guys cooked Army’s defense. Midway through the fourth quarter, they’d run for more than 9 yards/carry.
This is just not how you win football games.
A big 4th down conversion through the air from Hellums to Anderson kept the TD drive alive. #GoArmy https://t.co/YmVF4Be9vK
— Army Football (@ArmyWP_Football) October 4, 2026
We all watched Air Force beat Navy in a game in which both teams struggled to get anything going early yesterday afternoon, and I expect most of us thought, “Wow. Army should beat both of these teams.” Then we watched our own team give up freaking 9+ yards/carry to La. Tech, and at least speaking personally, I started wondering if this is even a bowl team.
Your Army Black Knights gave up 503 yards of total offense this week, including 244 yards of rushing. That comes a week after they gave up 459 yards of total offense to Temple, including 217 yards rushing on almost 7 yards/carry. That is absurd!
Like I said, I don’t know what to tell you. It’s ugly. Maybe there’s a good team in there somewhere, but we sure haven’t seen it yet. In spurts, maybe, but not consistently. Not for a complete half, much less four full quarters.
I don’t know, friends. I love this team. I really do. But this is starting to look like it’s going to be a tough season. I want to believe, but how can anyone who watches these guys have any faith at all?
They can’t tackle, like, at all, and that is a hugely important part of playing football.
Triple option to perfection 🏴☠️ Howard 54 yards to the 🏠! https://t.co/i1D02Vs2Qh
— Army Football (@ArmyWP_Football) October 4, 2026
Looking Forward
The Black Knights have Tulane coming to town this week, the Green Wave are also coming off a bye, and if they haven’t necessarily looked like world-beaters, they do at least run the ball very well. Considering the trouble the Black Knights have had stopping the run this season, that might be trouble.
Friends, these guys don’t need a pep talk or an ass-chewing in the locker room. The problems here aren’t a matter of motivation. This team plays hard. They fought to the very end last night and against all odds, actually gave themselves a chance to win a game they had no business winning. But this team still has some very serious problems, and if they can’t get them fixed, the American Conference as a whole is gonna kick their asses all season long. The offensive coaching staff has got to get these penalties under control, and the defensive coaching staff has to figure something out ASAP, or this thing will absolutely spiral starting next week.
What we’ve seen so far this season has not inspired confidence. But I’ll be out there screaming my ass off next Saturday, and if you’re reading this, you better be out there, too. I don’t know how much it will help, but goddammit, everybody better do their damn part. No excuses!
Go Army! Beat Tulane!!!
