With the way this season has opened, friends, your Army Black Knights have a critically important game this weekend against the Tulane Green Wave. The last time Tulane came to Michie Stadium, the Black Knights beat them 35-14 to win the American Conference Championship in their first year in the league. Last year, Tulane got revenge in a hard-fought contest that saw them score 14 points in the game’s final minutes to steal a win on their way to their own conference championship.
But 2026 is a new year. Both teams come into this game 2-2, and neither looks ready to compete for a championship. Neither team has been eliminated from playing for one yet, either. That makes this game critically important for both squads, both for potential bowl positioning and for momentum heading into the season’s heart. Both these teams also feature great rushing offenses alongside questionable rushing defenses. That sets up a potentially fascinating match-up and gives us exactly three Keys to Victory this week.
Returning home for a Saturday conference matchup. 🆚 Tulane 🏈 12 p.m. Watch live on CBS Sports Network and listen on the Varsity Network App. #GoArmy https://t.co/ggDquSfvsD
— Army Football (@ArmyWP_Football) October 5, 2026
Three Keys to Beating Tulane
Wrap & Tackle
Army gave up 244 yards rushing last week on 7.4 yards per carry to a La. Tech team that otherwise struggled to convert first downs. But the Black Knights gave up big play after big play, mostly on the ground, typified by a 72-yard run from La. Tech RB Dylone Brooks in which the Army defense had him stopped at the line of scrimmage but never took him to the ground. This incredible run capped a four-play, two-minute drive that saw the Bulldogs take a 14-7 lead despite having been pinned at their own four-yard line following an Army punt.
This week, the Black Knights face a Tulane team that is significantly better at running the football than the Bulldogs. The Green Wave have two different running backs who average more than 8.5 yards per carry. Those dudes will run all over this Army defense if the Black Knights can’t fix their tackling woes.
Friends, no one expects Army’s defense to be perfect. However, they will need to get a few stops this week, and given their opponent, most of those stops will need to come on the ground.
In a larger sense, it’s nearly impossible to win in Division I football if your defense can’t accomplish the basic task of tackling. But basic tackling has been lacking throughout most of this young season. If these guys can’t make the correction soon, the season itself will be in danger of sliding off the rails.
Play with Discipline
For the past three weeks in a row, we’ve seen the Army offense operate with relentless efficiency. USF, Temple, and La. Tech all had serious trouble managing the current edition of the famed triple-option offense, but Army still didn’t score on every drive, mostly because they’ve hurt themselves with entirely too many penalties. Against La. Tech, two of their four punts came after needless penalties, and their fourth drive ended on a truly mind-boggling interception. Their other failed drives mostly ended after negative plays that got blown up in the backfield.
Army still managed to score 29 points, and under normal circumstances that probably would have been good enough. If the defense was playing better, the offense would be able to afford an occasional miscue. However, turnovers will always kill, and as things stand, this iteration of Army Football needs its offense to protect its young defense while that defense’s eight new starters slowly settle into their roles. We haven’t seen that consistently this season.
Playing with discipline will be incredibly important this week. Tulane’s offense looks tailor-made to punish Army’s defense, but the Green Wave defense looks equally vulnerable to Army’s rushing attack. To date, Tulane has allowed almost 200 rushing yards per game, giving the Green Wave one of college football’s very worst rushing defenses. Army’s offense can and should find ways to exploit that, but only if they don’t beat themselves.
To win this week, the Black Knights will need to score early and often. That only happens if they play tough, disciplined football for four full quarters. If this team beats itself, Tulane will surely beat them, too.
In case you missed it, we ran an awesome gallery from Mike K. Heit yesterday on Patreon celebrating the 2024 American Conference Championship Game.
Finish Drives with Touchdowns
Tulane’s defense might struggle against the run, but they’ve been excellent in the red zone. They’ve allowed just 10 opponent touchdowns on 17 opponent red-zone trips, though 7 of these have come on the ground. That ranks them 17th nationally in red zone defense, a heck of a good mark considering their other defensive woes.
Against that, Army currently boasts the 27th-ranked red zone offense, having scored 9 rushing touchdowns and 2 passing touchdowns on just 14 trips into the red zone. That is outstanding work. This Army offense is deadly when they get down close to the goal line.
With all of that, this weekend’s game is not complicated. The Black Knights need to stop the run by wrapping and tackling. They need to drive the ball consistently without doing anything to beat themselves. They need to finish drives with touchdowns. If they can do all of that, they’ll have a truly excellent chance to win this weekend.
If they can’t, we’re probably looking at an insane track meet that could go either way. Tulane and Army have both been in those kinds of games this season, making it a true toss-up as to which team might finish such a contest on top.
Alongside the @NFFNetwork, we are set to honor the late Bob Novogratz, a 2026 College Football Hall of Fame inductee, this Saturday with a National Football Foundation & College Football Hall of Fame On-Campus salute! MORE → https://t.co/fAo6RmnAkp #GoArmy https://t.co/Wbj5NXvhZR
— Army Football (@ArmyWP_Football) October 7, 2026
Final Thoughts
Young defenses mature. They get better as their players get more comfortable in their schemes. If they can fix their tackling woes, this year’s Army defense will probably come around, too. They’re gonna figure it out; it’s just a question of when. Hopefully it won’t happen after it’s too late to matter. In the meantime, playing complementary football means holding onto the ball, finishing drives, and reducing the number of stops this defense needs to make.
Know before you go with our Gameday Guide! Information on parking, shuttles and activities leading into kickoff on Saturday against Tulane. → https://t.co/pmwr5gAJyj #GoArmy https://t.co/xP1esexbpF
— Army Football (@ArmyWP_Football) October 8, 2026
The time is now. This team needs to take the next step and turn this into a special season despite suffering through an understandably rough start. The team is still 2-2, so a special season remains distinctly possible. However, we need to see a complete game on both sides of the ball this week, and we haven’t seen anything like that yet this year.
I still believe, and I challenge you to believe, too. Trust me, you’ll want to be in the building when these guys finally get it together and hit their stride.
Go Army! Beat Tulane!!!
