Friends, your Army Black Knights got off to a rough start at home in Week 1, losing to FCS Tarleton State to break a ten-game home winning streak. Now the team must travel to Manhattan, Kansas, to take on a hungry, talented squad from K-State that also needs to get things going in the right direction.
The Black Knights had better bring their best selves, or we might be in for a long evening.
Kansas State Wildcats
Kansas State started the preseason ranked 17th in the country. They then went to Ireland and lost a close, frustrating contest to Big 12 rival Iowa State. Both teams looked sloppy through the first half, which shouldn’t have surprised anyone given that they played the game in Europe in the rain a week early.
But K-State then struggled against FCS North Dakota at home this past weekend. If the Wildcats finally pulled it out, their last-second 38-35 win won’t have reassured the boosters or their overall fanbase. This week’s game marks K-State’s last chance to try to get right before heading into a high-leverage conference game at Arizona on September 12.
Offense
We expected K-State to feature a run-first downfield passing attack, but the early loss of star RB Dylan Edwards has seemingly hurt their offensive efficiency. Edwards took a “left ankle injury” early in the opener. If he’s got a high-ankle sprain, then the earliest we might see him back is September 27, when K-State hosts UCF. The Wildcats’ October 4 date at Baylor might actually be more likely. Regardless, Edwards remains “doubtful” for this weekend.
This leaves QB Avery Johnson and RB Joe Jackson to try getting it done, mostly through the air. Johnson has gone 49/73 passing for 591 yards (67.1%) and 5 touchdowns against just 2 sacks and no interceptions. That would be a terrific stat-line if the Wildcats could back it up with a better running game. As it is, however, Johnson is throwing a lot of short, possession passes but not hitting enough explosive downfield shots. Moreover, RB Jackson has just 23 carries for 106 yards (4.6 yards/carry), and it’s making the offense sluggish. Worse, Avery Johnson is K-State’s second-leading rusher with 15 carries for 64 yards. That’s almost a third of the total rushing offense by number of carries. With all of that, K-State has gone a respectable 10/26 on third down (38.5%) but just 3/7 on fourth down (42.9%). This team has also fumbled four times, losing three, with two fumbles in each game.
We’ll see if Army’s defense can make something with that.
WR Jayce Brown leads the team with 16 catches for 187 yards and 2 touchdowns. WRs Jerand Bradley and Jaron Tibbs come next, but then we see TEs Garrett Oakley, Will Swanson, and Brayden Loftin with 11 catches collectively for 151 yards. RB DeVon Rice also has 2 catches for 27 yards. A lot of dudes get the ball, but if you’re Army, you really want to be ready for those big tight ends over the middle of the field or making contested catches in traffic.
Defense
K-State’s defensive line might pose a problem for the Black Knights offense this week, especially after last week’s struggles against Tarleton State. The Wildcats defense looked great in their opener, and even against North Dakota, it’s not like they gave up a lot on the ground. To date, K-State has allowed just 116 yards rushing/game on a meager 2.9 yards/carry. That’s pretty darned good!
LB Austin Romaine leads the team with 18 tackles, 11 solo, plus a pass defended. CBs Donovan McIntosh and Zashon Rich come next, followed by DE Tobi Osunsanmi, who’s got 10 tackles, 3 solo, plus 3 sacks. On the season, this Wildcats team has already notched a whopping *7* sacks plus 2 forced fumbles.
Friends, the Black Knights will have to do some better quality work in the trenches this week if they hope to avoid getting absolutely embarrassed when they have the ball.
Special Teams
K-State K Luis Rodriguez has been perfect this season with 8 extra points and a 30-yard field goal. P Simon McClannan averages a bit over 40 yards/kick with one touchback and one kick downed inside the 20 in his two games this season.
Final Thoughts
If the Black Knights had played better in Week 1, we might feel good about this weekend’s match-up. K-State has a talented team, but they haven’t yet looked right in 2025. For as much as they need to make a statement this weekend, that kind of thing can become nerve-wracking once expectations start piling up. Alas, as things stand, Army also looks like they’ve got quite a lot of work to do. It’s hard to believe that the Black Knights will magically get-right themselves in Week 2 on the road against a team that’s probably going to finish the season in the Top 25.
But stranger things have happened.
We're proud of the heroic actions taken Saturday night by Cadet Larry Pickett Jr, a second-year cadet & @ArmyWP_Football player, & his father who are seen pulling a driver to safety in a video online taken by the family. Their actions are the embodiment of the @USArmy Values. pic.twitter.com/dlccTMwonT
— U.S. Military Academy at West Point (@WestPoint_USMA) September 1, 2025
Army has a real chance if they can play fast, block the right guys, and hit the right holes. It helps, too, that we’re three weeks into K-State’s season, and the Wildcats have had to play two tough games. They won’t have had extra time to prepare for Army’s unique offense.
We’re expecting excellent weather this weekend. Saturday’s highs will only get into the mid-70s in Kansas with lows dropping all the way into the lower 50s. That’s about what we saw last week at West Point. The current betting line makes Army a 17.5-point underdog with the total sitting at 46.5. The sharps seem to be taking K-State for whatever that’s worth.
This game starts at 7:00 pm ET on ESPN. Here’s hoping Army can shock the world!
Go Army! Beat Kansas State!!!
