Well friends, like my father always used to say, “Sometimes you get the bear, and sometimes the bear gets you.” Last night, things did not go our way.
We said coming into last night’s game that no one had beaten Army. They’d beaten themselves instead.
Alas, East Carolina beat Army.
Final score: ECU 28, Army 6
— Army Football (@ArmyWP_Football) September 26, 2025
Sure, we saw some mistakes. A couple of critical dropped passes. A turnover. Passes thrown into the dirt. Plenty of missed blocks and missed tackles.
Mostly, though, we saw a bigger, faster, more talented team plugging holes in the running game and/or running through contact when they had the ball. Army frequently had guys in position to make plays, but they flat couldn’t make them because they were getting outrun, outmuscled at the point of attack, or just flat run over out in space. The team didn’t look lost or confused or badly coached. Instead, they flat didn’t look athletic enough to stay competitive through even the first fifteen minutes of play.
If you’re Army, and you can neither run the ball consistently nor stop the run, what exactly can you do? Going 6/12 through the air for just over 4 yards/attempt is not going to scare anyone. Likewise, 2/15 on third down and *shudder* 4/9 on fourth down.
But look. We always knew that this particular game would be a tough one. That’s why you’ve got to win the games that you’re supposed to win.
A friend of mine asked me why they ran so much Shotgun Option last night. I said:
“Because they knew that they needed to throw the ball, and so they threatened it in order to back the defense off and maybe open up some running lanes. And also maybe because they were struggling to block and wanted to give Coleman more time to react to the defense. Finally, they probably thought this defense was familiar with the base scheme, which, indeed, they were.”
The crazy part is that we saw plenty of good things in this game. SB Noah Short played maybe his best game as a Black Knight. He finished with 11 carries for 127 yards and was arguably the only reason the offense scored at all or managed to move the ball. We also saw a pass to TE Parker Polosky for a first down and two passes to the fullback out in space that should have gone for touchdowns. On the other side, the Army defense forced and recovered a fumble on a pitch play, forced an interception, and forced two turnovers on downs.
Noah Short’s 60-yard run setup Coleman’s TD 👏pic.twitter.com/TZrULXHnzh
— Army Football (@ArmyWP_Football) September 26, 2025
Friends, I can accept that this is a rebuilding year. Army went 12-2 last season and won the American. That was awesome. At no point, however, did we think that this would be the new normal. The good news is that the current team makes just enough plays to keep you on the edge of your seat, hoping against hope. That’s been maddening in a way through every single one of these games, but it beats the Hell out of the alternative, and on the whole, it bodes well for the team down the line. At a minimum, these guys never stop fighting.
In a season like this, we have to take the good where we find it. Whatever else happens, we’ll always have Kansas State.
We’ll see if maybe they can play a little better next week at UAB.
Go Army! Beat UAB!!!
