Though they didn’t necessarily cruise to victory from the start of the first quarter, your Army Black Knights played tough, hard-nosed football when it counted down at UAB yesterday. They scratched, clawed, and fought, overcoming mistakes and a talented opponent offense until they finally came out with a dominant, badly needed total team win. By the end of yesterday’s game, this 2025 Army Team actually looked like the very best version of the team we’ve seen throughout the Monken Era.
This is what they’re supposed to look like, friends. In a young season that has already seen so many ups and downs, here’s hoping that this year’s Black Knights have finally found themselves. They’ve been so close at times throughout this season, but this week we saw them finally put it all together.
Returning to West Point with a Road W! pic.twitter.com/pJydFyRXsp
— Army Football (@ArmyWP_Football) October 4, 2025
The Story of the Game
UAB opened with a 12-play, 40 yard drive that looked like it might be trouble. However, Army CB Cole Searight sacked UAB QB Jalen Kitna on 2nd-and-10 from the Army 23-yard line. A missed pass on 3rd-and-17 brought out the field goal unit, but Army blocked the kick.
At least on defense, this set the tone for the rest of the day.
Army’s offense started hot as well, going 74 yards in 18 plays and a touchdown in just over ten and a half minutes. Perhaps more importantly, Army got their fullbacks going. FB Hayden Reed carried 5 times for 25 yards and a touchdown. Carson Smith carried once for 6; Briggs Bartosh added a carry for 3. Overall, we saw seven fullback runs, seven quarterback runs, three slotback pitches, and one seven-yard pass. Again, that’s how it’s supposed to look.
After this first series, though, we started to see some mistakes. Army’s defense forced a three-and-out, but the offense drew a false start and an intentional grounding penalty that forced a punt. The defense then forced another three-and-out, but the offense responded with a chop block penalty that forced an Army three-and-out. Bad penalty there, though it looked like the offensive lineman who was accused of going low tripped and never actually made contact. Regardless, UAB responded with a good-looking 8-play drive that scored an easy touchdown. Ominously, UAB RB Jevon Jackson took 3 carries for 34 yards, taking pressure off Kitna, who then had the space to carve up Army’s secondary from a secure pocket.
We were tied at seven with just over a minute to play in the first half, and I think we maybe all maybe started wondering if this would become another one of those winnable games that slipped through the team’s grasp because of a handful of offensive mistakes and an opponent running game that they just couldn’t quite contain.
QB Cale Hellums then took the field for what turned out to be his second miracle late first quarter drive to score critical points of this young season. He didn’t even hit a pass! He ran five yards, missed a pass to the tight end, rolled out and drew a defensive holding call, rolled out and ran for 13 yards, ran for 5 more yards, missed yet another pass to the tight end, then ran twice up the middle to set up the kick. PK Dawson Jones capped the drive with a 45-yard field goal — a new career long! — and Army headed into the locker room up 10-7 and feeling pretty good.
Straight through for +3 https://t.co/UylVNM88fg pic.twitter.com/AbKrYH90JS
— Army Football (@ArmyWP_Football) October 4, 2025
The game still felt like it could go either way, but the defense had played well, and the offense had done just enough. I personally expected a second half shootout, but Army had recaptured some offensive momentum, and that mattered.
If they can just cut down on the penalties, I thought, maybe they’ll be okay.
Despite going three-and-out to open the second half, the team looked much more than just “okay” after the break. In fact, Army’s defense forced another field goal attempt on the ensuing drive, and nervous now after the block, UAB PK Jonah Delange shanked it. This set up a 9-play, 80 yard touchdown drive that started with Hellums’s only completion of the day, a gorgeous 41-yard bomb to SB Samari Howard up the sideline that hit Howard in stride. From there, Hellums, Smith, and FB Jake Rendina worked the midline all the way into the end zone.
This made it 17-7, and with the way Army’s defense had been playing, you had to feel good about it. In fact, Army’s Bad Boys dialed up the pressure on Kitna, forcing an interception and a bunch of wild throws from this point forward. One of the country’s most-accurate quarterbacks in charge of one of college football’s most prolific passing attacks, Kitna finished just 24/42 (57.1%) for 259 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 pick. That’s not a bad stat line overall, but it’s almost 15% less accurate than usual, and as much as anything, this is what cost UAB the game.
Gavin Shields steps in front for this first career INT! pic.twitter.com/HlgEbZYsc0
— Army Football (@ArmyWP_Football) October 4, 2025
Army finished with 247 yards rushing on just 4.0 yards/carry. They went just 5/13 on third down but 3/4 on fourth down, and they punted 4 times. None of that is precisely ideal, especially against a defense as porous as UAB’s has been, but it proved to be more than good enough. More importantly, Army took care of the football while forcing turnovers themselves. With that, the Black Knights started on short fields consistently throughout the second half, making it harder to put up gaudy offensive stats.
The Black Knights also made a point to keep feeding their fullbacks. Reed carried 12 times for 54 yards (4.5 yards/carry) and a touchdown. Smith took 6 carries for 29 yards (4.8 yards/carry). Bartosh and Rendina each took 2 carries for 8 yards (4.0 yards/carry).
When the fullbacks can run for at least 4 yards/carry, that sets up the rest of this offense.
Closing out the drive with 6 from Hayden Reed 🫡 https://t.co/3y6A0dIJFa pic.twitter.com/g63Z6KmT2h
— Army Football (@ArmyWP_Football) October 4, 2025
Does Army Have a Quarterback Controversy?
Hellums played well once he finally got into yesterday’s game. He took 21 carries for 81 yards (3.9 yards/carry) and 3 touchdowns, and went 1/4 passing for 41 yards. This contrasts pretty sharply with QB Dewayne Coleman’s 8 carries for 6 yards.
In all of that, Hellums’ only “bad” play came on a 4th-and-3 from the UAB 21. The staff called a rollout Run/Pass Option (RPO) — exactly the kind of play with which Hellums burned K-State repeatedly — but UAB’s defense covered it well, and Hellums was a little late deciding what to do. Had it not been 4th down, the right answer would have been to throw the ball away. As it was, he had to try forcing it to SB Noah Short. That didn’t work.
Still, one bad play in a tough spot in maybe 45 total snaps of action with no turnovers and good production from the fullbacks represents a solid day’s work.
With that said, it’s hard to argue in good faith that this performance creates a genuine controversy at quarterback. Both guys have played well at times this season, and both guys have played poorly. It’s probably worth noting, too, that the guy coming off the bench has tended to have more success, probably because they each run the offense so differently. So when the back-up comes in, and he’s not the guy for whom the defense prepared via film study, it has created major problems for Army’s opponents.
Army is going to need both guys. We know this. Coleman has been a little injury-prone, and Hellums tends to call his own number so much that it will eventually create a lot of wear and tear. The dude has *88* carries in maybe two and a half games’ worth of action. That is insane. Even this week, he wound up with more personal carries than all the fullbacks combined, and he only played about two and a half quarters.
A simple comparison tells us that Hellums is now about where QB Bryson Daily was at this point in his career way back in the now-forgotten first half of 2023. You guys have obviously forgotten this, but as a cow, Daily threw two picks each at ULM, Syracuse, and at home against UMass, and he fumbled multiple times against Troy. The first half of that 2023 season got truly ugly at times. But we all lived with it while we watched a then-young quarterback slowly but surely find his footing.
Friends, you are here.
We are watching this young offense again find it footing, slowly but surely. These guys are starting a new quarterback and three new O-Linemen alongside three new tight ends, a bunch of new fullbacks, and at least two new wide receivers. We can all see that they are getting there. This week, with fewer mistakes, less costly mistakes, and better use of the fullbacks, marked a significant improvement. If the team can build on this, they should get where we all want them to go.
Cale Hellums for his third rushing TD of the day 🤩
— Army Football (@ArmyWP_Football) October 4, 2025
Army leads 31-7 on ESPNU! pic.twitter.com/KGd9kIHxGV
Looking Forward
The Black Knights host a struggling Charlotte team next weekend at Michie Stadium. They have a good chance to get back to .500 while continuing to improve overall. After that, they’re at Tulane, at Air Force, at home versus Temple and Tulsa, and then at UTSA on Rivalry Weekend. None of those will be easy games. Tulane looks great. Air Force has an outstanding offense. Temple beat UTSA yesterday by shutting down their running game. Tulsa and UTSA have both struggled at times this season, both they’ve both looked dangerous at times as well, and Army has to play UTSA at their place.
For now, the Black Knights just need to build on this week’s win, keep figuring it out on offense and defense, and take it one step at a time, one game at a time.
OUR VICTORY SONG! pic.twitter.com/kwMWCbDGqz
— Army Football (@ArmyWP_Football) October 4, 2025
They needed a win this week, and they got it in emphatic fashion. We saw what we needed to see. Let’s get one more this weekend.
Go Army! Beat Charlotte!!!
