Army fans! Welcome to a new season of As For Football.
If this is your first season joining us, you’ve come at the right time. We’re happy you’re here! For our long-time fans, welcome back to yet another year of game previews, breakdowns, and the occasional joke about Danno’s age.
Whether you’ll be enjoying Army Football from your couch or are a season ticket holder, we’re happy to have you for the 9th year of AFF!
A little bookkeeping for the new members in our audience: Every week, we strive to give you at least six things. We have two podcasts, the As For Football Army Football Show and College Football Roundtable. We also do no less than five weekly articles:
— The Army Football Preview
— Our “Around the American” Conference Preview
— Keys to Victory on Friday mornings
— Quick Thoughts on Sundays after games
— an American Conference review article early the following week.
If you want a single email every week with all of these things, go sign up for our mailing list under the Support tab. And for ultra-hardcore Army fans who want to be part of our community, the Firstie Club is the place for you, available via our Patreon page. Yes, it does cost a little bit if you’re willing to support us. But it offers you a community and a gameday chat for the most serious Army fans.
We’d love to have you join us!
Bryant Bulldogs
Head Coach Chris Merritt leads the Bryant Bulldogs, now in their third year in the Coastal Athletic Conference. Last year, they went 1-7 in conference play. Their first-ever CAA win came over UAlbany in 2025. They also captured their first win over an FBS team in 2025 by beating UMass, 27-26.
Saturday will not be Bryant’s season opener. The Bulldogs beat the Stonehill Skyhawks from the Northeast Conference on the road last Saturday, 24-6. But the game stayed a good bit closer than the final score indicated through its first three quarters. Indeed, the Bulldogs were up just 7-3 heading into the final frame. They then scored 17 points on their last three drives to seal the win.
Offense
This was a run-first team in Week 0. The Bulldogs ran the ball 44 times and gained 4.3 yards/carry. QB Brennan Myer went just 10/20 passing and averaging a mere 5.1 yards/attempt. Still, the Bulldogs possessed the ball for less than 30 minutes overall, meaning they aren’t using the run to control the clock. They got chunk runs, especially late. RB OJ Ross finished with 104 yards on a whopping 5.7 yards/carry and a touchdown. In fact, all three of Bryant’s touchdowns came on the ground and by different players, to include their quarterback. Myer finished with 7 carries for 35 yards alongside his touchdown. When they throw, look out for Myer to target #2 Sean Wilson Jr. as his go-to receiver.
This should be a good test for Army’s young linebacking corps, featuring four first-year starters. The defensive front three – DE Jack Bousum, NT Kody Harris-Miller, and DT Dillon Stowers – should help those linerbackers gain their bearings against this run-first offense.
Defense
The big story from Week 0 was that Stonehill only got three redzone opportunities. With those chances, they kicked two field goals. Getting just 6/21 redzone points is less than ideal for any offense, especially when you only get three opportunities overall.
In 2024, everyone raved at how good Army’s redzone offense was. Last year, it wasn’t as good, but it also wasn’t as bad as people thought. It ended up averaging two fewer points/game for the Black Knights than we saw in 2024. The biggest difference though, came not because Army was less prolific in scoring in the redzone but because Army was less good at getting there in the first place.
This year should be different. Army’s experienced offensive line alongside returning QB Cale Hellums and his trio of fullbacks will have the opportunity Saturday to test both their ability to get to the redzone and their ability to score when they do. And they’ll be tested against a defense that already has a game under their belt. Bryant gave up 124 yards rushing on 3.2 yards/carry last week, and they played especially stout down near the goal line.
A new era built for the future.
— Army Football (@ArmyWP_Football) September 2, 2026
A new look Michie Stadium preserved by @USAA opens this Saturday.
Narrated by 1958 Heisman Trophy Winner Pete Dawkins.#GoArmy pic.twitter.com/Ot4Kne6T0N
Special Teams
If you’re new here, you should know that we like to make fun of opponents’ Special Teams. Not because of what they do or don’t do but because of how consistently hard it is to pronounce their names. With that being said, Bryant K Nicholas Stoyanovich made one field goal from 36 yards last week and missed one from 43 yards. P Kristian Karoglan averaged 38 yards/punt without giving up a touchback.
Army returns both P James Wagenseller and K Dawson Jones this year, so the Black Knights should have the leg up – pun intended – in this facet of the game. Additionally, team captain Owen Walter returns as the long snapper.
Key Takeaways
No need to remind the Army faithful what happened last year. But a lot of things look different about this year’s team.
We’ve got a few things to keep an eye on this week. The first is the team’s new linebackers. That position group is the only place on the roster that saw 100% turnover this past offseason. Not that you shouldn’t have some confidence, but it will be interesting to see them working together in a game for the first time.
The second place to look is the backfield. RBs Godspower Nwawuihe, Jake Rendina, and Carson Smith should all be featured in this game. This is probably the best fullback room Army has fielded since at least the 2018 season. Those guys should all be in for great seasons, hopefully leading to a more diversely balanced offense overall.
The last thing to watch is how the QB rotation works. Head Coach Jeff Monken has said he expects to get both QBs Bryson Luter and Ethan Washington into the game against Bryant regardless of the score. After last year’s injury carousel, Coach Monken has pointed out the importance of real game reps in critical situations for the backups as well as for starter Cale Hellums.
How to Watch
The game kicks at noon ET on CBS Sports Network. For those attending in person, you’ll get the first opportunity to see the Corps stretch from endzone to endzone in the new East Stands. If you’re on the road, the Varsity Network provides Rich DeMarco’s radio call no matter where you are. Finally, the usual suspects on X and in the Firstie Club‘s gameday chat will be around for those following from their couch!
Go Army! Beat Bryant!!!
