The Black Knights had their good stuff for yesterday’s home opener against the Bryant Bulldogs. On a day that saw West Point debut Michie Stadium’s new East Stands, the team showed up in all three phases and absolutely flattened the visitors.
That was fun!
GAME WON 🫡#GoArmy pic.twitter.com/LX1Roem49s
— Army Football (@ArmyWP_Football) September 5, 2026
A game like this almost defies analysis because everything went right. The Black Knights ran for a whopping 569 yards on fully 10 yards/carry and scored *8* rushing touchdowns. Their defense held the Bulldogs to just 165 yards of total offense, 2.2 yards/carry, and a meager 3/14 on 3rd down. Army posted 31 first downs while holding their opponents to just 9. In fact, Bryant didn’t even get its first 1st down until we’d gotten a minute into the 2nd quarter. By that point, the Black Knights led, 21-0.
QB Cale Hellums played through the first series of the second half, which lasted just over 90 seconds total. Then SB Zach Mundell took a Rocket Toss 66 yards for a touchdown, and Hellums was done for the day. Backup QB Bryson Luter came in for a series with the starters and instantly led a 45-yard touchdown drive, keyed by an 18-yard Quarterback Keeper that saw a Bryant facemask penalty put the Black Knights on the 5-yard line. RB Godspower Nwawuihe scored out of the Wildcat two plays later.
The Army goes rolling along. #GoArmy pic.twitter.com/bKl3M5gmic
— Army Football (@ArmyWP_Football) September 5, 2026
Luter and the rest of the second string came in for the ensuing drive, and that marked arguably the only hiccup of the entire game. Army ran just six plays before punting, though the Coaching Staff might’ve been at least somewhat satisfied to exercise the punt team under game conditions. P James Wagenseller fired off a 53-yard missile that buried Bryant at their own 20, and five plays later, Army got the ball back. This time, Luter and the Twos ran an efficient drive, putting up 82 yards and a touchdown in just 8 plays. Luter finished with 5 carries for 49 yards (9.8 yards/carry!) plus a 7-yard completion to yearling WR/SB Stroman Bridges.
QB Ethan Washington and the Threes came in after that and ran two successful drives. They scored once and then finished the game in Victory Formation at the Bryant 2-yard line. Washington finished 2/2 through the air for 13 yards and carried 3 times for 14 yards and a touchdown.
Yesterday’s game sits tied for the third-most lopsided home win of Head Coach Jeff Monken’s career at West Point. The Black Knights won yesterday, 59-3 (+56 points). In 2016, they beat the Lafayette Leopards, 62-7 (+55 points). In 2017, they beat the Fordham Rams, 64-6 (+58 points). In 2019, they beat the UMass Minutemen, 63-7 (+56 points). In 2023, they beat the Delaware State Hornets, 57-0 (+57 points). Had yearling WR/SB Stratton Fuller not been called out at the 2-yard line on the second-to-last play, yesterday’s game would have set a new record for the Monken Era.
.@MichaelKHeit with this *incredible* end zone video splice of QB Cale Hellums’s long touchdown run.#GoArmy #BEATUSF #ArmyBlackKnights pic.twitter.com/zcsFhkNBKe
— As For Football (@asforfootball) September 5, 2026
As we might expect, this game saw a few notable stats. First and perhaps most importantly, Hellums did an excellent job distributing the football. Nwawuihe led the team in carries with 11 for 53 yards and a touchdown. Mundell led the team in total yardage and in yards/carry, going for 105 yards and 2 rushing touchdowns on just 4 total carries. DT Dillon Stowers led the team in tackles with 5, 3 solo, including a sack. I can’t remember the last time an Army D-Lineman led the team in tackles. Overall, Army’s defense posted 6 sacks. DE Jack Bousum led the team with 1.5. The Black Knights defense forced *9* punts.
We had a great time tailgating yesterday, and friends, the new East Stands look incredible. Having the Corps of Cadets stretch from end zone to end zone makes for a commanding visual presentation, and I can only imagine what it sounded like down on the field. Pictures from the opening ceremony on Friday night looked amazing. West Point did a nice job showing itself to good effect this week.
Looking Ahead
The Black Knights will host South Florida next week, starting at noon on CBS Sports. As of this writing, Army is a 3-point favorite, though that line has moved a lot since it opened at Army (-1.5). It slid all the way to Army (-4.5) before rebounding to its current level.
The South Florida Bulls beat FIU at home to start their season last night, but their offense struggled to move the ball throughout the game. They finished with just 208 yards of total offense and all of 108 yards rushing on just 2.8 yards/carry. Neither team scored a touchdown in the first half yesterday, though USF took a 6-0 lead into the break. The Panthers then cut that lead to 6-3 midway through the 3rd quarter before self-destructing, losing a fumble and two interceptions to make the final score 19-9. Still, these Bulls might want to look for some offense before they head north next week. Oh by the way, they allowed 80 yards rushing on 3.2 yards/carry alongside the 301 yards the Panthers put up through the air.
Bulls Nation SHOWED 👏 OUT 👏 pic.twitter.com/3WfKLgkjig
— South Florida Football (@USFFootball) September 6, 2026
Teams tend to grow a lot from Week 1 to Week 2, which is convenient for USF fans because they’re gonna want to see better stuff when they get to Michie Stadium. I expect the Black Knights will be ready.
Go Army! Beat USF!!!
