We got a good one yesterday, friends. Your Army Black Knights played their first complete game of the season, and it resulted in a 56-24 drubbing of the Florida Atlantic Owls.
It might seem a little hard to remember now, having just seen the Black Knights fire the MICLIC and then run those dudes over with a plow and rollers, but FAU has a really good team and arguably the best offense in the entire conference. The Owls came into Michie Stadium 4-1, 1-0 in the American, and looking for a potential berth in their first ever conference championship game. Instead of that, they coughed up three turnovers and allowed almost 500 yards rushing on every bit of 8.0 yards per carry.
We expected a barnburner. Instead, we saw the Black Knights set FAU’s house on fire.
This was the best we’ve seen Army’s D-Line play this season. They rushed the passer and got 2 sacks, but they also made sure to get their hands up and into the passing lanes when they couldn’t get home, batting several balls into the air and forcing that game-turning interception on the Owls’ first play from scrimmage. They also played well against the run, a crucial factor given that FAU runs the ball reasonably well and likes to use the run to both move the chains and keep pressure off of QB Caden Veltkamp.
THE FEARLESS ARMY WAY! #GoArmy https://t.co/eqeYe2GjDw
— Army Football (@ArmyWP_Football) October 17, 2026
Of course, that first interception led to an immediate rushing touchdown from SB Samari Howard off a well-executed option pitch, and from there, the Black Knights just kept on rolling. Howard finished with 5 carries for 43 yards and the touchdown plus what was technically a 2-yard reception off an inside shovel pass. QB Cale Hellums led all rushers with 195 yards and *5* touchdowns on 25 carries. But this game saw a lot more than just the Cale Hellums Show. Army FBs Jake Rendina, Godspower Nwawuihe, Carson Smith, and Demani Stewart collectively took 26 carries for another 164 yards and a long touchdown from Rendina.
And honestly, how awesome was it to see Rendina, the team’s iconic blocking fullback, break one to the house? He has paved the way for Army quarterbacks so many times and absolutely deserved to get his moment carrying the football.
Army’s bend-but-don’t-break defense can be maddening at times, but we saw it work to near perfection yesterday. This game was always going to turn on whichever team got the most stops. Indeed, after that first turnover and score, we had about twenty minutes of shootout in which neither team could get a stop. But then Army’s defense forced a 50-yard field goal attempt that wouldn’t have changed the game even if it had hit. When it missed, that gave the Black Knights a chance to go up by two scores and then get the ball to start the second half. Army managed the clock to perfection on the ensuing drive, which would’ve been enough to win the game by itself with the way things were going. But then the Owls fumbled the kickoff with just a minute remaining, Army scored again, and the route was on.
By midway through the third quarter, FAU as a unit looked ready to pack it up and go home. When the Owls needed to score quickly to maybe stage a comeback, Army played back off the ball, taking away the deep shots and visibly frustrating Veltkamp in the pocket. FAU did end up getting a single score in the second half, but it came following a methodical ten-play drive of the kind that was never gonna bring them back from a multi-touchdown deficit.
Photographer Mike K. Heit got some incredible shots this week. As always, his gallery is on our Patreon page.
We should probably note that the weather played a part this week. It wasn’t cold, per se, but the air stayed plenty chilly. Temperatures maybe rose to fifty degrees with just enough wind to bite. Members of AFF’s Firstie Club reported seeing heaters and hand-warmers on FAU’s sidelines, and once the game got out of hand, the whole team looked absolutely miserable. FAU WR Easton Messer played well, finishing with 14 catches for 102 yards and a touchdown, but he didn’t have a lot of help out there late. WR Kelby Valsin, FAU’s primary deep threat, finished with 7 catches for 89 yards and a touchdown, but he all but disappeared in the game’s second half. Beyond that, the Owls ran a bunch of screen passes because that’s all they could get working against Army’s zone coverage downfield.
To reiterate: this FAU team has a truly outstanding offense. They average 304 yards passing per game on almost 8 yards per attempt and have put up a whopping 37 points per game this season. They hit 324 through the air yesterday, too, but they did it for just 6.6 yards per attempt. That difference explains why one of college football’s most potent passing attacks never mounted anything like a comeback. Even down four scores, they had to continually drive the length of the field chunk by chunk. They totally did it, too. They finished 10/14 on third down, 2/2 on fourth down, earned 28 total first downs (!), and held the ball for more than 27 minutes. In a vacuum, all of that is excellent. But none of it mattered because Army forced turnovers and played good red zone defense.
Army’s defense has had an adventure this season searching for its identity. Six games in, though, they’ve clearly found it. Now this Army Team looks like a really good D1 college football team, one that might even be ready to contend for another American Conference Championship.
Rendina rumbles 61 yards 😤 📺 @CBSSportsNet #GoArmy https://t.co/lefUtzcdMY
— Army Football (@ArmyWP_Football) October 17, 2026
Looking Forward
The Black Knights will have a tough task this week. They travel to Tulsa to take on the Golden Hurricane (4-3, 1-2 in the American) in a Friday night game off a short week. Tulsa beat Rice yesterday, 38-17, and worse, Tulsa’s defense will be playing against its third option offense in a row. Granted, that same defense gave up 386 rushing yards to Navy on almost 6 yards per carry two weeks ago, followed by 289 yards rushing to Rice’s Owls on 5.4 yards per carry just yesterday. However, the Black Knights are probably not going to fool Tulsa with any triple-option trickeration or pre-snap motion nonsense. Instead, this week’s game promises to be much more of a straightforward, smashmouth affair.
Coming home with a VICTORY! #ReignCane https://t.co/UB7pbzhubL
— Tulsa Football (@TulsaFootball) October 17, 2026
The Black Knights can win this week, but they’ll need to play way better at night on the road than they did last time out against La. Tech. In fact, Vegas has made Army a 1.5-point underdog as of this writing, though I’d expect that line to shift. Even before yesterday’s whuppin’, Massey made Army a six-point favorite while SP+ made the Black Knights about a one-point favorite on the road. Either of those seem a little more reasonable given the way these two teams have played over the past few weeks, but we’ll see.
Ultimately, none of those numbers matter. What matters is Army executing on both sides of the ball. We got that this week, and if the Black Knights can keep it up, we’ll all get to go home happy next week as well.
Go Army! Beat Tulsa!!!
