Friends, that was one of the craziest finishes we’ve ever seen in a Monken Era that’s long been known for crazy finishes. The Black Knights looked dead and buried, victims of their own hubris and of a Tulsa team that just had a little more fight down the stretch, and then they got a blocked punt from plebe CB David Jakande with just under four minutes left to play, and everything changed. The offense became unstoppable again, and then the defense forced a rare three-and-out, and that set up a seven-play, 27 yard field goal drive to win the game in regulation. PK Dawson Jones finished with a career night, hitting a 51-yarder in the first half to give the Black Knights a 10-7 lead, followed by a 50-yard game-winner.
Madness. Insanity. Brilliance.
DAWSON JONES WALKS IT OFF FROM 50 FOR THE BLACK KNIGHTS! #GoArmy https://t.co/5bp45Y7fxm
— Army Football (@ArmyWP_Football) October 24, 2026
Looking at the statistics in a vacuum, this looks like just another Army game, albeit one in which they struggled to convert third downs. Still, the team finished with 275 yards rushing and four rushing touchdowns on 51 carries, good for 5.4 yards per carry. On a night in which the team went three-and-out four times and could do nothing for almost the entire second half, they still somehow managed to finish like a Top 15 team in both total rushing yards and explosiveness. That’s insanity. QB Cale Hellums also went 7/12 through the air for 64 yards, setting up two half-ending field goals in one-minute situations, while SB Zach Mundell hit a halfback pass for another 45 yards to WR Brady Anderson. With that, the team finished a very respectable, 8/13 passing (61.5%) for 109 yards. Stylistically, the only thing wrong with any of this is that the team went just 5/14 on third down. They also went 3/4 on fourth down, and again, that’s not bad, but it set them up to punt four times. Alas, it was the timing and team psychology around those punts that created last night’s madness.
We saw something similar on defense. Army’s young defenders gave up 410 yards of total offense, including 148 yards rushing on 5.7 yards per carry. They gave up an 11-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter on a very well-executed counter-sweep that honestly looked super impressive on TV. That was okay. We knew Tulsa had a good offense coming in. However, Army’s defense also gave up a 59-yard touchdown run to Tulsa RB Trequan Jones right up the middle, and then they gave up a touchdown pass to the corner on a freaking third-and-goal from their own 13-yard line that had to have seen at least one Army defender out of position. If you’re gonna play bend-but-don’t-break, that’s the kind of play you absolutely have to make, especially when the other team is in do-or-die mode on third-and-long. In past years, Army’s defense has broken that up at least 85% of the time.
But at the end of the day, this young defense forced three three-and-outs, an interception, a missed field goal in crunch time, and the game-saving blocked punt. Like Army, Tulsa wound up attempting four punts, even if they didn’t get all four kicks off in good order.
Fight on to Victory! https://t.co/jPCw3PlYw2
— Army Football (@ArmyWP_Football) October 24, 2026
As we said, Tulsa has a good offense. Army’s also got a young defense. The Black Knights were only ever gonna get so many stops in this game. We knew this. It was never a secret. Indeed, before the contest, we probably would have signed up for three three-and-outs, an interception, and a blocked punt. Just that by itself should allowed Army’s senior-laden offense to take control of this game and win it walking away.
Unfortunately, as we’ve noted previously, this team’s psychology tends to wobble a little when they get up by two scores in the second half. If you need a team to come back and win the game late, the Black Knights are your guys 100% of the time. But holding a lead up 10 or even 14 points is not always their best thing.
God knows, it wasn’t last night.
I have no idea why the Staff decided to put QB Bryson Luter into the game up seven following Tulsa’s first scoring drive of the second half. We all know Luter’s a good player, but that decision wrong-footed the offense, and they almost didn’t recover. They took an immediate delay of game penalty, then hit two quarterback runs for a total of two yards, and then took another dumb penalty on what should have been a drive-saving completion on third-and-13.
And then the wheels came off. Hellums missed a few reads, and then the Staff quit letting him make reads and instead started calling power runs from the booth just as Tulsa’s defense found a renewed sense of confidence. With Army steadily going nowhere, and Tulsa’s offense driving the field methodically on the other side, the game’s logic flip-flopped, so that now Army’s defense got gassed while the Black Knights’ offense spluttered with short possessions. The Golden Hurricane wound up scoring 21 unanswered points and taking total control in the second half. If they’d hit what should have been a game-sealing kick from just 40 yards out, we’d be having a very different conversation this morning. Even after the Football Gods bailed the Black Knights out with that miss, they still went three-and-out again and looked headed for yet another ignominious loss.
Thankfully, all three phases matter. Army’s defense came through with a very well-timed three-and-out, and their special teams unit — which had struggled early in giving up a long kickoff return — came through with the blocked punt of destiny, and suddenly, despite everything, the Black Knights’ offense had new life. With a renewed sense of confidence themselves, the offense easily punched it in from thirteen yards out, and the rest is history.
Tim Kloska with the block and recovery! 📺 ESPN2 #GoArmy https://t.co/KRWPbn3KSA
— Army Football (@ArmyWP_Football) October 24, 2026
No doubter from 50 by Dawson Jones FTW 🤩 #GoArmy https://t.co/MOUAiyefWT
— Army Football (@ArmyWP_Football) October 24, 2026
We got a win for the ages, and that’s good. But friends, these guys have got to get out of their own way when things are going good. Before that blocked punt, I was all set to write that this offense has spent too much time reading its own headlines, that they lose whatever edge makes them great when they have a lead. Even now, it’s hard not to wonder if maybe that hasn’t happened a little at times these past two years.
For now, though, let’s celebrate the good times. They got a tough win on the road with a gritty comeback when they really needed it. That counts, even if they’re maybe trying to catch lightning in a bottle a little too much instead of just kicking ass for four full quarters. This wasn’t the complete game we saw last week, but at the end of the day, it was enough. We’ll take it.
Looking Forward
Army travels to Memphis to take on a Tigers team that’s also coming off a gritty, comeback win, though theirs came in overtime. If the Black Knights play next week like they played this week, they’ll leave with a loss. But this will be their second of three straight night games, and thankfully, this one will start just a little earlier. We’ll see if maybe a little familiarity with the routine can help this team find a bit more consistency in their approach.
Suffered Well #GoTigersGo | #CloseTheGap https://t.co/LJv740UgYo
— Memphis Football (@MemphisFB) October 23, 2026
It should be a good one. Here’s hoping.
Go Army! Beat Memphis!!!
