Army Falls 31-29 on the Road, Undone by 11 Double-Digit Gains

Army allowed 11 double-digit gains and 503 yards in a 31-29 road loss despite 421 yards of offense; Tulane visits Michie Stadium next Saturday.

Army dropped a 31-29 decision on the road Saturday, undone by a defense that could not prevent the big play. The Black Knights gave up 11 gains of at least 10 yards, and those chunk plays fed four touchdowns, the field goal that proved decisive and one missed kick.

Quarterback Cale Hellums gathered his teammates afterward, speaking to them while head coach Jeff Monken met with reporters, and his message was about the two units failing to lift each other. Hellums said the offense and defense were not playing in support of one another: the defense would come away with a stop and receive no answering points, and the offense's production went unmatched by stops at the other end.

Production was not the issue for Army, which rolled up 421 yards and lost anyway. It has happened before in recent seasons, twice last year against Tarleton State and North Texas, twice in 2022 against Texas-San Antonio and Wake Forest, and once in 2021 against Wake Forest.

The defense had the rougher afternoon. Army allowed 503 yards, a figure the program had not seen since LSU put up 570 in a 62-0 defeat in 2023, with 512 more surrendered in a 2022 loss to UTSA.

Monken's review centered on those long gains. He said his team had a hard time taking away passes over the middle, was beaten on the edges and kept giving up the catches the home side wanted, allowing the opponent to control field position. In his assessment, the hosts simply converted when it mattered.

Two of the longest gains came from Dylone Brooks. His 72-yard touchdown run in the second quarter saw him swallowed up at the line of scrimmage before he kept driving his legs, twisted loose along the edge and pulled away from two Army defensive backs. In the third quarter, a halfback option to the right drew his assigned defender toward the ball and left Brooks alone by at least 10 yards for a 74-yard score on a double pass.

The trouble began early. Sergio Snider's 24-yard touchdown run in the first quarter came minutes after Tallon Shettron caught a 20-yard pass as he slid to the ground, an opening stretch that shaped the game. Monken acknowledged blown assignments, including on the double pass, when a defender assigned to Brooks followed the ball to the right side and left his man, errors he said must be corrected.

Tackling was another concern. Monken said his team did not tackle as well as he hoped or needed, and that better work in that area might have ended a couple of drives. Army was charged with 22 missed tackles in a loss to South Florida three weeks ago and 16 in last week's win over Temple, and Monken did not expect Saturday's total to look any better.

Next up is a home date with Tulane at Michie Stadium on Saturday. Monken said the team would regroup Sunday, address the mistakes from this game and spend the coming week working to carry those corrections onto the field, hoping the fixes translate into a better result next weekend.