There have been few stories more impressive during the college football season than the surprising success of Army. The Black Knights improved their record Saturday to 9-0 with a 14-3 victory over North Texas, as the Army defense simply dominated the Mean Green on its home turf.
The win means Army (9-0, 7-0 AAC) has the longest winning streak in the nation as head coach Jeff Monken's team has won 13 straight games. The Black Knights have shown they can run the ball quite well but it is their defense that has truly stood out against North Texas. In the win over the Mean Green (5-4, 2-3), they held a team that averaged 40.8 points per game and held it to a field goal on its opening drive — and nothing else.
Army dominated in a number of statistical areas, and their biggest advantage came on the ground. The Black Knights gained 293 rushing yards while holding North Texas to 69 yards.
Army also had 23 first downs in the game while North Texas was held to 18 and Army was also the much more efficient team on third down. The Black Knights converted 9 of 14 third-down situations while the Black Knights were successful on just 4 of 11.
Army's success on the ground and their ability to make things happen on third-down plays led to a spectacular 41:45-18:15 time of possession advantage.
Monken has gotten the job done for Army throughout his career
The Black Knights have been more than respectable under Jeff Monken throughout his 11-year run at Army. Prior to this season, his teams had a 70-55 won-loss record, and the team was know for its tenacity and running game. While Monken's teams have been widely respected, an undefeated season through the first nine games of the season has been completely unexpected.
Quarterback Bryson Daily dominated the attack for Army with 36 carries for 153 yards and 2 touchdowns. He received some assistance from running backs Kanye Udoh and Noah Short. Udoh contributed 13 carries for 65 yards while Short had 6 rushing attempts for 41 yards.
The Army passing attack was limited to 2 Daily completions in 4 attempts for a paltry 15 yards.
North Texas tried to counter Army's ground game with a passing attack. Chandler Morris completed 24 of 37 passes for 214 yards. The North Texas attack was blunted as Morris threw a pair of interceptions to Donavon Platt and Justin Weaver.
North Texas lost its third straight game with a chance to become bowl eligible, and the Mean Green was held without a touchdown for the first time since the 2016 season.
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