Army West Point Athletics
Feinstein's Findings: Turnovers Doom Army
October 09, 2016 | Football
Chances are good that Army football coach Jeff Monken and his staff won't spend a lot of time reviewing video—or as coaches still call it, 'the film,'—from Saturday's 13-6 loss at Duke.
The reason is simple: there isn't that much to be learned from watching your team play in a monsoon. That's what Army and Duke walked into Saturday at newly-renovated Wallace Wade Stadium as the fringes of Hurricane Matthew battered the state of North Carolina.
Which is why it isn't surprising that the defenses dominated the game—Duke had nine first downs; Army had eight—and which is why it isn't surprising that turnovers decided the outcome.
Sadly, it was Army's two fumbles that were the difference. The first one, an Andy Davidson fumble at the 9-yard line set up Duke's first touchdown and the second one, a poor pitch by Ahmad Bradshaw, snuffed out the Black Knights last legitimate threat. The Black Knights' last turnover—on a late interception when Bradshaw threw into double coverage--was the final nail, but it was the fumbled pitch, with the ball inside the 30-yard line and plenty of time (6:45) left, that proved fatal.
Remarkably, Duke only turned the ball over once—on a first quarter fumble caused by a Rhyan England hit, leading to an Andrew King recovery at the Duke 40-yard line. But the Black Knights couldn't move the ball from there, turning it over on downs four plays later.
If the turnovers were reason one for the loss, the offense's inability to convert on third and fourth down was reason two. Army was 2-for-13 on third down attempts and, even worse, 0-for-4 on fourth down. Two weeks ago at Buffalo, three failed fourth-down conversions were a key element in the loss.
That was the case again on Saturday: first after the King fumble recovery that could have changed the momentum of the game with the score 7-0 and then after Jaylon McClinton had blocked a punt, setting the Cadets up on the Duke 27-yard-line, trailing 13-0 in the second quarter. On 4th-and-1 from the 4-yard-line Monken elected to try to pick up the first down; a correct decision under any circumstances, but even more so in conditions that made every kick of any kind an adventure.
The play never had a chance. Duke cornerback Breon Borders was on top of John Trainor the instant he caught Bradshaw's pitch, dropping him for a loss of one. That was part of a pattern all day: time and again in key short-yardage situations, Duke was in the Army backfield before anyone had a chance to try to make a play.
Even so, Army had plenty of chances to win this game. After being bottled up for most of the first half, Davidson bolted into the clear for a 45-yard touchdown run in which he outran the entire Duke defense. Davidson now has seven touchdowns and what's clear is that he's not likely to get run down from behind by anyone.
That score, late in the second quarter made it 13-6 after a high snap of a wet ball went through holder Bradshaw's hands and was grabbed by Blake Wilson. The kicker's quick hands may have saved two-points, since the ball might otherwise have been picked up by a Duke defender with open field in front of him. Sadly though, Wilson is not adept at the drop-kick, which was about his only chance to making anything happen on the play.
Still, down a touchdown with a half to play, there was every reason to believe something good might happen in the last 30 minutes.
It did—on defense. While it can certainly be argued that the pouring down rain and wind hindered both offenses, Army had plenty of reason to feel good about its performance on the defensive side of the ball. Duke made one truly great play, red-shirt freshman quarterback Daniel Jones, somehow laying a perfect pass into the arms of receiver Aaron Jones in the corner of the end zone for a 22-yard score in the second quarter. That drive went only 32-yards after Army had again turned the ball over on downs. The Blue Devils' first touchdown drive went 9-yard after the Davidson fumble.
Other than that, they did almost nothing offensively. Middle linebackers Jeremy Timpf and King receive a lot of the credit for Army's defensive play—and they deserve it. Each was in on 15 tackles Saturday. But the outside linebackers, junior Alex Aukerman and sophomore Kenneth Brinson, have been improving each week and now give Army one of the best linebacking corps in the country.
Aukerman had a total of 13 tackles Saturday, three-and-a-half for losses, and Brinson had eight tackles. In all, Army was just about as effective as Duke getting into the backfield, with 10 tackles for loss. The Blue Devils had eight, but theirs seems to come at the game's most critical moments.
While the defense consistently got Duke's offense off the field, the offense simply couldn't take advantage. The best opportunity came after the defense forced a punt from inside the five-yard-line midway through the fourth quarter and the offense took over at the Duke 44. Bradshaw picked up seven; Davidson six. Thoughts began to swirl: would Monken go for two after a touchdown and not risk another bad snap? Could Army somehow pull off a 14-13 win?
No. Bradshaw sprinted to his left into traffic. He had done a good job all day not forcing pitches with a wet ball. This time though, he tried a late pitch and the ball was on the ground. Duke recovered. As it turned out, that was the ballgame.
It may be grasping at straws, but, after being embarrassed 44-3 at Michie Stadium a year ago by Duke, this loss certainly showed progress. The teams—in uniquely bad conditions—were pretty much evenly matched.
For years, Duke was, arguably, the worst team in the Football Bowl Subdivision, suffering through four winless seasons in an 11-year period. David Cutcliffe was hired in 2008 to try to build something from the rubble after Ted Roof went 4-42. It took a while. Cutcliffe was 15-43 his first four seasons (an improvement) but has gone 33-20 the last four, taking Duke to four straight second-tier bowl games—the equivalent of winning four straight national titles at Alabama.
Two weeks ago, the Blue Devils actually won at Notre Dame. Granted, the Irish aren't having a great season, but Duke beating Notre Dame in football—in South Bend—is about as likely as the U.S. hockey team beating the Soviet Union in Lake Placid in 1980.
On the other hand, Duke had turned the ball over six times a week ago in an embarrassing loss to Virginia. Cutcliffe's good, but he isn't (Army grad) Mike Krzyzewski.
And so, while there is no shame in this loss, there is certainly disappointment—especially after letting the Buffalo game slip away. The next two games are at home (finally) and are eminently winnable: Lafayette and North Texas. Army should be 5-2 at that point.
Then come games at Wake Forest (5-1); against Air Force (4-1) and against Notre Dame in San Antonio, Texas. That's a mouthful.
What we know now is that this is a much-improved Army football team. What we don't know yet is where that improvement will ultimately lead.
The reason is simple: there isn't that much to be learned from watching your team play in a monsoon. That's what Army and Duke walked into Saturday at newly-renovated Wallace Wade Stadium as the fringes of Hurricane Matthew battered the state of North Carolina.
Which is why it isn't surprising that the defenses dominated the game—Duke had nine first downs; Army had eight—and which is why it isn't surprising that turnovers decided the outcome.
Sadly, it was Army's two fumbles that were the difference. The first one, an Andy Davidson fumble at the 9-yard line set up Duke's first touchdown and the second one, a poor pitch by Ahmad Bradshaw, snuffed out the Black Knights last legitimate threat. The Black Knights' last turnover—on a late interception when Bradshaw threw into double coverage--was the final nail, but it was the fumbled pitch, with the ball inside the 30-yard line and plenty of time (6:45) left, that proved fatal.
Remarkably, Duke only turned the ball over once—on a first quarter fumble caused by a Rhyan England hit, leading to an Andrew King recovery at the Duke 40-yard line. But the Black Knights couldn't move the ball from there, turning it over on downs four plays later.
If the turnovers were reason one for the loss, the offense's inability to convert on third and fourth down was reason two. Army was 2-for-13 on third down attempts and, even worse, 0-for-4 on fourth down. Two weeks ago at Buffalo, three failed fourth-down conversions were a key element in the loss.
That was the case again on Saturday: first after the King fumble recovery that could have changed the momentum of the game with the score 7-0 and then after Jaylon McClinton had blocked a punt, setting the Cadets up on the Duke 27-yard-line, trailing 13-0 in the second quarter. On 4th-and-1 from the 4-yard-line Monken elected to try to pick up the first down; a correct decision under any circumstances, but even more so in conditions that made every kick of any kind an adventure.
The play never had a chance. Duke cornerback Breon Borders was on top of John Trainor the instant he caught Bradshaw's pitch, dropping him for a loss of one. That was part of a pattern all day: time and again in key short-yardage situations, Duke was in the Army backfield before anyone had a chance to try to make a play.
Even so, Army had plenty of chances to win this game. After being bottled up for most of the first half, Davidson bolted into the clear for a 45-yard touchdown run in which he outran the entire Duke defense. Davidson now has seven touchdowns and what's clear is that he's not likely to get run down from behind by anyone.
That score, late in the second quarter made it 13-6 after a high snap of a wet ball went through holder Bradshaw's hands and was grabbed by Blake Wilson. The kicker's quick hands may have saved two-points, since the ball might otherwise have been picked up by a Duke defender with open field in front of him. Sadly though, Wilson is not adept at the drop-kick, which was about his only chance to making anything happen on the play.
Still, down a touchdown with a half to play, there was every reason to believe something good might happen in the last 30 minutes.
It did—on defense. While it can certainly be argued that the pouring down rain and wind hindered both offenses, Army had plenty of reason to feel good about its performance on the defensive side of the ball. Duke made one truly great play, red-shirt freshman quarterback Daniel Jones, somehow laying a perfect pass into the arms of receiver Aaron Jones in the corner of the end zone for a 22-yard score in the second quarter. That drive went only 32-yards after Army had again turned the ball over on downs. The Blue Devils' first touchdown drive went 9-yard after the Davidson fumble.
Other than that, they did almost nothing offensively. Middle linebackers Jeremy Timpf and King receive a lot of the credit for Army's defensive play—and they deserve it. Each was in on 15 tackles Saturday. But the outside linebackers, junior Alex Aukerman and sophomore Kenneth Brinson, have been improving each week and now give Army one of the best linebacking corps in the country.
Aukerman had a total of 13 tackles Saturday, three-and-a-half for losses, and Brinson had eight tackles. In all, Army was just about as effective as Duke getting into the backfield, with 10 tackles for loss. The Blue Devils had eight, but theirs seems to come at the game's most critical moments.
While the defense consistently got Duke's offense off the field, the offense simply couldn't take advantage. The best opportunity came after the defense forced a punt from inside the five-yard-line midway through the fourth quarter and the offense took over at the Duke 44. Bradshaw picked up seven; Davidson six. Thoughts began to swirl: would Monken go for two after a touchdown and not risk another bad snap? Could Army somehow pull off a 14-13 win?
No. Bradshaw sprinted to his left into traffic. He had done a good job all day not forcing pitches with a wet ball. This time though, he tried a late pitch and the ball was on the ground. Duke recovered. As it turned out, that was the ballgame.
It may be grasping at straws, but, after being embarrassed 44-3 at Michie Stadium a year ago by Duke, this loss certainly showed progress. The teams—in uniquely bad conditions—were pretty much evenly matched.
For years, Duke was, arguably, the worst team in the Football Bowl Subdivision, suffering through four winless seasons in an 11-year period. David Cutcliffe was hired in 2008 to try to build something from the rubble after Ted Roof went 4-42. It took a while. Cutcliffe was 15-43 his first four seasons (an improvement) but has gone 33-20 the last four, taking Duke to four straight second-tier bowl games—the equivalent of winning four straight national titles at Alabama.
Two weeks ago, the Blue Devils actually won at Notre Dame. Granted, the Irish aren't having a great season, but Duke beating Notre Dame in football—in South Bend—is about as likely as the U.S. hockey team beating the Soviet Union in Lake Placid in 1980.
On the other hand, Duke had turned the ball over six times a week ago in an embarrassing loss to Virginia. Cutcliffe's good, but he isn't (Army grad) Mike Krzyzewski.
And so, while there is no shame in this loss, there is certainly disappointment—especially after letting the Buffalo game slip away. The next two games are at home (finally) and are eminently winnable: Lafayette and North Texas. Army should be 5-2 at that point.
Then come games at Wake Forest (5-1); against Air Force (4-1) and against Notre Dame in San Antonio, Texas. That's a mouthful.
What we know now is that this is a much-improved Army football team. What we don't know yet is where that improvement will ultimately lead.
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