Army West Point Athletics
Feinstein's Findings: Little Details Cost Army
September 25, 2016 | Football
There is a reason why the term, 'trap game,' exists. It exists to describe games like the one Army played in Amherst, New York on Saturday night against a University at Buffalo team that—on paper—appeared to be a likely fourth straight victim in a magical 2016 football season.
And then, just like that, the magic disappeared on a cool evening during a disheartening fourth quarter that caught everyone on the Army sideline by surprise.
When it was over, when Buffalo kicker Adam Mitcheson's 33-yard overtime field goal sailed through the uprights to give the Bulls a stunning 23-20 victory, there was nothing for the Cadets to do except shake hands and walk off the field knowing they had let a 4-0 record slip through their fingers.
There's a reason why people wear T-shirts that say, 'Genius is in the details.' Football coaches might rephrase the shirt to say, 'WINNING is in the details.'
A detail like poor coverage on the opening kickoff that forced kicker Mitchell Howard to making the tackle—injuring his ankle as he did so. He spent the rest of the game on the sideline with his left—kicking—foot in a boot. Blake Wilson filled in admirably most of the night, but missed the 34-yarder that could have won the game—although to be fair, he was victimized by a less-than-perfect snap.
More details: Army hadn't turned the ball over all season. Saturday, it had two turnovers. The first caused little damage, a Chris Carter third-and-17 lob late in the first half that was intercepted at the one-yard-line.
But the fumble on an Ahmad Bradshaw to Jordan Asberry pitch on Army's fourth play of the second half was critical—perhaps the turning point of the long night. Up until that moment, even though the score was only 10-0, the Black Knights had dominated the game. Army Coach Jeff Monken had told the Army Sports Network's Tony Morino at halftime that he was, 'embarrassed,' by the performance of the offense.
Monken's frustration was understandable. The offense had failed to convert Kenneth Brinson's first quarter interception into any points—failing on fourth down for the first time all season—when Ahmad Bradshaw threw an incomplete pass.
There had also been key penalties, notably a false start on Mike Houghton after the Cadets had moved to the Buffalo 29 late in the second quarter, with a chance to add a late score that might very well have crushed the Bulls' spirit going into the break.
Instead, the false start led to a sack which led to Carter's third-and-17 heave.
But the fumble was the game-changer. It came after a block-in-the-back on the kickoff had changed field position from the 40 to the 8. The Buffalo offense had produce a total of four first half first downs. Given a short field though, Bulls freshman quarterback Tyree Jackson began to find some rhythm and—eventually—the end zone. The missed extra point left the margin at 10-6, but suddenly Buffalo had life.
Never give an underdog life—especially when you're on the road.
Even so, it appeared that the Black Knights would dodge their self-made bullet when Bradshaw scored to up the margin to 20-6. But the team that had played so well in the opening two games with the games in doubt—there was no need at UTEP—simply couldn't get out of its own way in the final 15 minutes.
With the ball and a two touchdown lead early in the fourth quarter, a time-killing drive that would lead to at least a field goal would have ended the game. The Black Knights quickly moved into Buffalo territory. But another penalty, this one a personal foul on Colby Enegren, pushed Army back to its own 42 with 1st-and-25. That led to a fourth-and-two at the Buffalo 34 with 11:30 left.
In a similar situation at Temple, with the score 14-13, Bradshaw picked up a critical first down leading to the touchdown that made it 21-13 and breathed some much-needed late game confidence into the Cadets.
This time, Bradshaw came up a yard short. Buffalo promptly drove the length-of-the-field to make it 20-13. Again, it was up to the offense. Again, it failed. This time on 3d-and-two, Bradshaw again came up a yard short. It is difficult to question the play-calling on either aborted drive. Bradshaw had been excellent on short yardage plays all season and rushed for 126 yards on Saturday night. But twice, when he needed two yards, he got one.
Even after Buffalo had again gone the length of the field to tie the game at 20-20, there was time for redemption—and a win. The Black Knights got the ball to the Bulls 16, but a poor snap led to Wilson's miss and—shockingly—the game went into overtime.
Which meant disaster.
On the first play of the OT, Enegren was again called for a personal foul, blowing up the offensive series. When Wilson missed from 43-yards, the end was inevitable. It came moments later when Mitcheson was true from 33-yards and the Bulls stormed the field, no doubt as stunned by their victory as the Cadets were stunned by their defeat.
Details: Army hadn't been stopped on fourth down all season: it was stopped twice Saturday night. It hadn't had a turnover all season: the third quarter fumble was absolutely critical. It had avoided important penalties—the kind that were crippling last season. In all, there were 83 yards in penalties—many, if not most of them, devastating.
Monken correctly pointed out that poor kick coverage led to Howard's injury. There was also the block-in-the-back on the second half kickoff. Special teams are now officially an issue.
What's more, Edgar Poe, the team's best wide receiver, is probably out for six weeks with a hand injury.
Everything that went right for three weeks, went wrong on Saturday night. Upsets happen—ask Notre Dame.
The last thing Monken and his players are ever going to do is make excuses. I'll do it for them. No one not inside that locker room can know how difficult the last two weeks have been. On Monday, the entire team went to Queens for Brandon Jackson's funeral.
Yes, you say you want to stay focused. Yes, you say you want to win for your fallen comrade. No, you don't make excuses. But these are human beings, young men, learning as they go—on and off the football field.
As disappointing as the loss to Buffalo was, the fact that the game would have been won if there had been more attention to detail, should leave this team angry—but not without hope.
The schedule ramps up in two weeks with the trip to Duke—which stunned Notre Dame on Saturday. There are also games down the road against Notre Dame in San Antonio and at Wake Forest (now 4-0) in addition to Air Force and Navy. It would have been nice to look ahead to that gauntlet with a 4-0 record.
It didn't happen. It should have happened. But there's nothing left to do now except do what Monken would have wanted his team to do if it had come out of Buffalo 4-0: get better—especially when it comes to details.
And then, just like that, the magic disappeared on a cool evening during a disheartening fourth quarter that caught everyone on the Army sideline by surprise.
When it was over, when Buffalo kicker Adam Mitcheson's 33-yard overtime field goal sailed through the uprights to give the Bulls a stunning 23-20 victory, there was nothing for the Cadets to do except shake hands and walk off the field knowing they had let a 4-0 record slip through their fingers.
There's a reason why people wear T-shirts that say, 'Genius is in the details.' Football coaches might rephrase the shirt to say, 'WINNING is in the details.'
A detail like poor coverage on the opening kickoff that forced kicker Mitchell Howard to making the tackle—injuring his ankle as he did so. He spent the rest of the game on the sideline with his left—kicking—foot in a boot. Blake Wilson filled in admirably most of the night, but missed the 34-yarder that could have won the game—although to be fair, he was victimized by a less-than-perfect snap.
More details: Army hadn't turned the ball over all season. Saturday, it had two turnovers. The first caused little damage, a Chris Carter third-and-17 lob late in the first half that was intercepted at the one-yard-line.
But the fumble on an Ahmad Bradshaw to Jordan Asberry pitch on Army's fourth play of the second half was critical—perhaps the turning point of the long night. Up until that moment, even though the score was only 10-0, the Black Knights had dominated the game. Army Coach Jeff Monken had told the Army Sports Network's Tony Morino at halftime that he was, 'embarrassed,' by the performance of the offense.
Monken's frustration was understandable. The offense had failed to convert Kenneth Brinson's first quarter interception into any points—failing on fourth down for the first time all season—when Ahmad Bradshaw threw an incomplete pass.
There had also been key penalties, notably a false start on Mike Houghton after the Cadets had moved to the Buffalo 29 late in the second quarter, with a chance to add a late score that might very well have crushed the Bulls' spirit going into the break.
Instead, the false start led to a sack which led to Carter's third-and-17 heave.
But the fumble was the game-changer. It came after a block-in-the-back on the kickoff had changed field position from the 40 to the 8. The Buffalo offense had produce a total of four first half first downs. Given a short field though, Bulls freshman quarterback Tyree Jackson began to find some rhythm and—eventually—the end zone. The missed extra point left the margin at 10-6, but suddenly Buffalo had life.
Never give an underdog life—especially when you're on the road.
Even so, it appeared that the Black Knights would dodge their self-made bullet when Bradshaw scored to up the margin to 20-6. But the team that had played so well in the opening two games with the games in doubt—there was no need at UTEP—simply couldn't get out of its own way in the final 15 minutes.
With the ball and a two touchdown lead early in the fourth quarter, a time-killing drive that would lead to at least a field goal would have ended the game. The Black Knights quickly moved into Buffalo territory. But another penalty, this one a personal foul on Colby Enegren, pushed Army back to its own 42 with 1st-and-25. That led to a fourth-and-two at the Buffalo 34 with 11:30 left.
In a similar situation at Temple, with the score 14-13, Bradshaw picked up a critical first down leading to the touchdown that made it 21-13 and breathed some much-needed late game confidence into the Cadets.
This time, Bradshaw came up a yard short. Buffalo promptly drove the length-of-the-field to make it 20-13. Again, it was up to the offense. Again, it failed. This time on 3d-and-two, Bradshaw again came up a yard short. It is difficult to question the play-calling on either aborted drive. Bradshaw had been excellent on short yardage plays all season and rushed for 126 yards on Saturday night. But twice, when he needed two yards, he got one.
Even after Buffalo had again gone the length of the field to tie the game at 20-20, there was time for redemption—and a win. The Black Knights got the ball to the Bulls 16, but a poor snap led to Wilson's miss and—shockingly—the game went into overtime.
Which meant disaster.
On the first play of the OT, Enegren was again called for a personal foul, blowing up the offensive series. When Wilson missed from 43-yards, the end was inevitable. It came moments later when Mitcheson was true from 33-yards and the Bulls stormed the field, no doubt as stunned by their victory as the Cadets were stunned by their defeat.
Details: Army hadn't been stopped on fourth down all season: it was stopped twice Saturday night. It hadn't had a turnover all season: the third quarter fumble was absolutely critical. It had avoided important penalties—the kind that were crippling last season. In all, there were 83 yards in penalties—many, if not most of them, devastating.
Monken correctly pointed out that poor kick coverage led to Howard's injury. There was also the block-in-the-back on the second half kickoff. Special teams are now officially an issue.
What's more, Edgar Poe, the team's best wide receiver, is probably out for six weeks with a hand injury.
Everything that went right for three weeks, went wrong on Saturday night. Upsets happen—ask Notre Dame.
The last thing Monken and his players are ever going to do is make excuses. I'll do it for them. No one not inside that locker room can know how difficult the last two weeks have been. On Monday, the entire team went to Queens for Brandon Jackson's funeral.
Yes, you say you want to stay focused. Yes, you say you want to win for your fallen comrade. No, you don't make excuses. But these are human beings, young men, learning as they go—on and off the football field.
As disappointing as the loss to Buffalo was, the fact that the game would have been won if there had been more attention to detail, should leave this team angry—but not without hope.
The schedule ramps up in two weeks with the trip to Duke—which stunned Notre Dame on Saturday. There are also games down the road against Notre Dame in San Antonio and at Wake Forest (now 4-0) in addition to Air Force and Navy. It would have been nice to look ahead to that gauntlet with a 4-0 record.
It didn't happen. It should have happened. But there's nothing left to do now except do what Monken would have wanted his team to do if it had come out of Buffalo 4-0: get better—especially when it comes to details.
Players Mentioned
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K
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