Army West Point Athletics
Feinstein's Findings: Irish Too Much
November 13, 2016 | Football
Let's begin today with the good news—if only because it won't take long.
1. Army may have found a punter on Saturday: Jermaine Adams punted four times for an average of just under 40 yards.
2. Darnell Woolfolk—11 carries for 95 yards on a still-sore ankle and Jordan Asberry—three carries for 54 yards—both ran the football well.
3. The Black Knights were only outscored 6-0 after halftime, aided by a goal line interception by Xavier Moss.
That folks, is the list. It took exactly 12 seconds for Notre Dame to take a 7-0 lead in the Alamodome on Saturday afternoon and it went downhill from there. It was 21-0 before the end of the first quarter and 38-6 at halftime. So much for the dreams of glory, of stunning the Irish to all but wrap up a bowl bid.
The final was 44-6 and among the many statistics that summed up Notre Dame's dominance was this one—third down conversions: 10-of-13. If your defense can't get off the field, you can't win. Or, in truth, compete.
Prior to the game, coach Jeff Monken reminded his players that this would be the only time in their careers at West Point that they'd get the chance to play Notre Dame.
Thank goodness.
I know Army people don't want to hear that. All they have to do is look back one week and they can see Navy beating Notre Dame, 28-27. If Navy can beat the Irish—four times in the last 10 years, in fact—why can't Army?
The answer is really simple: Monken is in year three of a rebuilding process that is bound to have bumps along the way, especially given what came before him—as in 17 years that included exactly one winning season. Navy is in year 15 of a golden era, one that was launched by Paul Johnson in 2002 and picked up and taken to another level by Ken Niumatalolo. It's worth remembering that Navy didn't beat Notre Dame until Johnson's sixth and final year. It's also worth remembering that, even in a down season, Notre Dame still puts a dozen guys on the field who will play on Sundays in the future.
The Irish were humiliated by Navy—not just by losing, but the way they lost. Leading 28-27, Navy was able to run out the last seven minutes, converting two critical fourth downs. The second one came on a 4th-and-6 when Will Worth threw an absolute bullet into the arms of Jamir Tillman, good for nine-yards and the ballgame.
Army hasn't had a quarterback who can throw the ball like Worth—whose role coming into the season was supposed to be to back up Tago Smith—since Ronnie McAda.
It was a McAda-led team that came within a foot of beating Notre Dame in 1995 in the Meadowlands. Down 28-7 in the fourth quarter, Army rallied behind McAda's arm and scored in the final minute to make it 28-27. That was the last season that there was no overtime in college football and coach Bob Sutton put up two fingers instantly because, as he said later, "We didn't want to tie Notre Dame, we wanted to BEAT Notre Dame. The players would never have forgiven me if I'd played for a tie."
McAda found tight end Ron Leshinski on the 1-yard-line, but he was pushed out-of-bounds a foot shy of the goal line. That's as close as Army has come to beating the Irish in 15 tries since the undefeated team of 1958 went to South Bend and won, 14-2.
There will come a time when Army can compete with Notre Dame the way Navy does, but it hasn't arrived yet.
What's more, the timing of this game couldn't have been worse. Not only did the Irish show up with something to prove after the Navy loss, they were facing an Army team that was banged up.
Quarterback Ahmad Bradshaw was out and fullback Andy Davidson was not 100 percent. Against a quarterback—DeShon Kizer—who is a likely No. 1 draft pick next spring and a plethora of big talented receivers, the Black Knights started two freshmen cornerbacks. Injuries and the death of Brandon Jackson have forced two talented youngsters—Elijah Riley and Jaylon McClinton--into the starting lineup.
Both are going to be very good players but the only way they were going to have a chance Saturday was if the Cadets generated a consistent pass rush against Kizer. Most of the time,
Kizer could have rolled an easy chair onto the field and just waited for receivers to come open.
And, when they didn't, he simply took off and picked up chunks of yardage. That's why Notre Dame's five first half offensive possessions produced four touchdowns and a field goal. The other time the Irish touched the ball was on the opening kickoff when E.J. Sanders burst through the Army kickoff team faster than you can say, "this is going to be a long day," going 92 yards for a touchdown.
One thing about playing Notre Dame is that you can be almost certain you aren't going to get any help from the officials. Certainly they had NOTHING to do with the outcome but it didn't help that Chris Carter's best throw of the day, a strike to Tyler Campbell that led to a 44-yard gain, was called back by a chop block call on Kell Walker that was—to say the least—questionable.
Even Doug Flutie, the color commentator on Notre Dame's home broadcast, was reduced to mumbling, "um, well, that was a close call."
Instead of a first down on the Notre Dame 28, Army lined up with third-and-24 at its own 14.
The bottom line is Notre Dame didn't need the officials on this afternoon. Army's defense, which had been so stalwart in the first eight games of the season, simply didn't have the speed, size or strength to cope with Notre Dame's offense.
Adams provided a bright spot, but the place-kicking game continues to be a nightmare. Mitchell Howard returned from the injury he suffered on the opening kickoff in the Buffalo game to miss the extra point after Army's touchdown in the second quarter. Monken went back to Blake Wilson to try a 33-yard field goal in the third quarter and he missed, wide left.
Note to Monken and staff: you MUST find a placekicker before Fordham shows up in Michie Stadium next September. The lack of a consistent place-kicker cost the Black Knights at least one game this fall (Buffalo) and could easily have been a factor in the Duke loss.
The overtime loss to Buffalo stands out right now because it will likely be the difference between going to a bowl for the second time in 20 years and not going. Army should beat Morgan State this coming Saturday in the Michie finale.
That will make the record 6-5.
Right now though, Monken and his players can't worry about that. They need to pretend they never got on the plane to San Antonio, get ready for Morgan State and then get rested and healthy so they can try to end the Navy losing streak.
If they can do those things, the season will have been a success. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. The Black Knights have taken a number of steps forward this fall. The key now is to make certain their final steps aren't in the wrong direction.
1. Army may have found a punter on Saturday: Jermaine Adams punted four times for an average of just under 40 yards.
2. Darnell Woolfolk—11 carries for 95 yards on a still-sore ankle and Jordan Asberry—three carries for 54 yards—both ran the football well.
3. The Black Knights were only outscored 6-0 after halftime, aided by a goal line interception by Xavier Moss.
That folks, is the list. It took exactly 12 seconds for Notre Dame to take a 7-0 lead in the Alamodome on Saturday afternoon and it went downhill from there. It was 21-0 before the end of the first quarter and 38-6 at halftime. So much for the dreams of glory, of stunning the Irish to all but wrap up a bowl bid.
The final was 44-6 and among the many statistics that summed up Notre Dame's dominance was this one—third down conversions: 10-of-13. If your defense can't get off the field, you can't win. Or, in truth, compete.
Prior to the game, coach Jeff Monken reminded his players that this would be the only time in their careers at West Point that they'd get the chance to play Notre Dame.
Thank goodness.
I know Army people don't want to hear that. All they have to do is look back one week and they can see Navy beating Notre Dame, 28-27. If Navy can beat the Irish—four times in the last 10 years, in fact—why can't Army?
The answer is really simple: Monken is in year three of a rebuilding process that is bound to have bumps along the way, especially given what came before him—as in 17 years that included exactly one winning season. Navy is in year 15 of a golden era, one that was launched by Paul Johnson in 2002 and picked up and taken to another level by Ken Niumatalolo. It's worth remembering that Navy didn't beat Notre Dame until Johnson's sixth and final year. It's also worth remembering that, even in a down season, Notre Dame still puts a dozen guys on the field who will play on Sundays in the future.
The Irish were humiliated by Navy—not just by losing, but the way they lost. Leading 28-27, Navy was able to run out the last seven minutes, converting two critical fourth downs. The second one came on a 4th-and-6 when Will Worth threw an absolute bullet into the arms of Jamir Tillman, good for nine-yards and the ballgame.
Army hasn't had a quarterback who can throw the ball like Worth—whose role coming into the season was supposed to be to back up Tago Smith—since Ronnie McAda.
It was a McAda-led team that came within a foot of beating Notre Dame in 1995 in the Meadowlands. Down 28-7 in the fourth quarter, Army rallied behind McAda's arm and scored in the final minute to make it 28-27. That was the last season that there was no overtime in college football and coach Bob Sutton put up two fingers instantly because, as he said later, "We didn't want to tie Notre Dame, we wanted to BEAT Notre Dame. The players would never have forgiven me if I'd played for a tie."
McAda found tight end Ron Leshinski on the 1-yard-line, but he was pushed out-of-bounds a foot shy of the goal line. That's as close as Army has come to beating the Irish in 15 tries since the undefeated team of 1958 went to South Bend and won, 14-2.
There will come a time when Army can compete with Notre Dame the way Navy does, but it hasn't arrived yet.
What's more, the timing of this game couldn't have been worse. Not only did the Irish show up with something to prove after the Navy loss, they were facing an Army team that was banged up.
Quarterback Ahmad Bradshaw was out and fullback Andy Davidson was not 100 percent. Against a quarterback—DeShon Kizer—who is a likely No. 1 draft pick next spring and a plethora of big talented receivers, the Black Knights started two freshmen cornerbacks. Injuries and the death of Brandon Jackson have forced two talented youngsters—Elijah Riley and Jaylon McClinton--into the starting lineup.
Both are going to be very good players but the only way they were going to have a chance Saturday was if the Cadets generated a consistent pass rush against Kizer. Most of the time,
Kizer could have rolled an easy chair onto the field and just waited for receivers to come open.
And, when they didn't, he simply took off and picked up chunks of yardage. That's why Notre Dame's five first half offensive possessions produced four touchdowns and a field goal. The other time the Irish touched the ball was on the opening kickoff when E.J. Sanders burst through the Army kickoff team faster than you can say, "this is going to be a long day," going 92 yards for a touchdown.
One thing about playing Notre Dame is that you can be almost certain you aren't going to get any help from the officials. Certainly they had NOTHING to do with the outcome but it didn't help that Chris Carter's best throw of the day, a strike to Tyler Campbell that led to a 44-yard gain, was called back by a chop block call on Kell Walker that was—to say the least—questionable.
Even Doug Flutie, the color commentator on Notre Dame's home broadcast, was reduced to mumbling, "um, well, that was a close call."
Instead of a first down on the Notre Dame 28, Army lined up with third-and-24 at its own 14.
The bottom line is Notre Dame didn't need the officials on this afternoon. Army's defense, which had been so stalwart in the first eight games of the season, simply didn't have the speed, size or strength to cope with Notre Dame's offense.
Adams provided a bright spot, but the place-kicking game continues to be a nightmare. Mitchell Howard returned from the injury he suffered on the opening kickoff in the Buffalo game to miss the extra point after Army's touchdown in the second quarter. Monken went back to Blake Wilson to try a 33-yard field goal in the third quarter and he missed, wide left.
Note to Monken and staff: you MUST find a placekicker before Fordham shows up in Michie Stadium next September. The lack of a consistent place-kicker cost the Black Knights at least one game this fall (Buffalo) and could easily have been a factor in the Duke loss.
The overtime loss to Buffalo stands out right now because it will likely be the difference between going to a bowl for the second time in 20 years and not going. Army should beat Morgan State this coming Saturday in the Michie finale.
That will make the record 6-5.
Right now though, Monken and his players can't worry about that. They need to pretend they never got on the plane to San Antonio, get ready for Morgan State and then get rested and healthy so they can try to end the Navy losing streak.
If they can do those things, the season will have been a success. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. The Black Knights have taken a number of steps forward this fall. The key now is to make certain their final steps aren't in the wrong direction.
Players Mentioned
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QB
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K
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DB
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DB
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DB
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RB
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