Black Knights Come Up Short Against #8 Ohio State

Saturday, September 16

Columbus, Ohio

4:30 PM

Army West Point

2-1

Ohio State

2-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Army West Point

OSU

Black Knights Come Up Short Against #8 Ohio State

September 16, 2017 | Football

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Postgame Notes (PDF)Postgame Quotes (PDF)Video Highlights

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Army West Point football team put up a good fight against the No. 8 team in the nation on Saturday, but Ohio State was ultimately too much to handle as the Black Knights fell 38-7.

Darnell Woolfolk punched in Army's lone touchdown of the game in the second quarter. His 3-yard rush cut the Buckeyes' lead in half at 14-7. That scoring drive was especially impressive as the Black Knights went 99 yards on 18 plays to eat up 9:37 off the clock. The junior also converted on a 4th-and-1 from the Army 39 to keep the drive alive earlier in the possession.

Woolfolk finished as the Black Knights' leading rusher for the first time this season after compiling 74 rushing yards against the Buckeyes. In the passing game, senior quarterback Ahmad Bradshaw went 2-of-7 for 19 yards, while adding 50 yards on the ground.

Jaylon McClinton led the Army defense with eight tackles and six solo shots. Rhyan England and Cole Christiansen followed with 5.5 tackles each, while John Voit and James Nachtigal posted one sack apiece.

Army was outrushed for the first time this season, 270-259. The Buckeyes picked up 30 first downs to just 16 for Army. Ohio State also won the battle in total offensive yards, 586-278.

The Black Knights finished 3-of-4 on fourth-down conversions and 4-of-15 on third downs. The Black Knights held the Buckeyes to just 4-of-8 on third downs.

ARMY HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES

Saturday's game marked the first all-time meeting between Army and Ohio State.
The contest was also the largest non-Navy game crowd the Black Knights have played in front of in program history. There were 108,414 in attendance.
Woolfolk scored his team-leading fourth touchdown of the season.
Army tied a school record with a 99-yard scoring drive in the second quarter.
That drive was also the longest that Ohio State has given up in program history.
Kelvin Hopkins Jr. came in to throw his first pass of the 2017 season in the first quarter.
Zack Saum caught his first career pass in the opening frame.
Andy Davidson had a season-long rush of 37 yards, while also accumulating a season-best 54 yards rushing on the day.
England posted a season-high seven tackles before leaving the game with an injury.
Nachtigal recorded his first sack of the year.

HOW IT HAPPENED

On the game's opening possession, Ohio State used an eight-play, 75-yard drive that ate up 2:37 to give itself an early 7-0 lead.
After starting on its own 18, Army began its first drive of the game. The Black Knights rushed for 19, 4, 12 and 3 yards over the next four plays before being stopped at the Buckeyes 44-yard line. Unfortunately, that would be all Army would gain on the drive.
A Zach Potter 38-yard punt forced the Buckeyes to begin their second possession of the game from their own six. However, Ohio State finished off another scoring drive, using 4:12 of the clock, after J.K Dobbins punched it in from two yards out to cap a 13-play, 94-yard scoring drive.
The Black Knights finally got things rolling with one minute remaining in the opening period. After a 33-yard punt by Drue Christmas that placed the ball at Army's own one-yard line, the Black Knights strung together a more than impressive 18-play, 99-yard scoring drive that took 9:37. Woolfolk recorded Army's lone touchdown after muscling his way into the end zone from three-yards out. Blake Wilson knocked in the point after to pull Army to within 14-7.
Two highlights from that drive were Army's 4th-and-1 conversion from its own 39 and two third downs of seven yards late to keep the possession alive.
Ohio State regrouped and worked its way down to the Army 15. The Black Knights were able to keep the Buckeyes out of the end zone though after forcing them to throw two incomplete passes, while also notching a sack for a loss of one yard. Ohio State settled for a 33-yard field goal to take a 17-7 lead into the break.
Army received the ball to kick off the second half and worked its way down to the Ohio State 23-yard line. Unfortunately, the Buckeyes tackled Kell Walker for a loss of three to force the Black Knights into a long field goal attempt. Wilson's 43-yard try sailed just wide and Army would fail to convert any points on the play.
On the ensuing possession, Ohio State started its drive with a 22-yard rush from Dobbins to push the ball to the Buckeye 48. Dobbins then broke free for a 52-yard touchdown run to extend the home team's edge to 24-7.
The Buckeyes kicked off and Walker returned it a career-long 43 yards to put the Black Knights in good field possession. The sophomore started that return from the Army 1-yard line and weaved around multiple blockers for his long scamper.
A few plays later though, the Black Knights fumbled after a loss of two and turned the ball over at the Buckeyes 36-yard line for the game's only turnover.
Ohio State used three plays to move the ball to the Army 20, before J.T. Barrett connected with Terry McLaurin for a 20-yard touchdown reception to push the Buckeyes advantage to 31-7.
The home team strung together one final scoring drive in the final frame after taking over the ball on downs following a missed conversion by Army on 4th-and-2 from the Ohio State 30. The Buckeyes saw Barrett team up with Austin Mack for a 9-yard touchdown reception with 7:01 remaining in the game. That score created a 38-7 gap between the teams.

UP NEXT

The Black Knights are back on the road next Saturday when they travel to New Orleans to take on Tulane. That contest is slated for an 11 a.m. kick off and will be carried on CBS Sports with Dave Ryan and Corey Chavous on the call.