Early Deficit the Difference in Army’s Loss at Ball State

Saturday, October 2

Muncie, IN

5:00 PM

Army West Point

4-1 , 0-0

Ball State

2-3 , 0-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Army West Point

Ball St.

Early Deficit the Difference in Army’s Loss at Ball State

October 02, 2021 | Football

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Post-Game Notes (PDF)Postgame Quotes (PDF)

MUNCIE, Ind. – The Army West Point football team suffered its first loss of the 2021 season on Saturday at Scheumann Stadium, falling 28-16 at the hands of Ball State.

Though they trailed by as much as 21-0, the Black Knights (4-1) were able to claw their way back into the game and at one point were down by just one possession. Ultimately, an offensive outburst in the first quarter allowed the Cardinals (2-3) to come away with the victory.

Despite the result, the night was highlighted by Army's ability to limit Ball State to 30-points-or-less for the fifth time in the 22-year history between the two teams. A large part of that effort was accredited to linebacker Arik Smith, who recorded a season- and team-best nine tackles.

Ball State controlled the game out of the gate and opened up the action with a 99-yard kickoff return to take a 7-0 lead. The Cardinals scored for three-straight drives at the start of the game and earned their 21-0 advantage by the end of the first quarter. Their 101 yards in the opening 15 minutes were almost more than the team's second (53 yards) and fourth quarter (50 yards) efforts combined.

After a quiet start, Army's offense began to come to life in the second quarter when running back Braheam Murphy got things going with a 25-yard run for a first down. Quarterback Tyhier Tyler eventually capped the drive on a five-yard run in to the end zone to cut the lead to 21-7.

On the other side of the ball, the Black Knights' defense began to settle in and was able to force Ball State to call out the special teams unit and punt. Army kept up the momentum when it got the ball back and went on to score for the second-straight possession when Tyler capped off a 14-play, 80-yard drive with a two-yard run into the end zone. The strike allowed Tyler to achieve the second multi-TD game of his career and brought Ball State's lead down to just one possession at 21-14.

As the clock wound down on the opening half, the Cardinals attempted to find their way into Army's half of the field once again but linebacker Nathaniel Smith came up with a five-yard sack.

Though the Black Knights had the ball coming out of the break, the offense struggled through the third quarter, punting three times and turning the ball over once. Ball State's best chance to score was on its first drive of the second half, but that drive was stalled by Army's defense as N. Smith broke up a pass on third-and-seven. The duo of defensive lineman Nolan Cockrill and linebacker Andre Carter II sacked the quarterback on the following play.

The offensive troubles followed the Cadets into the fourth quarter, as turnovers and failure to convert on fourth down stunted the team. Ball State was able to use its second interception of the outing to its advantage and eventually got into the end zone once again with an 18-yard pass, extending the edge to 28-14. With quarterback Jemel Jones stepping in under center, Army stormed its way into the red zone, but was unable to convert.

With just over two minutes left in the game, a safety allowed the Black Knights to collect some last-minute points, but the game was eventually solidified at a 28-16 margin of victory for the Cardinals.

NOTES

The Black Knights earned the advantage in time of possession, 38:10-21:50. The effort was good for an overall margin of 16:20.
After recording zero passing yards during last weekend's game against the Miami (OH) RedHawks, Army completed five passes for 66 yards.
The teams were forced to punt the ball five times each throughout the course of 60 minutes.
Army was 3-6 on fourth-down conversions, while the Cardinals were 0-2. The teams were fairly even in third-down conversions, as the Black Knights went 4-16 and Ball State finished 3-12.
The Black Knights were able to limit Ball State's Justin Hall, the active FBS career leader in receptions, to just seven catches. The 78 yards he finished with were his third-least of the season.
Punter Zach Harding had a strong showing, as he punted five times for a total of 198 yards. He dropped two balls within Ball State's 20 and placed one on the two-yard line.
Tyler's initial touchdown was his first of the 2021 season. He entered the game with a five career strikes from the 2020 campaign.

QUOTABLE
Head Coach Jeff Monken
[Opening Statement]
"That was a good, old-fashion butt whupping. Not much to say other than that. Poor job on my part with having our team prepared and ready and we didn't execute very well. That's the result. Give Ball State credit, they played really hard and their kids played well. They earned the victory. They certainly did."

[Ref. Ball State's defense]
"The biggest thing is that they stuffed us up front and we weren't getting the fullback going. We tried to get the ball to the perimeter, and when we did they ran us down. They put blocks on the perimeter and beat us and made us turn back or would weave through us. The free safety was running the alley and we should be able to throw play action but when we did, we had guys that were open and we didn't hit them. So, again, we've got to make plays."

Arik Smith
[Ref. What it was like to be down early]
"I don't think it was that shell-shocking. One of the things we preach about is not flinching. It's a part of our plan. This season, we haven't had a situation like that. I think it's the first time it registered with people. As for the values of our program, trying not to flinch in those moments… I think we did a good job of that in the first half."

Nolan Cockrill
[Ref. The team staying in the game and battling until the end]
"We stick to the plan. We don't flinch and we tried to maintain composure. Just keep working and playing football. At the end of the day, they made more plays than we did and they played hard. I think we came out in the second quarter and really stuck to the plan from there … It's always difficult losing. We're going to go back to work."

WHAT'S NEXT
Army will rest and recover during a bye week before hitting the road once again to take on Wisconsin. The Black Knights and the Badgers are set to clash at 8 p.m. EST on Saturday, Oct. 16 at Camp Randall Stadium. It will be the first-ever meeting between the two programs.

FOLLOW ALONG
For complete coverage of Army West Point football, follow the Black Knights on Twitter and Instagram at @ArmyWP_Football and online at www.goarmywestpoint.com.