Honestly folks, that was such a complete beat-down that I’m not even sure what to say about it.  Army went into the Armed Forces Bowl against an undermanned and frankly underwhelming Houston team and laid down one of the most convincing, most dominant ass-whuppin’s I’ve ever seen from a football team.  Heading into the game, I thought Army would win, and really, I thought they might even dominate. But they took it to a whole ‘nother level, and I fully expect that they’ll be in the Top 20 at the end of the season as a result.

Capping off a historic season. #GoArmy pic.twitter.com/rzvZsRoeDV

— Army Football (@ArmyWP_Football) December 23, 2018

Check out these stats:

— 592 yards of total offense.

— 85 carries for 507 yards (8.7 yards/carry) and 8 touchdowns.

— 4/4 passing for 85 yards and a touchdown.

— 7/7 on 3rd down conversions.

— 0/0 on 4th down conversions with zero punts.

— 10 sacks, including a sack-fumble-six.

— 4 forces fumbles.

— Army’s defense held Houston to 3/12 on 3rd downs.

He made EVERYONE miss! ? #SCtop10 pic.twitter.com/TwoLQsyjuj

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 22, 2018

Kelvin Hopkins Jr. may have been the MVP of the game, but James Nachtigal had himself a day.

16 tackles
3.5 sacks
3 forced fumbles#GoArmy pic.twitter.com/RRhUVegmhV

— Army Football (@ArmyWP_Football) December 23, 2018

I could go on and on and on.  Houston made some plays on offense and gained some yards, but they couldn’t sustain drives, and they gave up a bunch of sacks, and the mistakes just piled on from there.  At the same time, Army’s offense did whatever it wanted all game long. The Cougars couldn’t stop the dive, and they let pitch plays get outside consistently, and then Quarterback Keepers just destroyed them.  QB Kelvin Hopkins wound up with 11 carries for 170 yards and 5 touchdowns. No one on the Army offense averaged less than 4 yards/carry, and really, most guys were closer to 8 or 10.

The final score, 70-14, tied the FBS record for the worst bowl blowout in history.  It was a complete and total beat-down.

 

It was a good day for me personally.  We had some friends over for a last, late-season edition of Sports Bar on the Back Deck.  We put the Army game on the main TV and Titans at Redskins on the other one.  We then grilled shrimp, sausages, peppers, and turkey sliders, and I introduced my buddy Bruce and my classmate Terry to Fairfield Craft Ales’s new Don’t Fear the Reaper, a spicy local IPA infused with Carolina Reaper peppers.  It’s one of my new favorites.

Honestly, it was a little colder out there than we expected based on the weather reports, but we hunkered down around the fire pit, and in the end, I think everyone had a lot of fun.  I know I did.

My classmate Andy sent some pics from the game.  He reported that the stadium was like an Army home game.  Maybe ⅔ of the total attendance were Army fans.

The Black Knights have now won 4 straight bowl games dating back to the 2010 Armed Forces Bowl.  The team finished with 11 wins for the first time in Academy history, and with a returning quarterback and three returning starters along the offensive line, they appear set for a long run of success.  They’ll need to replace some significant production on defense, and of course, the team needs a new defensive coordinator, but recruiting has been better than ever this year, with 24/7 Sports reporting that Army signed 9 three-star recruits on early signing day.

I’ve enjoyed this season tremendously, friends.  Thanks for riding with As For Football.

What a season for Army! ? pic.twitter.com/yr8vYSOIwY

— ESPN (@espn) December 22, 2018

Go Army!  Beat Navy!!!