Air Force 17, Army 13. The Black Knights played better, and they wound up with more than a few chances to win, but they still can’t seem to get out of their own way.
Final score from Colorado.
Back at Michie next week against UMass.#GoArmy pic.twitter.com/qZdoloVbtK
— Army Football (@ArmyWP_Football) November 2, 2019
Need to drive the length of the field in ninety seconds with a series of low-percentage downfield throws and circus catches? No problem.
But can they gain six yards in four plays?
Can they run a base triple-option offense?
Friends, I’m not sure we’ve seen a legitimate triple-option play all season long.
Sing first!
https://www.instagram.com/p/B4ZALIjh-qi/?igshid=1notbumbft359
I gotta admit that I let myself get a little too close to it last night. I really had this feeling going in that Army was going to play better and pull out a victory. After talking to my wife about it, I agreed with her that my previous pregame pessimism/cynicism wasn’t helping anyone. I made a conscious decision to roll with that. My job as Senior Writing here at As For Football is to get you fine folks hyped for these games. To help make you believe, even as we find ourselves looking back at a now five-game losing streak.
Cynicism is poison for West Pointers, even though it’s a natural mode for many of us. We all have to fight against it, especially me, especially as it pertains to Army Football.
No one wants to read about how their team sucks.
Class of 95 in the house!
You think you’re disappointed? This man loves Army Football more than anyone who’s ever lived. Here, he’s rallying the troops to start the 4th quarter.
The downside of this was letting myself buy in completely, leaving no emotional reserve whatsoever. I don’t play for the team, and there’s really not anything I can do to change the outcomes of the games. But they impact me as much as they impact anyone who’s not in the locker room. I’d done a decent job keeping my feelings and my expectations in check up until this week, but this week I made a choice to lean in. As a result, I felt nauseous after that final series and more than a little ill. I let myself take it a little too personally, you know?It reminds me of my plebe year on the Army Swim Team. Army-Navy Meet, heading into the 200 Fly, and Army is down by a handful of points. I put together the race of my life, snatched the lead on the very last length, and wound up winning by maybe 0.3 seconds. The lead in that race actually changed hands three times. However, I gutted it out and got the victory. Army took first and either fourth or fifth, so that as we got out of the water, the Black Knights were actually up by 5 points for the first time in the entire meet. Then the divers got swept, and Navy wound up winning by 15, exactly their margin of victory on the diving boards.
A few of my buddies before the game. Brian (left) took these pictures.
To this day, I still have no idea why diving is scored as part of a swim meet.
What can you do? Some things are just not in our control.
The Army defense played great yesterday. Sure, they were a long way from perfect, but LB Cole Christiansen was a machine, and color commentator Ross Tucker rightly noted that CB Elijah Riley is the best player on the Army Football team. Both guys played outstanding ball. They go home losers because of things that are not within their control. That doesn’t take anything from the fact that they both played an outstanding game. It certainly doesn’t lessen the impact of S Jaylon McClinton, who was out there playing with one foot and one shoulder and yet still had such a monumental impact on the game that the Army Defense actually looked like the Army Defense for maybe the second time all season.
There are things to celebrate about this game, and if the season was longer, there would be stuff here that the team could build on. Among other things, Army’s played a ton of young guys out there, and if you’re not excited to see what QB Jabari Laws can do as a full-time starter, I’m not sure what games you’ve been watching. Right now, though, the Black Knights are down to a one-game season. We can still retain possession of the Commander-in-Chief’s trophy and our self-respect with a win over Navy. Granted, we’ve got a couple of games to get right between now and then, but really, at this point Army-Navy is the only goal left on the board.
We have a defensive battle. #GoArmy pic.twitter.com/bDCE7aUvwv
— Army Football (@ArmyWP_Football) November 2, 2019
.@ArmyWP_Football answers right back with a 87-yard STRIKE!
Black Knights 13
Falcons 10 pic.twitter.com/588QjHt1zU— CBS Sports Network (@CBSSportsNet) November 2, 2019
We’ll talk more about this game on the podcast, so if you want some analysis of the actual playcalling, tune in this week. I’m assuming we all watched the game, so I’m not going to rehash it now except to say that this team is maybe a handful of plays from being 6-3 right now instead of 3-6. I believe that they’ll get there eventually, but perhaps not before December 14th.
Did I mention that AFF is giving away Army-Navy tickets?
For now, I personally need to put some emotional distance between myself and the things over which I have no control. I still believe in this team, and I’ll still be out there next Saturday. As we’ve said before, it’s time to ride or die with Army Football. Well, this time we died.
We’re all suffering together, folks. I’m not over it yet, either, but we’ll get there.
Go Army! Beat UMass!!!
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