You wouldn’t know it to look at the scoreboard, but Army dropped a heartbreaker at Hawaii last night, losing on a handful of offensive mistakes late in the first half and again late in the fourth quarter.

It’s tough to be too upset on a day in which the Black Knights rushed for more than 400 yards and put up over 500 yards of total offense and 31 total points.  However, the Black Knights couldn’t consistently get pressure on either Hawaii quarterback, and with that, they absolutely could not stop Hawaii’s run-and-shoot offense with any consistency.  For much of the night, they dropped six into coverage, leaving five in the box, and Hawaii either ran right at them or picked them apart down the field due to the ineffectiveness of the pass rush. It didn’t help that the Black Knights lost both QB Kelvin Hopkins and QB Christian Anderson to injury, but even with those injuries, they moved the ball effectively throughout most of the game.  Really, it was the lack of pressure through the first three quarters that told the majority of tale, setting up that heartbreaking finish.

Alas, the Rainbow Warriors can absolutely run up the score on teams that can’t get pressure.  That’s exactly what happened. Army did finally get a couple of stops late in the third quarter and early in the fourth, but then, after torching the Rainbows’ defense all night via the triple-option, suddenly, the Black Knights couldn’t keep the chains moving, either.  In a game that saw damned-near a thousand yards of total offense, we had three back-to-back punts, and with that, time slowly started to run out. The Black Knights closed to within seven in the third, 38-31, but they couldn’t move the ball much in the fourth. Hawaii finally broke through and scored again with just under four minutes remaining, and that put Army in a tough spot.  

Could that be the dagger? @HawaiiFootball extends their lead to 44-31 with 3:51 remaining. pic.twitter.com/2YKOH8sbie

— CBS Sports Network (@CBSSportsNet) December 1, 2019

Down two touchdowns with 3:51 to go, Army tried to go to its two-minute offense.  Hopkins had gone out at the end of the first half. Anderson got hurt on this final crazy series, taking a nasty-looking hit to the hip.  

In came plebe QB Jemel Jones.

Friends, Jones was almost a hero.  He led the Black Knights 87 yards in 9 plays, using just 2:07 to perhaps give the Black Knights a fighting chance.  For a minute there, he looked electric, both running the draw and throwing on the move. Alas, he threw an interception in the end zone on first and goal from the Hawaii six yard line, and Hawaii CB Rojesterman Farris II ran it all the way back for a pick-six.  

101-YARD PICK SIX TO SEAL IT FOR @HawaiiFootball! pic.twitter.com/i5OKvkIdyc

— CBS Sports Network (@CBSSportsNet) December 1, 2019

Ballgame over.  Army will not be going to a bowl this year.

And yet, there were some bright spots here.  Army’s defense played well late, finally getting to QB Cole MacDonald and forcing some mistakes.  LB Arik Smith played perhaps the best half of his entire career late in this game. Also: Army’s rushing attack went off.  63 carries for 411 yards and 4 touchdowns.  Anderson had 12 carries for 114 yards. FB Sandon McCoy had 15 carries for 91 yards and 2 touchdowns.  Even Kelvin Hopkins had 10 carries for 87 yards plus a touchdown pass before going out with the injury.  It just wasn’t enough to overcome a few crucial mistakes and a general lack of pressure on the quarterback.

It didn’t help that Army went just 5/11 passing with 2 interceptions.  And really, Jemel Jones was the only quarterback who had even a moderately good night throwing the ball.  Jones went 3/4 passing for 43 yards, granted with a really bad pick. Hopkins and Anderson were both much less effective than that.  Hopkins had a beautiful-looking 69-yard pass on Army’s first play from scrimmage, but that was his only completion, plus he threw a pick late in the first half.  That gave Hawaii a chance to steal a score in what became a back-and-forth, shoot-out-type game. Since the Rainbows also won the coin toss and received the ball after halftime, that one pick proved crucial.  Hawaii got up by 14 in the third quarter, and although Army moved the ball well almost all night, they could never quite score the equalizer. As time started running out, the Black Knights got increasingly desperate, and wackiness ensued.

Well, that was quick. @ArmyWP_Football with a four-play, 75-yard drive to take the early lead. pic.twitter.com/BwNZ8hYGkD

— CBS Sports Network (@CBSSportsNet) December 1, 2019

Coach is FIRED UP. @ArmyWP_Football is right back into this thing and trims the deficit to 38-31. pic.twitter.com/6chdqc5jTe

— CBS Sports Network (@CBSSportsNet) December 1, 2019

The good news, such as it is, is that this team is in good shape going forward.  Army played a ton of yearlings in this game.  Half the team at this point must be yearlings.  Really, the Class of 2022 reminds me quite a bit of the Class of 2018 at this point.  Add in returning FB Sandon McCoy, and we can already see how the rebuild is coming along.  More importantly than that, though, the running game looks fixed heading into Army-Navy. The Fullback Dive worked all night, and the team has fully committed to running the quarterback when that’s what’s there.  Hell, even Kell Walker got the ball some in this game, seeing 8 carries for 37 yards. Finally, Jemel Jones looked mostly terrific in a Hell of a tough spot.  

This team definitely has some tools for the future.

For now, though, there’s just one goal remaining.

Go Army!  Beat Navy!!!