We’re three and a half weeks out from the start of the 2022 Army Football Season, and that means we’re now ALL THE WAY into Preview Season. If you’ve missed any of our previous preview articles, you can find those archived below.
Army Football Preview: 2022 Offense
Army Football Preview: 2022 Season (First Quarter)
Army Football Preview: 2022 Season (Second Quarter)
This week, we’re previewing the season’s Third Quarter. This section includes games against the ULM Warhawks, Air Force, and Troy.
As has been the case in every article in this so far, there are some excellent teams in this portion of the season. Army Football will need to play its very best ball to pick up wins when it really counts.
Kwabena Bonsu's last ride. Experienced defensive end looks to get #ArmyFootball ready for Coastal Carolinahttps://t.co/SGn0cGC4m5
— Sal Interdonato (@salinterdonato) August 10, 2022
Week 8: Louisiana-Monroe
2021 Record: 4-8 (2-6 Sun Belt)
SP+: -22.7, #128
FPI: -17.7, #128
The Louisiana-Monroe WarHawks were a better team in 2021 than their record might otherwise suggest, and even then, it’s worth noting that their ability to win four games last year represented a dramatic improvement over the trainwreck that was their 2020 season. This doesn’t necessarily mean that they’ll be good in an objective sense in 2022, especially since they play in the hyper-competitive Sun Belt-West, but this also isn’t a game that Army fans should consider a gimme.
Second year Head Coach Terry Bowden expects his team to make a bowl game this year, and being honest, that’s a reasonable if aggressive goal. It won’t be an easy one, however. The WarHawks open at Texas and then play at Alabama in Week 3, plus they have Louisiana and Coastal Carolina in conference. There might still be six wins on the rest of their schedule, but they certainly didn’t leave themselves with a lot of room for error.
Projected Line (SP+): Army -18
Projected Line (FPI): Army -16
The WarHawks have a returning quarterback in QB Chandler Rogers, and they return some skill position players, but they still lost 10 of their most experienced 18 players and must now rebuild both their offensive and defensive lines. This on a team that already struggled to generate offense last season. But this is a team that finished strong in 2021, so they may have turned the corner by the time they host Army in late-October.
ULM’s Sept. 3 season opener at Texas is ?? ???? away. Season-ticket packages (5 home games) range from $60 to $155. Order season tickets online at https://t.co/sa8Wkcm4Ec or call (318) 342-HAWK. #WIN #TheBestIsOnTheBayou #Funroe pic.twitter.com/dV2GaIvWsy
— ULM Football (@ULM_FB) August 9, 2022
Week 9: Bye
This is the bye before the Air Force Game.
Rookie Dewayne Coleman wouldn't let go of the ball… even for an interview.
— Army Football (@ArmyWP_Football) August 8, 2022
"Working on good habits and making it routine." #GoArmy pic.twitter.com/h0pDib040n
Week 10: Air Force at Globe Life Stadium
2021 Record: 10–3 (6–2 MW); beat Louisville in the First Responder Bowl
2022 SP+: +2.3, #64
2022 FPI: -1.3, #71
QB Haaziq Daniels returns this year along with several starters on the offensive line plus RB DeAndre Hughes and x-factor WR Micah Davis. They also get FB Brad Roberts back, arguably the best offensive player on the team a year ago. That is a lot for a team that almost always manages to put up a Hell of a lot of yards and a lot of points, too.
However, the Zoomies lost their defensive coordinator after the season last year, and as is often the case, their fortunes will probably turn at least on their defensive line play — at least in this particular game — as on any other facet. They’ll have LB Vince Sanford back along with S Trey Taylor, the team’s previous leader in tackles, but they also have some holes to fill on defense as well.
Projected Line (SP+): Army +4
Projected Line (FPI): Army -2.5
Air Force has an extremely favorable Commander-in-Chief’s schedule this year with Navy at home plus a neutral site game against Army. They also get Colorado, Nevada, and Boise State at home, though they do have to travel to Utah State mid-season plus San Diego State at the end of the year. Still, anything less than ten wins ought to be considered a severe disappointment, and they’ll likely be favored heading into the Army game as well.
The game itself has often been close during the Monken Era, but expect Air Force to be rolling hot when we see them in Texas.
Join us for ??? ???? this Saturday at 5 PM at Falcon Stadium! The evening will include the playing of Spider-Man: No Way Home ⚡️
— Air Force Falcons (@AF_Falcons) August 8, 2022
? https://t.co/anoXT6IDuA pic.twitter.com/sa85UNoJ5J
Week 11: at Troy
2021 Record: 5–7 (3–5 Sun Belt)
2022 SP+: -2.0, #78
2022 FPI: -2.0, #78
Army concludes its 2022 tour of the Sun Belt with a game at perennial G-5 standout Troy. Alas, after building a quality reputation, the Trojans haven’t had as much success of late. Their last winning season came in 2018. However, Troy has a new Head Coach in 2022 in Jon Sumrall, previously the linebackers coach and then co-defensive coordinator for the Kentucky Wildcats, and he’s got a lot to work with on his new team. Expectations are that Sumrall will work primarily to build a strong defensive scheme, though it remains to be seen as to how that build will progress in Year One.
The Trojans are returning most of what was already a pretty good defense. They’ve also made former Army co-defensive coordinator Shiel Wood their new defensive coordinator. On offense, the Trojans brought in a newly presumed starting quarterback in Utah transfer Peter Costelli. Costelli was a four-star prospect coming out of high school, which is good, but he’s also something of an unknown quantity. He might be great, but he also wouldn’t be the first transfer to struggle when coming to a new, smaller team with a new coaching staff.
Projected Line (SP+): Army +3
Projected Line (FPI): Even
It’s tough to know what to make of a team with a lot of returning defensive talent, a new coach, and a bunch of questions on offense. The Trojans might come out hot, or they might not be quite as good this year as they were in the late 2010s. By late November, however, they will likely be as good as they’re going to get, making this a close, very competitive contest.
All about the defense today … check out the thoughts from DC @ShielWood following our first day in full pads.#RiseToBuild | #OneTROY ⚔️? pic.twitter.com/t3FxHCi4RJ
— Troy Trojans Football (@TroyTrojansFB) August 9, 2022
Final Thoughts
We see more question marks on the back half of Army’s schedule than we saw on the front half. Some of these teams may very well figure it out and play well, but it’s doubtful that every team on the schedule is going to play at the upper end of its potential next season. That’s just not how college football works.
So. This 2022 schedule has a bunch of potentially tough teams, but there are also enough opportunities here that the Black Knights ought to be able to put themselves in position to qualify for a bowl game as well.
Alas, the Black Knights have as many questions as a lot of these teams, and in the case of Air Force, a lot of them are actually the very same questions. Which is to say that if you can tell me how Army’s new Nose Tackle is going to play, I’ll tell you how the season will go. The same is true of the Zoomies.
Week ✌️ is here! #GoArmy pic.twitter.com/LXuuQbBlMr
— Army Football (@ArmyWP_Football) August 8, 2022
Go Army! Beat Coastal Carolina!!!
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