Army Football is back and off to a great start in 2024. We could maybe nitpick a few things from the team’s commanding win over Lehigh, but we must also acknowledge that the Black Knights looked the best by far of any of the service academies. Indeed, looking around the rest of the FBS — and particularly around the rest of the Group of Five — Army looked about as good as anyone.
But the Black Knights will have a much more serious test this week. They take on the Florida Atlantic Owls this Saturday at high noon in sunny Boca Raton, Florida. Between FAU’s dynamic quarterback and the heat and humidity incumbent in a noontime South Florida match-up, this contest will present some unique and difficult challenges. The Black Knights will need to bring their best stuff to get their first conference win this weekend.
Florida Atlantic Owls
FAU named Tom Herman their Head Football Coach on December 3, 2022. That makes this his second year with the program, having gone 4-8 in 2023, 3-5 in the American Athletic Conference. Herman’s team rode the roller coaster last year. They beat the Hell out of South Florida, 56-14, at midseason but then dropped games to UAB, East Carolina, and Rice to finish a disappointing 10th out of AAC’s 14 teams.
The Owls opened on the road this year with a 16-10 loss at Michigan State. MSU got up 16-3 at half, and it looked like the game might get out of hand. Then FAU DB Phillip Dunnam picked off a pass right at the goal line in the 3rd quarter. Dunnam ran that pick all the way back to midfield, and FAU then finished with their only touchdown of the day. Late-game heroics ensued on both sides, but that score held, and FAU walked away with a hard-fought loss to start the season.
Offense
QB Cam Fancher might not be the most accurate thrower in all of college football, but he’s a serious gamer with a lot of heart and excellent running legs. Against MSU, he went just 12/25 passing for 116 yards (48%) with a touchdown, 2 interceptions, and *7* sacks. Fancher also carried 25 times for 67 yards, often scrambling out of trouble to make something from nothing. FAU still went just 2/15 on 3rd down and 2/5 on 4th down, but they played tough and had a real chance to get an impressive road win in Week 1.
RBs Zuberi Mobley and CJ Campbell Jr. split time in the backfield behind Fancher, carrying 22 times collectively for 65 yards (3.0 yards/carry). Both guys together also caught 3 balls for a whopping 9 yards. WR Omari Hayes led all receivers with 5 catches for 74 yards.
What any of these stats mean for this coming weekend, however, remains an open question. FAU wants to use its running game to set up a downfield passing attack, but MSU countered with an impressive pass rush. The Spartans got heat on Fancher all night. By contrast, Army struggled with running quarterbacks just this past week, getting no sacks and just 3 tackles-for-loss en route to allowing fully 5.2 yards/carry to FCS Lehigh. The Black Knights will need to play notably better on defense this week, or Fancher and company will run all over them.
Defense
FAU played terrific defense against Michigan State. They bottled up the run and put pressure on MSU QB Aidan Chiles, generating a sack and 2 interceptions while holding him to a miserable 10/24 passing for 114 yards (41.7%). Granted, Chiles played a little loose with the football. FAU also let RB Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams get loose once for a 63-yard touchdown run. Minus that one run, however, FAU held the Spartans to just 36 carries for 116 yards (3.2 yards/carry). With that, MSU went just 3/13 on 3rd down and 1/2 on 4th down.
Friends, this game saw 27 separate possessions, a ton of turnovers, a safety, and a total of 10 punts. This was not the game for ball-control purists.
Senior LB Jackson Ambush led all FAU tacklers with 10 tackles, 5 solo, plus half a tackle-for-loss. Beyond Ambush, seemingly every player on the team accounted for at least one tackle. Twenty-one different FAU players registered tackles in this game with CB Jayden Williams, LB Eddie Williams, DL Jacob Merrifield, DL Jaden Wheeler, and DB Kahzir Brown all coming up with 5 tackles apiece.
What does any of this mean for this weekend’s game?
Again, maybe not a lot. MSU did a bad job holding onto the football. Army’s offense won’t have the kind of overwhelming success against FAU that they had against Lehigh, but this weekend’s game for damn sure won’t see 27 separate possessions, either. Moreover, if FAU winds up with two defensive backs in their top five total tacklers again this week, well, that won’t be a good sign for them.
Special Teams
K Morgan Suarez made his only extra point attempt this past week. He also made his only field goal attempt from 43 yards out. P Logan Lupo punted 4 times for 180 yards (45 yards/punt) with 1 touchback and one kick downed inside the 20 yard line. WR Omari Hayes returned 3 punts for 21 total yards.
Tailgate Info
AFF sponsor Craig Achtzehn is hosting a big GO ARMY! tailgate down in Boca. He asked us to let folks know. If you’re gonna be in there area and would like to go, email Craig or just reach out to us here and we’ll get you in.
Final Thoughts
Army opened as a 3.5-point underdog this week. The line immediately slid towards Army at (+3) but has since rebounded back to where it started. Prognosticators have come in all over the place. Massey makes the game a pick ‘em while ESPN’s FPI system heavily favors FAU. Oddshark favors Army by even more than that. So however you see this game, there’s some “expert” system out there that agrees with you. With that, Vegas made these teams nearly even with a strong edge to the home team.
Home field advantage might mean a lot. High temperatures in Boca Raton will bounce between 89° and 91° this week with plenty of humidity, 10 to 15 mph of wind, and a 60% chance of rain.
The weather will be a factor this week. It might be THE factor.
We’ve seen unseasonably cool temperatures in the Northeast for the past month, and now the Black Knights have to go down to South Florida to play at midday. This will not be easy.
The good news is that the sun shines on everyone, and indeed, the temperatures might actually favor Army if the Black Knights can hold the ball through a series of long drives in that sweltering Florida sun. FAU played a sloppy offense last week. If Army can play precision offense, they can present a completely different kind of challenge. However, hydration will almost certainly be an issue, too, and if the Black Knights can’t maintain a serious time-of-possession advantage, their defense might melt in all that heat.
There is a clear path to victory here. Hold onto the football on offense, and bottle up Cam Fancher on defense. We’ll see if Army can do that and come away 2-0.
Go Army! Beat FAU!!!
Cover image via ArmyWP_Football.
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