Head Coach: Jeff Monken is entering his 11th season as the head coach of Army with a 70-55 record. He’s done an incredible job here, before he took the job in 2014 Army had just 2 winning seasons in the last 2 decades. Now winning is a regular thing and most importantly he’s shifted the Army-Navy rivalry back to Army’s favor, it all started with their win in 2016 which broke Navy’s 14 game winning streak. While it wasn’t Army’s best season ever, Monken led them to their best modern day season in 2018 when they went 11-2 (their first 11 win season) one of the 2 losses being in overtime to Oklahoma in that infamous game where most people watched some guy stream the game, they also beat Houston 70-14 in the Armed Forces Bowl that year.
Program Outlook: 2024 is a year of change for Army football, that’s because for the first time since 2004 they are now in a conference. The Black Knights have joined The American conference (with Navy also in the conference the name actually fits!) It’s going to be an interesting transition for Army. Do they take the conference by storm like Navy did back when they joined? Or will it be more of a challenge?
How does the 2024 Roster look?: Last year was a strange year for Army. With the new cut block rules it was a concern that running the triple option in it’s usual form would be difficult for the academies. Army aimed to get ahead of it by going to more of a spread option attack, it didn’t go well. Army’s ground game dipped, they couldn’t control the clock like usual and dropped some surprising games. Lesson learned, this season Army will be returning to the triple option in it’s purest form, that alone is a reason to look forward to seeing them play. QB Bryson Daily will return to lead the attack, that experience will be huge for them. There’s enough backs to feel good about the attack if the offensive line comes together, typically this isn’t an issue for Army. The defense doesn’t return a lot of production but this isn’t something that’s out of the ordinary for service academies. Often it’s a senior led group, and the next season another group of seniors steps up. As long as the offense gets back to their possession hogging ways, I suspect the defense will be fine.
Screenshot from fbschedules.com1
2024 Schedule Thoughts: Now that Army is in a conference, their non-conference schedule is mostly spoken for these days. They play Air Force, despite Navy being in the same conference they are still playing each other as a non-conference game during their traditional week and Army typically plays against a team from the Patriot League (where they have their other sports.) That leaves Army with 1 non-conference space each year and this year’s is filled with a cool matchup against Notre Dame under the lights. Army’s conference schedule is incredibly favorable. There’s 4 main favorites to win the conference and Army only plays 1 of them, UTSA at home. My favorite quirk is that Army is welcomed into The American by playing all 3 Owls teams in a row. With this schedule, Army is a greater threat to make the AAC title than most would expect.
Vegas Projection: Army’s win total is set at 5.5… My mind is actually blown by how low this total is, but the odds are also -150 so you’re not making any money with the over.
2024 Best Case: Army gets back to what they do best and it works to near perfection. Army’s run game allows them to squeeze opponents out of games. Their early schedule allows for them to start 7-0 with relative ease. Setting up a showdown with Air Force. The Falcons want revenge after Army ruined their season last year but they’re denied as Army dominates time of possession and wins by double digits. With Army at 9-0 heading into the battle with Notre Dame, College GameDay can’t pass up the opportunity to make the trip to Yankee stadium, bringing a spotlight on the special season Army is having. Sadly the game itself doesn’t go as planned, Army battles hard with Notre Dame into the 4th quarter but the Irish pull it out late. Army is not discouraged as they lock up their position in the AAC championship by beating UTSA. So yes, Army plays in the AAC championship before playing Navy…very weird. Army draws an undefeated Memphis team that is having a special season. Army goes back and forth with Memphis but the Memphis pass attack proves to be too much in the 4th quarter and Army falls just short. The heartbreak is tough but, there’s bigger things ahead for the Black Knights, this season has been fun but means nothing if they don’t beat Navy. They focus in and handle the Midshipmen to keep their recent edge in the rivalry. Army caps off the season by picking up their 12th win of the year in the Armed Forces Bowl.
2024 Worst Case: It’s a struggle for start to finish for Army. They go 0-2 against the first two sets of Owls they face and it’s clear things aren’t right. Still if they beat Air Force the season can be salvaged, but that doesn’t happen Army is shut out by the Falcons who eventually end up crashing the Playoff. Army ends up 4-7 after losing to UTSA, but all that can be forgotten if they can just beat Navy. Unfortunately for the Black Knights that doesn’t happen either. The Midshipmen are in the middle of a rebound year, and Army doesn’t get in their way. Navy once again has command of the rivalry over Army who has suddenly gone 3 years without a winning season or bowl appearance.
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