Urban Meyer and Ohio State do everything they can to not only show their respect but promote the terrific men and women of the United States Armed Forces across social media and to their football players. But the head football coach probably isn't too happy to see one on the schedule this fall.
“Best thing about this game is we won it. It's in the rearview mirror,” Meyer said nearly three years ago after Ohio State pulled away from Navy, 34-17, in J.T. Barrett's first career start. “It seemed like we've been working on this thing forever.”
The trip to Baltimore and defeat of the Midshipmen came in Week 1 of the 2014 season. Navy runs a triple option offense, a difficult thing to prepare for and even harder offense to defend. The next week, Virginia Tech's 46 Bear defense shocked the Buckeyes and the college football world as the Hokies upset Ohio State 35-21 in Columbus.
While that season ended with Meyer and Co. lifting the national championship trophy, their next one also has a matchup with a service academy waiting. The Army Black Knights, who also run a version of the triple option, are scheduled to visit Columbus in Week 3 on Sept. 16 at 4:30 p.m.
Ohio State plays UNLV — who went 4-8 last season — the week after it hosts Army. All due respect to the Rebels, they are not on the same level as an ACC school like Virginia Tech. But the Buckeyes might have their hands full against Army, even though head coach Jeff Monken's roster is filled with two- and three-star recruits.
Army beat Navy last season for the first time in the last 15 years of that storied rivalry. It also made its first appearance in a bowl game since 2010. The Black Knights surged past North Texas 38-31 in overtime to win the Heart of Dallas Bowl.
Monken enters his fourth year at the helm of the program coming off his first winning season and sporting a 14-23 overall record. Let's get to know Army a bit more.
Offense
Because the Black Knights are independent, we obviously cannot compare their statistics to other teams in their respective conference. We can, however, look at how much production walked out the door due to graduation.
The biggest piece that is no longer around for Monken on offense is 2016 leading receiver, Edgar Poe. In case you don't make it a point to annually watch the Army-Navy game (you should) you might not know Poe's story.
| Head Coach | Jeff Monken (4th season, 14-23 record at Army) |
| 2016 Record | 8-5, beat Navy for the first time since 2001 |
| 2016 Postseason | Beat North Texas 38-31 in overtime in the Heart of Dallas Bowl |
| Biggest Losses | WR Edgar Poe, LBs Jeremy Timpf and Andrew King, RG Justin Gilbert |
| Biggest Returnees | QB Ahmad Bradshaw, RB Andy Davidson, LB Alex Aukerman |
| Summary | Army's triple option gives defenses fits. Is it enough to pull an upset? |
| Matchup | Sept. 16, 2017: Army at Ohio State, kickoff at 4:30 p.m. on FOX |
His middle name is Allen, so yes, his full name is Edgar Allen Poe, like the famous poet. That poet, however, spelled his middle name, Allan. Army's Poe fittingly said last year that he loves poetry and led the Black Knights in receiving for the third straight season. That only amounted to 16 catches for 336 yards and three touchdowns but in an offense that averaged only 7.6 pass attempts per game, his exit leaves a considerable hole.
Quarterback Ahmad Bradshaw (not the one who won two Super Bowls with the New York Giants) returns for his senior season and trying to improve on a 44 percent completion rate from 2016. He threw only four touchdowns and was picked off nine times and tallied 703 total yards through the air.
Monken mixed and matched his quarterback situation often in 2016 — five different players took snaps and all of them appeared in at least nine games. As a whole, the Black Knights finished with seven touchdown passes and 11 interceptions. The second-most passing yards came from junior Chris Carter, who finished with 176.
What makes Bradshaw so valuable is his ability to run the option, which he does beautifully. Bradshaw scored eight rushing touchdowns and ran for more than 800 yards at a 4.5-yards-per-carry clip from his quarterback position. Bruising junior Andy Davidson led the way with 961 yards on 190 carries and 12 touchdowns and the Black Knights put nine different rushers into triple digits on the ground last season. As a team, Army scored 46 rushing touchdowns. That was good for fourth in the country, trailing only Navy, New Mexico and South Florida.
Monken also welcomes back four starters on the offensive line and his top tight end from a year ago, junior Quinten Parker. Army's starting left guard, center and right tackle are all seniors. Left tackle Rick Kurz is one of five Ohio natives on the roster and also of the perfect mold for an Army offensive lineman. The big boys up front for the Black Knights are necessarily as big as those for other teams, with no starters tipping the scales over 300 pounds and most standing in the 6-foot-2 range.
Quick feet and leverage are what is needed to play on the offensive line in an option attack, however, which is what Monken and the Black Knights plan to utilize against Ohio State. Deception from Bradshaw, the other quarterbacks and running backs helped Army finished second in the country last year with 339.5 rushing yards per game.
Check back with Eleven Warriors later Monday morning for a deeper dive on Army's triple option from our esteemed Xs and Os savant, Kyle Jones.
Defense
Army's defense is what took the majority of hits from departures. The Black Knights led all independents in total defense, allowing only 291.5 total yards per game but they must replace their two leading tacklers.
Star linebacker Jeremy Timpf (112 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, two interceptions in 2016) graduated, as did Andrew King. The latter was third on the team with 11 tackles for loss and posted 97 stops overall. King's five sacks were also second on the team behind Alex Aukerman, who returns for his senior year.
The Black Knights run an attacking 3-4 that not only led all independents in total defense last year but finished fourth nationally. Defensive coordinator Jay Bateman hopes to funnel ball carriers to the WILL linebacker as a result of angles and directives taken by those players play the RUSH and MIKE spots. That is why finding players who can fill the holes left behind by leading tacklers Timpf and King are imperative.
Linebacker Alex Aukerman returns to lead the Black Knights on defense. via Mark Dolejs-USA TODAY Sports
Though he has been widely successful in his career, a simple Google search of Bateman's name results in countless stories about his role in the Wake Forest playbook-sharing scandal from last season. Bateman was one of three members of an opposing staff who accepted leaked information from former Demon Deacon radio announcer Tommy Elrod during the season.
Army beat Wake Forest 21-13 on the road on Oct. 29, a game in which the Black Knights intercepted three passes and held the Demon Deacons to a woeful 3-of-13 on third down. Certainly a fine defensive performance but aided by the help of someone on the other side. Army suspended Bateman for two weeks and fined him $25,000 when news that he accepted non-public information surfaced in February.
He remains employed by the Black Knights, however, and now has his sights set on trying to put together one of the nation's top defenses once again. The Black Knights lost not only their two leading tacklers but two senior defensive ends and a starting safety. Army intercepted 17 passes and recovered five fumbles in 2016.
An intriguing matchup because of the kind of offense Army runs, Ohio State's superior athletes should eventually wear down the Black Knights in Columbus. But should they seamlessly replace their two leading men on defense, Army could stick around for a while at Ohio Stadium.
The matchup is the first-ever for the two storied programs, each with more than 650 wins and multiple national championships. Army's national success on the gridiron happened decades ago, but it is clear Jeff Monken has the program heading in the right direction.
