Coach Jeff Monken believes his players have moved on from a devastating, waning-minutes loss to Tulsa on Saturday. For him, though, it’s a different story.
Army could not hold an 11-point lead in the closing five minutes, surrendering a field goal, a touchdown following an interception and a game-winning field goal with 12 seconds to play as the Golden Hurricane turned a 25-14 deficit into a 26-25 victory.
Afterward, neither Monken nor his players shied away from explaining the failings and the devastating feeling.
“It keeps you up on Saturday night, Sunday night and Monday night — I can speak from experience,” Monken said during his Tuesday press conference, three days following the contest. “So, it’ll probably keep me up on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday night, too.
“And that’s just the way it is. I think competitors are that way. I’ve always been that way. I suppose there’s people that can flush it a lot faster; I’m not very good at that, but that doesn’t need to affect what we do in terms of preparing for another game.”
Said Noah Short, “It’s definitely unfortunate, on Senior Night. You picture it going a certain way, and it doesn’t. It’s definitely disappointing. But at the end of the day, just being able to fight and play in another game, it’s an opportunity, right?”
Monken has always said Army has a small margin of error in every game, and it was just a handful of mistakes which kept Tulsa in the contest, notably 20 missed tackles. Army’s inability to gain much traction on first-down calls in the second half led to a stalled drive resulting in a field goal (Army’s lone points in the second half) and two punts. For quarterback Cale Hellums, his decision to force a throw into double coverage rather than look to two open receivers resulted in only his second interception of the season, leading to a touchdown, and a subsequent failed read on a sweep play led to a turnover on downs, resulting inthe go-ahead drive.
The Black Knights returned to work on Sunday ahead of this Saturday’s vital American Conference closer at Texas San Antonio. A win makes Army (5-5) bowl eligible; a loss leaves only the Dec. 13 game with Navy as a final battle for the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy.
“Tulsa … that was last week,” defensive end Jack Bousom said Tuesday evening after practice, looking to move on. “We’re really focused on UTSA right now.”
Army is a 7.5-point underdog against UTSA, with an over/under of 51.5 points. The 3:30 p.m. ET contest at the Alamodome will be web streamed by subscription ESPN Plus.
While UTSA can tout an unbeaten league record (25-0) at home since joining the American, Army beat the Roadrunners in San Antonio in 2020 and 2023, before the Black Knights joined the league in 2024. Army also beat UTSA at home last season.
Monken said every team has no choice but to look forward and learn from mistakes.
“I think that anxiety you feel — that I feel — after a game like Saturday … it just compels me to want to do better and makes me dive deeper into the details of the game and figure out where we made mistakes and where we can improve,” Monken said. “That’s a feeling you have as a competitor when it doesn’t go your way. You’re going to have that gut-punch feeling. But that doesn’t mean that’s going to take away from the next preparation. Competitive people want to get back out there and compete, and I assure you that I do, our team does.”
Army football: Injuries remain a factor
Offensive right guard Paolo Gennarelli did not play Saturday, and his status remains questionable for the UTSA game, Monken said. Sophomore running back Briggs Bartosh is also questionable for the trip.
Asked about how difficult it is to stay healthy after nearly four months of preseason and 10 games, Bousom said, “You’re always trying to work on your body, stay healthy, eat right and practice as hard as you can, as much as you can. It’s tough.”
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Army offense
QB – No. 3 Cale Hellums, Jr.; No. 10 Dewayne Coleman, Sr.; No. 1 Zach Mundell, Jr.
RB – No. 34 Carson Smith; No. 33 Jake Rendina, Jr.
RB – No. 27 Samari Howard, Jr.; No. 2 Aden Self, Soph.
Slot – No. 15 Noah Short, Sr.; No. 26 David Clerk, Jr.
WR – No. 84 Brady Anderson, Soph.; No. 4 Liam Fortner, Jr.; No. 11 Toby Olawole, Jr.
TE – No. 44 Parker Poloskey, Jr.; No 86 Tex Brannan, Soph.
LT – No. 58 Henry Appleton, Jr.; No. 78 Xavier Archawski, Soph.
LG – No. 59 Will Jeffcoat, Sr.; No. 50 Braden Bartosh, Sr.
C – No. 51 Brady Small, Jr.; No. 75 Kyle Kloska, Jr.
RG – No. 71 Paolo Gennarelli, Jr.; No. 72 Lane Parks, Jr.
RT – No. 74 Teddy Williams, Jr.; No. 56 Tyler Lee, Jr.
Army defense
DL – No. 92 Jack Latore, Sr.; No. 96 Dillon Stowers, Jr.
NT – No. 52 Kody Harris-Miller, Sr.; No. 56 Nick Buchys
DL – No. 99 Jack Bousum, Soph.; No. 98 Deshontez Gray, Sr.
OLB – No. 40 Eric Ford, Sr.; No. 47 Noah Nixon, Jr.
OLB – No. 14 Gavin Shields, Sr.; No. 10 Cole Searight, Soph.
ILB – No. 51 Andon Thomas, Sr.; No. 21 Baylor Newsom, Jr.
ILB – No. 53 Kalib Fortner, Sr.; No. 48 Bryson Banks, Fr.
CB – No. 7 Jaydan Mayes, Jr.; No. 17 Jaxon Hammond, Jr.
SS – No. 20 Casey Larkin, Sr.; No. 3 Stephen Nnadozie, Jr.
FS – No. 30 Collin Matteson, Sr.; No. 13 Caleb Williams, Soph.
CB – No. 6 Jabril Williams, Sr.; No. 5 Justin Weaver, Sr.;
Army special teams
P – No. 46 James Wagenseller, Jr.
K – No. 95 Dawson Jones, Soph.
Kickoff – No. 1 Anderson Britton, Sr.
Holder – No. 38 Cooper Allan, Sr.
Long snapper – No. 55 Owen Walter, Jr.
Kick return – No. 23 Lloyd Benson III, Jr.; No. 7 Jaydan Mayes, Jr.
Punt return – No. 23 Lloyd Benson III, Jr.; No. 7 Jaydan Mayes, Jr.
UTSA offense
QB – No. 2 Owen McCown (Jr.); No. 17 Brandon Tennison (Soph.)
RB – No. 3 Robert Henry Jr. (Sr.); No. 23 Will Henderson (Fr.); No. 28 A’Marion Peterson (Soph.); No. 22 Bryson Donnell (Jr.)
WR (x) – No. 84 A.J. Wilson (Jr.) — or — No. 15 D.J. Allen (Jr.); No. 24 Jaelen Smith (Soph.)
WR (f) – No. 8 David Amador II (Soph.); No. 33 Mehki Anderson (Fr.) — or — No. 82 Elliott Brow (Sr.)
WR (z) – No. 1 Devin McCuin (Jr.); No. 12 Jamel Hardy (Soph.) — or — No. 11 Jaren Randle (Sr.)
TE (y) – No. 0 Houston Thomas (Jr.) — or — No. 9 Patrick Overmyer (Soph.) — or — No. 5 Dan Dishman (Sr.)
LT – No. 55 Kamar Missouri (Sr.); No. 78 Jonah Miller (Jr.)
LG – No. 63 Trevor Timmons (Jr.); No. 77 Devron Williams (Fr.)
C – No. 57 Ben Rios (Jr.); No. 76 Luke Lapeze (Jr.)
RG – No. 74 Darrell Jones (Jr.); No. 53 Cory Godinet (Sr.)
RT – No. 70 Deandre Marshall (Jr.); No. 73 Demetris Allen (Sr.)
UTSA defense
DE – No. 94 Kenny Ozowalu (Fr.); No. 35 Jon Jones (Sr.); No. 42 Daemian Wimberly (Soph.); No. 46 Mike Williams (Jr.)
NT – No. 13 Chidera Otutu (Soph.); No. 98 Jamiean Buxton (Jr.); No. 88 Cam Blaylock (Jr.); No. 90 Donald Quaite Jr. (Soph.)
DE – No. 1 Tai Leonard (Jr.); No. 95 Travon Sylvester (Jr.); No. 97 Kaian Roberts-Day (Jr.); No. 19 Johnny Bowens III (Fr.)
$B – No. 2 Owen Pewee (Jr.); No. 12 Marcellus Wilkerson (Jr.); No. 26 Bryce Grays (Jr.)
LB (Mike) – No. 9 Kendrick Blackshire (Sr.); No. 23 Brandon Tucker (Jr.); No. 44 Darion White (Jr.)
LB (Jack) – No. 0 Shad Banks Jr. (Sr.); No. 34 James Walley Jr. (Soph.); No. 24 Ian Jackson (Sr.)
WLB – No. 31 Vic Shaw (Soph.); No. 33 Nnanna Anyanwu (Soph.); No. 17 Don Munnerlyn (Sr.)
CB – No. 3 Davin Martin (Fr.) — or — No. 27 Jakevian Rodgers (Soph.) — or — No. 18 Ahamad Chapman (Soph.)
FS – No. 15 Tyan Milton (Sr.); No. 25 Kenyan Kelly (Fr.); No. 21 Brandon Jacob Jr. (Soph.)
BS – No. 7 Jimmy Wyrick (Soph.); No. 14 Jermarius Lewis (Sr.); No. 22 Elijah Newell (Fr.)
CB – No. 28 K.K. Meier (Jr.); No. 20 Zach Morris (Sr.) — or — No. 39 Lawrence Brown Jr. (Soph.)
UTSA special teams
Kickoff – No. 99 Jaffer Murphy (Sr.); No. 92 Michael Petro (Soph.)
Placekicker – No. 92 Michael Petro (Soph.); No. 99 Jaffer Murphy (Sr.)
Holder – No. 20 Caile Hogan (Sr.); No. 37 Breck Chambers (Jr.)
Long snapper – No. 91 Isaac Hatfield (Sr.); No. 47 Jon Stephens III (Fr.)
Punter – No. 20 Caile Hogan (Sr.); No. 37 Breck Chambers (Jr.)
Punt return – No. 8 David Amador III (Soph.) — or — No. 1 Devin McCuin (Jr.) — or — No. 82 Elliott Brow (Sr.)
Kick return – No. 23 Will Henderson III (Fr.) — or — No. 33 Mekhi Anderson (Fr.)
This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Army must show resilience again following devastating loss to Tulsa
Reporting by Ken McMillan, Middletown Times Herald- Record / Times Herald-Record
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