Lackluster defense dooms North Texas in Heart of Dallas Bowl loss to Army

Skipper · December 27, 2016

Oh the dichotomy of college football.

In a game that featured old school vs. new school, triple option vs. air raid, the tried and true method eventually won out. Behind 480 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns, Army wore down the North Texas defense time and time again.

And in a rematch from October, where the Mean Green (5-8, 3-5) pummeled the Black Knights (8-5) in West Point, Army knocked off North Texas 38-31 in overtime to win the Heart of Dallas Bowl and get the last laugh.

“It’s not an easy offense to defend,” head coach Seth Littrell said. “I thought we prepared for it. They’re really good at what they do.”

On fourth and goal from the three-yard line in overtime, Army elected to go for it rather than kick the field goal. With most of the 39,117 in attendance at the Cotton Bowl on their feet, the Black Knights snapped the ball and took off for the right side on a sweep. Seconds later, they were in the endzone, holding a lead and a massive shift in momentum.

North Texas was unable to match the score.

The Mean Green went four-and-out after a broken play on fourth down resulted in a heave downfield that fell harmlessly incomplete. When the ball hit the turf, Army rushed the field, and North Texas couldn’t wait to get off it.

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meangreendork · December 27, 2016

I think that Army had the better athletes in both games - it's just that this time, Army managed to get out of its way long enough to win. And even then, a bare-bones win. Our guys were aggressive and went for forced turnovers, but the handful of passes Army threw should've become INTs.

Army still played a sloppy game with their foul-ups on PATs, but they weren't coughing up the ball on almost every possession like they did in the last half of the regular season game.

One last thing - Monken better be able to screen for good players that fit his offensive system and defensive players that can back it in the long run. The triple option isn't invincible and not every team is in a rebuilding phase like ours is.