Quick Thoughts: Army Shuts Down North Texas

cousin oliver · November 11

Indeed, it seemed at times like North Texas wanted to out-Army the Black Knights. The Mean Green attempted a minimal number of deep shots, settling instead for short throws that resulted in a bare 5.8 yards/pass. They also went for it 5 separate times on fourth down, converting 3 attempts in impressive fashion. In taking what Army’s defense gave them, their first drive went a whopping *18* plays in just under seven minutes. That was great in concept, but as noted, Army only gave up a field goal off that first drive. The Black Knights then countered with their own 9-play drive that went for a touchdown, followed by a 14-play drive that netted no points but ate up damn-near the rest of the first half. When the Mean Green’s first possession of the second half went three-and-out, it meant that they’d held the ball for all of 38 seconds in the third quarter.

Their offense sat on the sidelines for over thirty minutes of real time!

North Texas did a nice job countering Army’s triple-option, forcing an interception, a fumble, and a punt. They kept Army’s explosive plays in check, making the Black Knights earn it one play at a time. However, they ultimately gave up 4.6 yards/carry. That final tally didn’t do a lot to get Army off the field. The Black Knights wound up going an outstanding 9/14 on third down and 3/3 on fourth down. With that, they held the ball for almost 42 minutes total.

Time of possession might not be the be-all, end-all of college football, but when the other team is holding the ball, and they’re also scoring touchdowns, it becomes a problem. North Texas couldn’t get off the field on defense, and they also couldn’t score. By comparison, Army’s defense forced exactly one punt, but they stood tall in the red zone three times, once with an amazing goal line stand that started at their own 1-yard-line and twice by generating interceptions from something like 10 yards out.

read more: https://www.asforfootball.com/2024/11/10/quick-thoughts-army-shuts-down-north-texas/

greenminer · November 12

Out of curiosity, do some of y'all like dedicated threads for individual articles?

My personal preference - and I accept this isn't going to make sense to everyoine - is to have everything related to a game in one thread. For example, put this in the Army game thread. It makes finding things and researching down the line SO MUCH EASIER.