© Danny Wild-USA TODAY Sports
Army Football: Nowhere To Go, But Forwards After LSU Loss
A crowd of roughly 100,000 people watched the LSU Tigers put up nearly 600 yards of total offense on the visiting Army Black Knights on Saturday. That was on the way to a 62-0 loss for Army, their fifth of the season.
Understandably, head coach Jeff Monken and his players looked slightly shell shocked after the game. When asked what his team can learn from this thorough of a loss, Monken wasn't entirely sure how to answer.
"It's hard to gather positives or...I mean, I don't know what there is. I don't know what we learn from that," Monken told a group of reporters on Zoom, postgame.
Monken emphasized that he looks forward to playing teams like LSU, but simply acknowledged the immense talent gap between the two sides, in this instance.
"They looked like an NFL team out there. They are fantastic," Monken said of the team coached by his longtime colleague Brian Kelly.
While there's only one road to take from here, in the minds of the Black Knights, that road is anything but easy.
Army are 2-5 to start the season with five games left in the regular season. In terms of "physical" (for lack of a better term) rewards, football players come to Army to do two things: make/win bowl games, and beat the other service academies. Technically, Army can still do both, but the odds are against them.
Army will host 1-7 UMass, then travel to Denver for their annual contest against Air Force. Army have won two out of their last three meetings with Air Force, but this year's Falcons' squad is ranked, undefeated, and a strong candidate for spot in the New Year's Six.
After that game, Army will host FCS Holy Cross, which is another winnable game for them. However, it's actually of little consequence. Army already beat an FCS opponent this season in Delaware State. By NCAA rules, an FBS team can only count one victory over an FCS team towards their win total for bowl eligibility. It's an issue that Army dealt with last year.
As a result, Army will also need to beat Coastal Carolina and win their matchup with archrival Navy to achieve bowl eligibility. Of course, if this happens, it's the best of both worlds for West Point faithful.
Whether or not the Black Knights reach a bowl game for the sixth time under Monken this season, their attitude as a team won't change. After all, this team are also preparing for challenges of more consequence than an opposing football team.
"Don't quit. Keep playing all the way to the end," Monken said Saturday of his team will approach the rest of the season. "Show up tomorrow with a great attitude, ready to fight, ready to prepare. We've still got a lot to play for. Our guys are tough and I got a pretty good mind that they'll show up tomorrow, ready to work."
