Can Army delve into its bag of tricks and come up with enough to spring a treat for the Black Knight faithful: an upset victory over Memphis on Halloween night?
Playing for the first time on All Hallow’s Eve since the 1992 season, Army most definitely will have its hands full with a balanced Tiger team that has about 70 transfers on its squad. Memphis (6-2, 3-1 American Conference) is not only athletic, fast and scores boatloads of points on offense, but the Tigers lead the conference with 16 takeaways on defense.
The game, with kickoff slated for 8 p.m. EDT at the Liberty Bowl in Memphis, has major ramifications for both teams. A victory keeps the winner in the hunt for a spot in December’s championship game. A loss pretty much erases that team’s chances to compete for the league championship.
Army (5-2, 4-1 American) will have its hands full trying to stop a Memphis offense that is scoring more than 36 points per game, accumulating 509 yards per contest and can move the ball about as well on the ground as it does in the air.
Tiger quarterback Marcus Stokes is putting up sensational numbers this season. The junior quarterback, who transferred from West Florida, an FCS team, over the off season, has passed for 2,160 yards with 21 touchdowns against just six interceptions. He is completing 67 percent of his passes.
Stokes will have a bevy of targets to look for, including five talented and fast receivers who have at least 19 receptions and 233 receiving yards each so far this season. The very best are tight end Hunter Tipton, who has 30 catches for 409 yards and five touchdowns, and wide receivers Stonka Burnside and Jermane Hayes. The running game is anchored by sophomore running back Jaylin Carter, a Southern Miss transfer, who has run for 833 yards and eight touchdowns on 128 carries.
But, this is not going to be a cakewalk for Memphis either. Led by senior quarterback Cale Hellums, who has 10 rushing touchdowns in the last three games and 16 rushing touchdowns overall, the Black Knights are averaging more than 35 points per game and lead the nation in rushing yards with 345.7 yards per game. Army also has a developing talent in junior kicker Dawson Jones, who made three field goals against Tulsa, including two 50-plus yarders, one that clinched the victory with no time remaining on the clock.
And, expect Army, seeking to dominate time of possession and limit turnovers, to utilize the same run-focused offense that has pretty much worked for the Black Knights all season.
“We have to be efficient and we can’t have empty drives,” said Army offensive coordinator Cody Worley in a press conference Wednesday. “It does not matter that we are playing on the road or playing at night. It doesn’t matter what their offense does and doesn’t matter what happens on special teams, the only play that matters is the next six seconds that you get to exist in a football play.
Concentrating on the job at hand will be a big part of that strategy.
“You have a job to do and let’s focus on that job,” said Worley. “Let’s focus on our execution, our fundamentals, doing our job the best we can and that has to be enough and if it’s not, it’s not.”
But, it might actually come down to what the Black Knight defense can accomplish, particularly with its pass rush and how it defends against both short and long passes. With the exception of about 15 minutes in the second half of their nail-biting victory over Tulsa last Friday, the relatively young Black Knights D has improved game by game. It has not been enough to please the discerning eye of head coach Jeff Monken, who noted that the number of missed tackles increased against Tulsa to 26.
“They are really explosive and they can do it in the air and on the ground,” said defensive coordinator Daryl Dixon. “We have to limit big plays in the run game and we need great team defense, get around the football, gang tackle and make them operate down the field, per se. But it is going to be the same in every game, limit big plays, tackle in space and get off the field. We are going to go in, play our fundamentally best and get off the field.”
