Army 'feeling better' following dominant 57-0 win over Delaware State, moves to 1-1
WEST POINT – Jeff Monken did not want to sound like an ungrateful host but he was not totally satisfied with Army’s 57-0 win over Delaware State on Saturday – it was the program’s largest shutout win since 1956 and the fourth on Monken’s watch.
“I know we can play a lot better,’’ Monken said. “I’m happy for our guys that we won, and certainly to win at home is really important for us. But I know who we’re getting ready to play, and I look at this stretch of games coming up, and we’re going to have to play a lot better than we did today.’’
Army travels to Texas San Antonio for a Friday night game on ESPN and then heads to Syracuse on Sept. 23. A bye week is followed by visits from Boston College (Oct. 7) and Troy (Oct. 14). Army lost to both UTSA and Troy in 2022. And then there’s the Oct. 21 trip to preseason No. 5 Louisiana State.
A win over the visitors from the Football Championship Subdivision was not really in question from the start (Delaware State went in as a 40-point underdog), but it was important for Army to erase the sting of last week’s opening 17-13 loss at Louisiana Monroe and move in a positive direction.
The Black Knights got exactly what they needed. Army outgained Delaware State 525-219, picking up eight touchdowns along the way. Bryson Daily threw for three scores, a week after throwing two picks, and rushed for two more. Isaiah Alston hauled in touchdown receptions of 59 and a career-best 70 yards, posting the most prolific day by an Army receiver since 2007. Army was perfect on five visits to the Red Zone. The Army defense picked up 10 tackles for lost yardage including three sacks, and stopped the Hornets on their two visits inside the 20.
“The first game … it’s all behind us now,’’ Daily said. “(We have) momentum going into the next one. We played well. Guys played tough. I thought we executed a lot better. So just continuing that momentum and rolling and getting to the next game (this is) going to help us a lot.’’
“We’ll just kind of use it as a stepping stone,’’ said linebacker Leo Lowin. “We’ve got a lot of football in front of us. We definitely made some improvements today, but just keep going in the right direction. We’ve got a lot of big games this year, a lot of tough opponents, so use it as a stepping stone (and) get ready for those games.’’
On Army’s opening drive, Daily had a 7-yard score called back by penalty. No matter, the next play was just as perfect as he scored from 13 yards. Hayden Reed tacked on a surprise 2-point run for the 8-0 lead.
Delaware State’s Nathan Wilson booted a 52-yard field goal attempt wide right. Army needed two plays to respond, with Alston running a stop-and-go down the right sideline from 59 yards and a 15-0 lead.
A shanked 10-yard punt by Jonathan Cardonza-Chicas set up Army at the DSU 25. Six plays in, Daily used a block by Reed and bounced off a defender for a 4-yard score. The Black Knights’ defense put up a stand at its own 31, allowing just one yard and getting a turnover on downs. On the next snap, Daily hit Alston on a short in-route and the receiver raced the remaining 61 yards for a score and 29-0 lead.
Sophomore Jack Latore forced a fumble by DSU quarterback Marqui Adams and fell on the ball. Daily went right back to work, finding Tyson Riley with a little jump throw from 16 yards for the score and 36-0 advantage.
In the third quarter, Jakobi Buchanan bowled in from 1 yard for his 25th career rushing touchdown, leaving him one behind Heisman Trophy winner Doc Blanchard.
The Black Knights used freshmen quarterbacks Champ Harris and Larry Robinson – the latter scored on a 23-yard run early in the fourth quarter. Kanye Udoh scored on a 5-yard run with 7:36 to play.
Monken said he wanted to use Dewayne Coleman at quarterback in the final quarter but ran out of time. Another quarterback who did play was sophomore Zach Mundell, but as a receiver – he made one catch for 7 yards.
Trey Sofia posted his first career sack, with Kyle Lewis and Elo Modozie posting the other sacks. Sofia also blocked a field-goal attempt. Lowin led with nine tackles and Spencer Jones had six.
More: College football TV, radio, web schedules for 2023
Notable: Army’s last shutout of more than 50 points was Fordham (55-0) in 2011. Army beat Columbia 60-0 in 1956. … Army is 16-2 vs. FCS opponents and 8-2 in home openers under Monken. … Jabari Laws (in 2021) is the only other Army QB to complete three touchdown passes during the Monken era. … Noah Short, Liam Fortner, Miles Stewart, Lucas Scott and Jackson Powell made their first career starts.
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This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Army football crushes Delaware State 57-0
