Unbeaten Army downs North Texas

DENTON, Texas — No. 18 Army’s first deficit during the nation’s longest current winning streak didn’t last long.

Quarterback Bryson Daily ran for 153 yards and two touchdowns, and the Black Knights held off North Texas 14-3 on Saturday for their 13th consecutive victory.

Army (9-0, 7-0 American Athletic) trailed for the first time since last November after North Texas kicked a field goal on the opening drive.

Army answered immediately with Daily’s first TD on a 10-yard run for a 7-3 lead, which was the score until his 2-yard TD early in the fourth quarter.

“We always talk about adversity’s going to hit,” Daily said. “That’s a little bit of adversity going down 3-0. The way we responded on offence was awesome to see, and that’s what we build our program around.”

The second Daily score capped a 21-play drive that took 13 minutes, 54 seconds and covered 94 yards. It was the possession after the senior threw Army’s first interception of the season.

“A 13-minute drive,” Daily said. “That’s incredible, and that’s what we needed at that point in the game. So proud of all the guys to be able to be locked in for (21) plays. That’s really tough.”

Chandler Morris, the FBS passing leader coming in at 359 yards per game, finished with 214 and threw two interceptions in the Army end zone in the fourth quarter.

The Mean Green (5-4, 2-3) lost a third consecutive game with a chance to become bowl-eligible and were held without an offensive touchdown for the first time since a 32-0 loss to Florida in 2016.

Daily missed last week’s 20-3 victory over Air Force with an undisclosed injury and illness. He tied a career-high with 36 carries as the nation’s No. 1 rushing offence finished with 293 yards, 47 below its season average.

“We had to fight for all those yards,” Army coach Jeff Monken said. “There weren’t any big plays. They did a great job against us, and fortunately we made enough plays to gut it out.”

North Texas, which was third nationally in total offence, was held to a season-low 283 yards by the No. 5 defence in the country and the top-ranked scoring defence.

The takeaway

Army: The Black Knights gambled to try to get in the end zone instead of taking three points on the final play of the first half. With 1 second remaining, holder Matthew Holder jumped up after taking the snap at the 14-yard line and ran right. The fake field goal attempt fell 2 yards short.

North Texas: The Mean Green failing to score after the opening drive couldn’t have been more opposite than their previous meeting with Army. UNT kicked a winning field goal in the final seconds of a 52-49 victory at home over the Black Knights seven years ago.

Poll implications

Army, which was 25th in the first College Football Playoff rankings released this week, has to be most concerned with Boise State in the pursuit of a spot in the 12-team tournament. The Black Knights started the week six places behind the Broncos in The Associated Press Top 25 but 13 back on the CFP list.

Still perfect

The Black Knights have now matched their record from their last perfect season 75 years ago. The 1949-50 seasons were also the last time Army had a winning streak this long. It was a 17-win run.

“Each game is independent of the others, as will be the next one,” Monken said. “There’s not really any significance to it right now. Records are to look at at the end of the season, not during the season.”

Up next

Army: No. 10 Notre Dame at Yankee Stadium on Nov. 23.

North Texas: At UTSA on Friday.