BY ROCK HOFFMAN
College Football Editor
On their way to a 42-14 win over Temple at Lincoln Financial Field on Thursday night, Army rolled up 417 yards on the ground. The Black Knights (4-0, 3-0 American) quarterback Bryson Daily ran for 152 yards and three touchdowns while running back Kayne Udoh had 128 yards on the ground and a touchdown.
“That’s just the culture of Army football,” said Daily when asked about their ability to impose their will on the other team with their ground game. “Just running the rock, that’s what we do and we did it well. It was awesome."
On their first drive, Temple had a touchdown called back when left tackle Diego Baraias was flagged for holding, it wiped out a 49-yard scoring pass from Evan Simon to Antonio Jones. The Owls would punt.
The Black Knights didn't need long to score. On their third offensive play, slotback Noah Short was lined up on the right side. At the snap, he moved left, took a pitch from Daily, and went around the end for a 66-yard touchdown. The Black Knights have scored on all four opening drives this season.
With their second possession, Army went from quick strike to methodical march as they took 13 plays and over eight minutes to go 89 yards. Daily ran it in from the eight-yard line, one play after he connected with Short on a 27-yard pass.
Twice in the second quarter, the Owls thought they caught breaks. Midway through the stanza, Jaydan Mayes muffed a punt around the Army 10-yard line. It looked like Owls’ long snapper Andrew McIlquham fell on it but as so often happens at the bottom of the pile, the ball changed hands, and Mayes was credited with recovering his fumble.
Late in the half, Diwun Black appeared to strip-sack Daily in Army territory but after a replay review, it was ruled an incomplete pass, and the Black Knights took a 14-0 lead into halftime.
With their first two drivers of the second half, Army matriculated the ball down the field for scores. Dailey had a nine-yard run to cap the first drive then Udoh, a St. Augustine Prep graduate from Mays Landing, NJ, rumbled in from the 28 for a 28-0 lead.
The Owls finally put a drive together after having just 83 yards of offense for the first half and one possession in the third quarter. The scoring play was a beautiful 29-yard pass from Simon to Dante Wright. The Owls twice converted third downs on the drive.
On their next possession, a blitzing Army defense failed to cover Daniel Evert and the big freshman from Germany went 54 yards with a pass from Simon. A two-point conversion made it 28-14.
A determined Daily took the Black Knights right back down the field and he scored for the third time with a 12-yard run. After Simon was intercepted, Army added one more score, an 18-yard pass from Dewayne Coleman to Cam Schurr.
“We have to figure out why we’re not executing the things we practice,” said Owls’ head coach Stan Drayton. “That’s on coaches and players. We are a much better team than we put on display”
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