By By Ken Filler | Tampa Bay Sports Journal
TAMPA — There is nothing mysterious about what Army wants to do Saturday afternoon.
The Black Knights will run the football. Then they will run it again. Once USF’s defenders believe they have finally figured it out, Army will change the blocking angle, put the ball in somebody else’s hands and run it again.
Stopping it is another matter entirely.
USF travels to West Point for its American Conference opener against an Army team that began the season by overwhelming Bryant 59-3.
The Black Knights rushed for an astounding 569 yards on 57 carries, averaging 10 yards per attempt and scoring eight rushing touchdowns.
That wasn’t simply an efficient afternoon. It was the fourth-highest offensive output in Army’s 136-season history: 648 total yards.
Yes, Bryant is an FCS opponent. USF is bigger, faster, and considerably more talented. But 569 rushing yards should get anybody’s attention.
Especially against a Bulls defense rebuilt to be more physical against the run.
The offense: Death by assignment football
Army’s offense remains built around the option principles that have frustrated defenses for generations.
Every defender has an assignment. One player must take the fullback. Another has the quarterback. Another is responsible for the pitch. Lose track of one responsibility—or allow your eyes to follow the wrong player—and a modest gain can become a touchdown.
“You need an answer for all three,” USF coach Brian Hartline said of defending the triple option.
That sounds simple on a whiteboard.
It becomes much harder when Army’s offensive line cuts off pursuit angles, the quarterback reads an unblocked defender, and the ball disappears into the middle of the formation.
Army does not need to fool all 11 defenders. The Black Knights need to fool one.
Quarterback Cale Hellums is at the center of everything.
He rushed for 87 yards and two touchdowns against Bryant after producing 1,223 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns last season.
He completed just enough passes in the opener—59 yards—to remind USF that Army can punish an overly aggressive secondary.
Hellums is not looking to throw the ball 30 times. He wants to force the defense to commit an extra player to the running game, then take advantage when a receiver slips behind the coverage.
The Bulls cannot allow Army’s passing game to produce two or three devastating explosive plays.
Slotback Zach Mundell led Army with 105 rushing yards and two touchdowns against Bryant despite receiving only four carries.
He scored on runs of 15 and 66 yards, showing exactly how quickly the option can punish a defense that loses leverage.
Samari Howard is another dangerous weapon.
He had 63 rushing yards and accounted for Army’s longest reception of the game, a 52-yard catch.
Howard’s versatility makes him particularly difficult to locate before the snap.
The most impressive number from Army’s opener might be 16—the number of Black Knights who carried the football.
That reflects the mismatch against Bryant, but it also demonstrates the depth and variety USF must prepare to face.
This is not an offense built around one running back. The system is the star.
USF’s defense cannot chase the football
USF’s defensive performance against FIU was encouraging.
The Bulls held the Panthers to 80 rushing yards, forced three turnovers, and gave up only nine points in a 19-9 victory.
But defending Army is a different kind of test.
The Bulls must play assignment football. Defensive linemen cannot abandon their gaps trying to make a spectacular play.
Linebackers cannot overrun the quarterback. Safeties cannot crash toward the line before confirming where the football is going.
And most importantly, USF must tackle.
Army thrives on falling forward, converting third-and-short and holding the ball for long stretches.
Missed tackles turn three-yard gains into seven-yard gains.
Those extra yards keep the chains moving, shorten the game, and leave an opposing offense standing on the sideline.
Hartline believes maximum effort can erase some of the inevitable mistakes.
“The best way to erase anything is high effort, high discipline, running through the football with effort,” Hartline said.
Defensive coordinator Josh Aldridge at least has experience against Army.
Last season, while serving as East Carolina’s defensive coordinator, Aldridge’s defense held the Black Knights to 241 rushing yards and 290 total yards in a 28-6 Pirates victory.
Against a normal offense, allowing 241 yards on the ground would be alarming.
Against Army, it represents a successful afternoon—especially when the Black Knights score only six points.
Aldridge also faced Army as a Liberty assistant in 2021, when the Flames held the Black Knights to 3.5 yards per carry.
That familiarity should help. It does not guarantee anything.
Army’s defense will challenge a struggling USF offense
As much attention as Army’s option attack receives, the Bulls cannot overlook the other side of the football.
USF managed only 208 total yards against FIU.
Quarterback Michael Van Buren Jr. completed 11 of 18 passes for 100 yards, while the running game produced little sustained momentum.
The Bulls scored only one touchdown and leaned heavily on Nico Gramatica’s four field goals.
That may have been enough against FIU. It probably will not be enough at West Point.
Army’s offense is designed to reduce possessions. If the Black Knights put together two or three extended scoring drives, USF cannot respond with three-and-outs and expect its defense to remain fresh.
The Bulls need first downs.
They need Crowther and the offensive line to establish a physical running game.
They need Van Buren to complete manageable throws and keep the offense on schedule.
Army held Bryant to three points and controlled the game from the opening quarter.
USF will offer a much tougher challenge, but the Bulls have yet to show that their rebuilt offense can consistently move the football.
That is the largest question entering Saturday.
The matchup that will decide it
Watch USF’s defense on first down. If Army is consistently gaining five or six yards, the Black Knights will control the afternoon.
Their entire playbook remains available on second-and-short, allowing Hellums to keep the ball, hand it inside, pitch it outside, or attempt a surprise pass.
If the Bulls can create second-and-long and third-and-long situations, Army becomes far less comfortable.
USF also must avoid giving the Black Knights short fields. The Bulls played turnover-free football against FIU, and that discipline must travel with them to West Point.
“The way Army operates, frankly, it feeds into everything I believe in,” Hartline said. “It’s not about your talent level. It’s about your skill and discipline level.”
That is why this game will tell us much more about the Bulls than the season opener did.
Army has gone 19-8 overall and 12-4 in conference play since joining the American in 2024, winning the league championship in its first season.
USF must beat them if Hartline intends to make the Bulls a conference contender.
“You’ve got to go through the service academies,” USF guard Caleb Cook said.
“It’s not a guarantee to win the conference title if you beat the service academies, but a lot of our conference champions had to go through those service academies just to get a shot at winning the championship.”
USF proved against FIU that it could win without playing well offensively.
The Bulls must be tougher at the line of scrimmage, sharper with their assignments and considerably more productive with the football.
If USF loses focus for even a few plays, Army can turn those mistakes into touchdowns—and turn Saturday afternoon into a very long day at West Point.
Saturday’s game begins at noon at Michie Stadium and will be televised on CBS Sports Network. Army and USF have split their two previous meetings.
