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Army Football: Jeff Monken has turned Black Knights around

By Patrick Mayhorn

PHILADELPHIA, PA - DECEMBER 09: Emmanuel Ukhueligbe #95 of the Army Black Knights and the rest of his teammates run out on the field before the game against the Navy Midshipmen on December 9, 2017 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - DECEMBER 09: Emmanuel Ukhueligbe #95 of the Army Black Knights and the rest of his teammates run out on the field before the game against the Navy Midshipmen on December 9, 2017 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Lance King/Getty Images)
(Photo by Lance King/Getty Images) /

Schedule and Preview

Week DATE Opponent
1 Saturday, Sept. 1 at Duke
2 Saturday, Sept. 8 vs. Liberty
3 Saturday, Sept. 15 vs. Hawaii
4 Saturday, Sept. 22 at Oklahoma
5 Saturday, Sept. 29 at Buffalo
6 Saturday, Oct. 6 BYE
7 Saturday, Oct. 13 at San Jose State
8 Saturday, Oct. 20 vs. Miami (OH)
9 Saturday, Oct. 27 at Eastern Michigan
10 Saturday, Nov. 3 vs. Air Force
11 Saturday, Nov. 10 vs. Lafayette
12 Saturday, Nov. 17 vs. Colgate
13 Saturday, Dec. 8 vs. Navy

If there’s an ideal schedule for Army to win double-digit games again, it’s this one. Despite a road trip to Oklahoma, this schedule is packed with winnable games. Starting the season with an underrated Duke team will be one of three true tough games. After that Liberty and Hawaii should both be winnable.

After that Oklahoma game, road trips to Buffalo and San Jose State shouldn’t cause too much trouble. Miami (OH), Eastern Michigan, Lafayette and Colgate are similar, with the last two being near guarantees. That means that outside of the Duke and Oklahoma games, there are really only two games that Army won’t be heavily favored in this year. Air Force and Navy.

The Commanders cup games will always be tough, no matter what the other teams return, but it could be another rough year for Air Force. They don’t return much talent and could miss a bowl game yet again. Navy is never an easy out, but the Midshipmen return just eight total starters from last year. I think three straight wins over Navy is possible here.

Prediction: 10-2

I think Monken could be in for his best year yet in 2018. This schedule is manageable, and an experienced defense makes Army super dangerous. If the quarterback play is decent and the offense is plug and play like it seems to be, I just don’t see Army slipping up against lesser teams this season.

Next: Way-too-early 2019 NFL Mock Draft

With that being said, I don’t think this is the year Army will pull off any major upsets. I think Duke and Oklahoma both hold the Black Knights off. I think they’ll be the only two to do it, as Army storms through much of this schedule and ekes out wins over Navy, Air Force and Buffalo.

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