Army Football: Will Black Knights return to winning ways in 2020?

Army must do a better job of getting to the quarterback

The defense in 2019 was marginal at best.

Army wasn’t great, but they were not terrible either. The Black Knights finished a decent 41st in points allowed surrendering 23 points per game. Unlike the 2018 version, the Black Knights did not spend much time in the offensive backfield finishing 127th in the country in tackles for loss.

If they weren’t very good tackling behind the line of scrimmage, then their sack numbers were not that much better. They finished 102nd in sacks last season with just 21. Inevitably, this leads to staying on the field far too long, and the Army could not force enough punts on third downs ranking 109th in third-down defense.

The defense is a young unit that has lost lots of talent in the last two seasons. They lose two of their three leading tacklers from last season. Second-leading tackler Arik Smith does return, however.

Linebacker shouldn’t be an issue. It’s the front and the back the Black Knights have to address.

They need to find a pass rush this season. Elijah Riley led the team in sacks last year — he was a defensive back. They did not have a lineman — or linebacker — with more than three. Their secondary loses their best defenders as well. It could be more of the same defensively for the Knights.