Army Football: 3 takeaways from dominant victory over Middle Tennessee

By Dante Pryor | Sep 5, 2020

FORT WORTH, TEXAS - DECEMBER 22: Head coach Jeff Monken of the Army Black Knights reacts while taking the field against the Houston Cougars to start the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl at Amon G. Carter Stadium on December 22, 2018 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

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Asher O’Hara, Middle Tennessee football (Photo by Mike Lawrie/Getty Images) /

2. Army’s defense looked dominant

The Black Knights’ defense was lacking in the pass rush and tackle for loss areas last season. However, both were in full effect in their home debut. Though the defense was not bad last season, it did not have the same punch that it had in seasons prior.

Army’s defense dominated the Middle Tennessee offense. The Blue Raiders had issues protecting the quarterback, and the Black Knights were in the backfield most of the game. Though the Black Knights had only one sack, the pass rush was disruptive all game and helped force two interceptions.

Army surrendered a meager 184 total yards in this game. Their two leading rushers got a bulk of their yards on one rush. Chaton Mobley had 21 of his 27 rushing yards on one rush, and Asher O’Hara had 11 of his 18 rush yards on one play.

The Black Knights defense kept the Blue Raiders’ offense off-balance all game. MTSU could not get into any semblance of rhythm all game. First-year defensive coordinator Nate Woody could not have dreamed of a better first game defensively.

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