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No. 25 Army tops Air Force without QB Bryson Dailey, 20-3; Black Knights keep undefeated season alive

Army made progress in its march toward the Commander-In-Chief's Trophy

Army beat rival Air Force to continue its FBS-best 12-game win streak. The Black Knights were far less efficient than usual on offense, converting just 4 of 12 third-down attempts -- they entered the week second nationally completing 55% of their third downs -- but their defense stepped up, holding the Falcons to just 196 total yards while forcing a trio of interceptions. 

The Black Knights (8-0) keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive with the victory -- and get a notch in their march toward the Commander-In-Chief's Trophy. They'll have much bigger tests down the stretch with games against North Texas, Notre Dame, UTSA and Navy ahead. 

Air Force (1-7) hasn't been the same since losing to Army last November. The Falcons entered that week at 8-0 and ranked No, 25 nationally. They've now lost 12 straight regular season games against FBS competition in the time since. 

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Army 6, Air Force 0

Army's defense put its offense in excellent position once again with a drive starting a the 44-yard-line. But the Black Knights could not fully take advantage, settling for a field goal after reaching the red zone. The Falcons will attempt to reach positive offensive yardage on their upcoming drive. 

 
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End of 1st: Army 3, Air Force 0 

Army leads Air Force at the end of the first quarter. The Black Knights defense is swarming early. The Falcons have (-)3 yards thus far and sit at 0 of 3 on third down. 

 
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Army 3, Air Force 0 

After forcing a three-and-out to open the game on defense, Army began the scoring with an 11-play, 57-yard drive that resulted in a field goal. Dewayne Coleman, who is starting for Bryson Daily, started 2-for-2 with 28 yards passing to go along with 14 rushing yards. This is the first time this season, however, that Army's opening drive did not result in a touchdown. 

 
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No. 21 Army QB Bryson Daily out vs. Air Force 

Army will be without star quarterback Bryson Daily, who's dealing with an undisclosed illness, for Saturday's game against Air Force, according to ESPN. It's a huge loss for the Black Knights, as Daily has emerged as a legitimate Heisman Trophy contender amid his team's 7-0 start to the year. He's rushed for 909 yards and 19 touchdowns and passed for 629 yards and seven touchdowns with no interceptions. Junior Dewayne Coleman will get his first career start in Daily's stead. Coleman has appeared in five games this season and has both a passing and rushing touchdown. 

The line has moved from Army -22 on Friday to -18.5 now with Daily out. 

 

Why Army's offense still seems a little different

Nine games into the 2023 season, Army head coach Jeff Monken realized he had a problem. Despite beating rival Air Force by 20 points as an 18-point underdog, the Black Knights had lost the five games leading up to that, including to UMass, which it beat by 37 points in 2022. They'd dropped the season opener to the Louisiana-Monroe team they'd beaten by 24 in 2022. They were blown out by LSU. Something had to change. 

Here's my story of how Army tried, and failed, to quit the flexbone. 

Army football tried, and failed, to quit the flexbone: How a rocky breakup made the Black Knights stronger
Richard Johnson
 
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No. 21 Army (7-0) will try to keep its record clean Saturday afternoon in a home game against rival Air Force (1-6) that will be broadcast on CBS at 12 p.m. ET. This matchup is an inverse of what we saw last year between these two programs. A season ago, Air Force entered its game against Army at 8-0 and as a 18.5-point home favorite. Army, riding a five-game losing streak at the time, pulled a 23-3 upset. Now, the Black Knights are a 22.5-point favorite and Air Force is stumbling into the matchup on a six-game losing streak. 

Can an upset happen two years in a row? You never know with these two historic rivals. Army's 11-game win streak, the longest in the FBS, is on the line. So too are Army's hopes to crash the College Football Playoff.  

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