Army’s first year in the AAC could not have possibly gone better for the program.
The Black Knights secured their first conference title on Friday night with a convincing 35-14 win over Tulane, improving their record to 11-1 overall and a perfect 9-0 within the conference.
The No. 24 Black Knights do not have a realistic chance at the 12-team College Football Playoff, even with the conference championship, but it is still a season worth celebrating following back-to-back 6-6 seasons.
Outside of a brief run in Conference USA between 1998-2004, Army has mostly been an independent before joining the AAC this season.
Its only loss was a 49-14 loss to Notre Dame two weeks ago.
Army still has one game left on its schedule when it plays Navy in the annual Army-Navy game next weekend at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland.
If Army wins that game, it will give the program its first 12-win season.
This is already just the second 11-win season in program history, a mark it previously reached during the 2018 season.
The stars of Friday’s game for Army were quarterback Bryson Daily and running back Kanye Udoh, both of whom rushed for more than 125 yards in the win.
Daily rushed for four touchdowns all on his own while also completing his only two passes for 17 yards.
While Friday’s game is a cause for celebration for Army, it is a bitterly disappointing end to the regular season for Tulane. With a No. 18 ranking going into last week’s game against Memphis, the Green Wave had at least a fighting chance to get into the playoffs as the AAC champion if it had won out.
But after losing to Memphis by 10 points and then getting blown out by Army on Friday, those chances are completely gone. It also gives Tulane four losses in a season for the first time in three years.
