Army 1-0

All hail the new king. Army beat Fordham handily in their first game of the season and dispatched Fordham to earn the mantle of New York City's top team. For as much hootin' and hollerin' as there was in my house, Army manufactured their 58 point margin of victory with about 5 scoops of vanilla. I don't care that they only threw 3 passes, I don't care in the least that they completed zero of those passes. Army showed just a tiny taste of their offense, plenty of players got reps, and they move on to the next game.

The Cadets couldn't get their defense off the field in the second quarter, but Fordham didn't find a way to make them pay. In fact, despite the lopsided 2nd quarter ball possession ledger it didn't at all seem like the Rams had any self determination regarding playing their way back into the game. In fact the Cadets, with just about a minute of possession in the second quarter, still won the frame 13-6. The final time of possession numbers were tilted in Fordham's favor 34:31 -25:29

I'm glad I was wrong about Fordham being able to hang around in this one. This way was much more fun.


Story, stats, highlights and replay



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The King of NYC Football

Fordham's sports information department does a nice job selling what Fordham has to sell. The one thing that jumped out at me on page 1 of the Ram's game notes (.pdf) was this figure from the #Ramblings section:

• The Rams are the winningest New York area football team since 2012 with 46 wins

It's a timely statement of Fordham's value as a football school. The school has dedicated support and dollars into their athletics, and as it is, Fordham football has rewarded their trustees and fans with some fine results along the way. There have been far less deserving schools in the greater NY/NJ region that have parlayed their proximity to the city into better situations, but none that have done more on the gridiron than Fordham. Fordham's another one of those teams that I find myself rooting for when they aren't lining up against Army.

I would love to see Fordham move up and play in the FBS. With their current trajectory I could see a place for them in a few of the eastern or midwestern leagues, which, obviously would have a lot more to do with their geographical location than anything else. If Fordham stays at FCS level and if Army keeps up with their two FCS foes per year, I could only hope they make an attempt at keeping this regular, competitive, regional rival on the slate. Fordham has done everything they could to become a competitive FCS team. They don't need Army in order to achieve legitimacy at the FCS level. It's all on Army to invest in this game. Though the history isn't there yet for this matchup, with Fordham's rising football profile I think an extended series could work well for both teams and manifest into a decent rivalry.  Army could find value in a bus trip 2- home & 1-away scheduling arrangement or a shared Yankee stadium experience. The scheduling possibilities are many, and presently (for some undetermined limited time) the Cadets and Rams are playing for the title of top college squad in New York state, not just NYC.

I mean just look at this graphic from the game notes.

How can you not love what the Rams athletic department is doing?

I will take Army some time to climb that list, but they can schedule Fordham and play for the distinction of best in New York rather than do things like hunt this albatross.

Fordham, the winningest NYC team since 2012, have gone 2-3 in that time frame against FBS opponents.


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Army Fordham Game Notes (updated)

Army's game notes (.pdf) are up for Army/Fordham.

I'll list Fordham's here once they are published.


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UPDATE: Fordham has their game notes (.pdf) up. 

Back at It

It looks like the offensive line will be in decent shape when Army kicks off their season Friday night. Linemen Rick Kurz, Bryce Holland, Mike Houghton and Brett Toth all make it into the lineup which gives me a few less things to worry about before the opener. Sal has the entire two-deep with a couple of surprises, and a few personnel notes.

Seeing that crew listed as active was a welcome relief after reading this piece on Fordham's lineup.

Fordham will be tough to stop once again behind quarterback Kevin Anderson who threw for 2,724 yards and 27 TD’s a year ago with Austin Longi and Corey Caddie leading the receiving corps. The Rams rushing attack will be potent as well with Chase Edmonds bringing back 1,799 yards with four starters on the offensive line also returning. Overall, Fordham has eight starters back on offense and seven on defense where the front seven loses four. 

There's no need to overstate Fordham's football playing ability - they're good, and I think they can go punch for punch with Army for a half or longer- but it's not Michigan - Army should be able to play comfortably in their base formations and wear down the rams by spreading the ball around and employing their precise and physical style of play.

I don't know how early Coach Monken will be able to get  his backup QB into the game. I've seenI know he likes to switch out early, but it may be until the middle of the 3rd quarter until the reins get handed over. Check that depth chart again... the backup is listed as soph. Kelvin Hopkins Jr. I've heard a lot of good things about Ahmad Bradshaw's backup and I'm sure he'll see the field.
It's always a fine line when you run such a demanding offense, but I would like #17 to play every meaningful snap through the first third of the season. From my experience, Coach Monken will find a way to share the snaps, so I'll get used to seeing 2 QBs.




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