NEW ORLEANS, LA — In a game that embodied everything Army football represents—relentless effort, tactical discipline, and unwavering resolve—the Black Knights came up just short Saturday afternoon at Yulman Stadium, falling 24-17 to the Tulane Green Wave in a contest decided by inches and seconds.
Despite entering as significant underdogs against a 6-1 Tulane squad, Army (3-4, 2-3 American) fought to the final play, mounting a furious fourth-quarter comeback that brought them within one possession before ultimately falling victim to a late Green Wave surge. The loss spoiled a two-game winning streak and marked a missed opportunity for the Black Knights to prove their mettle on the road against a top-tier American Conference opponent.
Hellums Puts On a Show—Then Takes Responsibility
Quarterback Cale Hellums delivered a career performance that will be remembered as much for its brilliance as for the heartbreaking finish. The junior signal caller set new career highs in both rushing (155 yards on 39 carries) and passing yards (125 on 7-for-10), becoming the first Army quarterback this season to eclipse 100 yards in both categories in a single game. More impressively, Hellums accounted for two rushing touchdowns—his ninth and tenth of the season—and set a new high-water mark in rushing yards for the second consecutive week.
“Experience is huge in college football, and each and every week I’m gaining one more game under my belt,” Hellums reflected after the game. “The game slows down, and I feel well out there. I just gotta win.”
Wide receiver Brady Anderson was Hellums’ favorite target, hauling in four passes for 97 yards, including a crucial 39-yard completion late in the first half that set up Army’s tying field goal.
But Hellums’ maturity was most evident in how he addressed the critical third-down play late in the game that could have changed everything. With the score tied 17-17 and 1:57 remaining, Army faced a do-or-die possession. On third down, Hellums’ decision to try to make a man miss rather than trust his offensive line proved costly.
“On third down, that’s on me. I should have trusted it and trusted the zone side and got behind Carson,” Hellums said candidly. “I tried to make a man miss, and I just wasn’t good on my end. That’s what I’m disappointed in—that possession, that three-and-out. That can’t happen.”
The turnover on downs forced Army to punt, giving Tulane the ball with 1:28 to play—enough time for the Green Wave to orchestrate the game-winning drive.
A Tale of Two Halves
The first half was a defensive chess match. After Tulane won the coin toss and deferred, Army put together a prototypical opening drive—18 plays, 11 minutes, 44 seconds of clock-chewing football that showcased the Black Knights’ ground-and-pound philosophy. The drive stalled inside the Tulane red zone; however, a 15-yard illegal chop block penalty derailed momentum. Kicker Dawson Jones’ 44-yard field goal attempt sailed wide, leaving Army scoreless after an otherwise impressive start.
Tulane struck first late in the second quarter with a 30-yard field goal to take a 3-0 lead. Army responded immediately, with Hellums connecting with Anderson for 39 yards to move into Tulane territory. With just 27 seconds remaining in the half, Hellums scrambled for nine yards on third-and-long, setting up Jones for a 43-yard field goal that tied the game at 3-3 heading into the locker room.
Army’s Dominant Third Quarter
The second half belonged to Army—at least initially. After forcing Tulane into a three-and-out to open the half, the Black Knights unleashed a devastating 80-yard, 13-play drive that consumed 7:16 of the third quarter. Hellums was the catalyst, orchestrating the offense with precision. A 32-yard pass to Anderson moved Army into the red zone, and Hellums capped the drive with a one-yard quarterback sneak to give the Black Knights a 10-3 lead with 6:31 remaining in the third quarter.
The drive exemplified Army’s offensive philosophy: methodical, physical, and relentless. But it also exposed a critical vulnerability in Army’s late-game execution.
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Defensive Breakdowns and a Crucial Turnover
Army’s defensive unit suffered two critical breakdowns that proved decisive. The first came on Tulane’s next possession when Green Wave quarterback Jake Retzlaff broke free for a 37-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 10-10 with 4:52 left in the third quarter. The second—and more damaging—came late in the third quarter when Retzlaff led Tulane on a methodical drive that set up another scoring opportunity.
But Army’s defense did force a turnover when safety Casey Larkin intercepted Retzlaff in the fourth quarter, his first pick of the season and Retzlaff’s first interception of 2025. Larkin’s play exemplified the kind of championship-level execution Army needed.
“It’s a whole team effort; it’s all 11 guys,” Larkin said of the defensive unit’s effort. “They made a play, a broken play. The quarterback made a play and still had some opportunities to win it. So it’s just going back to the drawing board.”
The Fourth-Quarter Thriller
What unfolded in the fourth quarter was a masterclass in offensive execution by Army. After Larkin’s interception at the Army 20-yard line, Hellums orchestrated a 14-play, 80-yard drive that consumed 8:16 of the fourth quarter and showcased his dual-threat capabilities. Hellums accounted for multiple plays of 10 yards or more—some through the air, but most on the ground, where he repeatedly attacked Tulane’s defense with his legs.
With 5:54 remaining, Hellums punched in his second touchdown on a one-yard sneak to give Army a 17-10 lead. The Black Knights appeared poised to secure a signature road victory.
But Tulane’s offense, led by Retzlaff and featuring explosive receivers like Shazz Preston and Bryce Bohanon, refused to surrender. With the Green Wave facing a fourth-and-8 from the Army 12-yard line with 2:18 to play, Retzlaff escaped the pocket and found Bohanon in the end zone for a touchdown that tied the game at 17-17 with 1:54 remaining.
The Final Heartbreak
Army took the ensuing possession but went three-and-out, forcing a punt that gave Tulane the ball at its own 25-yard line with just 1:28 to play. From there, Retzlaff orchestrated a 75-yard drive in 61 seconds, capping it with a 26-yard touchdown pass to Preston with 27 seconds remaining to give Tulane a 24-17 lead.
Hellums gave Army one final chance, leading the Black Knights on a four-play drive that reached the Tulane 38-yard line with two seconds left. But a Hail Mary pass intended for Anderson fell incomplete, and the dream of a stunning upset died on the final play.
Monken: “They Just Made More Plays”
Head Coach Jeff Monken was candid in his post-game assessment, acknowledging that while Army played hard and physical, Tulane simply executed better when it mattered most.
“It’s awfully disappointing to lose that game because we were in position to win it, and we just couldn’t make enough plays,” Monken said. “They made more plays. They made plays when they needed to make them at the end of the game, particularly.”
Monken highlighted the specific breakdowns that cost Army the game. The most glaring came on the final drive, where Army failed to secure a first down with 1:57 remaining, forcing a punt that gave Tulane the ball with ample time to orchestrate a winning drive.
“We had control there,” Monken explained. “By just not making the plays that we needed to, we punted it to them, and they put the drive together. At 17-17, we just needed a first down. When we couldn’t get it and had to punt to them, credit to them—they put a drive together and made a play there and beat us.”
On the defensive side, Monken identified missed assignments as the culprit on Tulane’s final scoring drive. “In the last drive, we didn’t have contain, and the quarterback got flushed out to the left,” Monken noted. “We got no contain playe,r and we should have. One was a missed assignment. The other guy got hung up on a block and didn’t twist around and get where he’s supposed to be for contain.”
Monken’s Perspective: One Game at a Time
When asked about the broader implications of the loss—Army now sitting below .500 with four games remaining—Monken refused to look ahead, emphasizing his focus on the next opponent, Air Force.
“I’m only worried about one game and that’s the next one,” Monken said firmly. “I’m not gonna talk about any other games or a season. It’s one game. We just played our butts off against one of the best teams in the league, maybe the best team in the country. We went toe to toe with them for 60 minutes, and they’re really good. They got really good athletes. That’s as well-coached a football team as there is anywhere in the country.”
He added with resolve, “I promise you that’s behind us. A whole new season starts as I’m sitting here in this seat. A whole new season has started. And it’s the CIC season.”
Looking Ahead
Despite the loss, Army proved it belongs in any conversation about competitive Group of Five football. The Black Knights are 19-6 in their last 25 games dating back to November 2023, a .760 winning percentage that ranks T-7th nationally and second among Group of Five schools. Hellums’ performance—his first game with over 100 yards both passing and rushing—signals that Army’s offense has found a rhythm that can compete with elite competition.
The Black Knights will look to rebound against Air Force before returning home to face Temple at Michie Stadium in a few weeks. But Saturday’s loss will sting, a reminder that in college football, execution in the final moments separates victors from the vanquished.
Army fought till the final second. On another day, that would have been enough.
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