Army Loses Heartbreaking Game to Begin 2026 Conference Play

By: Daniel Rebain | West Point, NY | September 12, 2026 |

West Point, N.Y. — The high of a 59-3 victory one weekend ago crashed down real hard Saturday afternoon with the Army Black Knights (1-1, 0-1) suffering a 28-24 gut-punching loss to the University of South Florida (2-0, 1-0) to begin American Conference play.

At Michie Stadium for the second time this season, the offense generated three 90+ yard touchdown drives. But they were inconsistent on the other five drives. Senior quarterback Cale Hellums looked solid through the air, completing nine of his ten passes for 91 yards and two touchdowns. To balance out the rest of the offense, senior slot back Zach Mundell made an impact everywhere, completing a pass for 37 yards, rushing for 45 yards, and catching three passes for 47 yards and a score.

It was all sunshine and roses for Army in their opening-day victory against Bryant University. But as head coach Jeff Monken pointed out after the win, “I will hold my judgment until we play USF.” And for what it’s worth, for a majority of the game, Army played good football. But a few mistakes here and there ultimately cost the Black Knights a 2-0 start to the season. With the team on a bye before heading on the road for the first time in 2026, coach Monken and his staff will have plenty of film to sit on to help the team get back on track.

First Quarter: Tough Beginnings

USF was able to march right down the field and cap off a 7-play drive to open the game with a 7-yard passing touchdown from Michael Van Buren Jr. to Bryson Rodgers to give the guests a 7-0 lead four minutes into the game.

Now with the ball, Cale Hellums and the offense looked to match the hot start of the Bulls. Instead, the Black Knights started behind the chains after a wide receiver sweep to senior running back Brady Mott went for a 4-yard loss. Army would have to fight uphill to earn a new set of downs. On third-and-long, Hellums dropped back and completed a 9-yard pass to senior running back Samari Howard, but they would fall well short of the line to gain and would have to punt to the dismay of head coach Jeff Monken.

Army’s start to the game was a complete 180° from last week; they allowed their opponent to score and went three-and-out.

Second Quarter: Back to Army Football

After forcing a punt on USF’s next drive, Army got back to its brand of football of running between the tackles. On fourth-and-one from its own 30-yard line, Jeff Monken put his trust in Cale Hellums to find him a yard, and that’s exactly what his senior did, getting a critical first down for the Black Knights.

On the very next play, Army went back to the wide receiver sweep to Zach Mundell, and the senior would get the crowd on its feet with an 18-yard run down the left sideline, almost breaking another long touchdown run before being tackled out of bounds. Following that up, Hellums would throw a couple of rare passes to senior tight end Parker Poloskey, connecting on 13- and 9-yard receptions to help move the chains.

Two plays later, Army would strike to tie the game at seven with a Hellums 24-yard touchdown pass to Mundell, who was sent in motion and ran a wheel route, wide open down the right sideline past the unsuspecting Bulls’ defense.

With all the positivity hitting the Army sidelines, they were dealt a major blow on defense when junior starting edge rusher Jack Bousum left the game with a foot injury. It is the same foot that Bousum injured in the opening win of the season against Bryant University. With Bousum not on the field, Army’s defense stepped up in his absence, getting the USF offense off the field in four plays and handing the ball back to the offense with just over ten minutes in the half.

Backed up on their own 8-yard line, Army would embark on one of those long Black Knight drives that will live on in the lore of the program. Army marched down the field in 19-plays, on its way to a touchdown before the half. There were zero explosive plays on the drive, just one play of 10 yards or more, but Army continuously gashed the USF defense on its way to the end zone with 4-, 5-, and 6-yard runs.

With 19 seconds left on the game clock, from the 4-yard line, the Black Knights went with a play-action pass. With a lot of traffic going from the left to right, Hellums rolled out to his left off-script. As the defense was scrambling to get in position, sophomore Godspower Nwawuihe snuck behind one of the defensive backs, and Hellums found his running back in the back corner of the end zone to give Army a 14-7 lead heading into the locker room.

Third Quarter: Missed Opportunities

When the teams came out for the second half, Army had the opportunity to take a two-score lead. But as they did at the start of the game, Army’s offense got out of the gate cold. On its first two drives of the half, Jeff Monken was forced to punt both times after collecting just 11 yards in the third quarter, something he said postgame: “We did too much of today.”

USF was able to make the necessary adjustments to counter some of the things the Black Knights were hurting them with in the first half. That led to better field position for the Bulls and success with the ball.

The Bulls capitalized on Army’s poor play to begin the half by tying the game at 14 apiece. Quarterback Michael Van Buren Jr. led a methodical drive for first-year coach Brian Hartline, with a couple of 15+ yard completions. Everything wasn’t clean for Buren Jr., and on the eighth play of the drive, he had to create with his legs to find the end zone, scampering past multiple diving Black Knight defenders for an 18-yard rushing touchdown to get the Bulls even.

Fourth Quarter: Deja Vu from Senior Day 2025

On its third drive of the second half, Army built momentum and put points on the board. Offensive coordinator Cody Worley found success running Godspower Nwawuihe and leaned on his sophomore running back. Nwawuihe opened the drive with back-to-back hard 13-yard runs to get the Black Knights into field goal range. Army moved the ball down to the USF 10-yard line for a third-and-five and looked to take a touchdown lead. Worley and Hellums attempted to deceive the USF with a play-action pass, but the Bulls stuck to their assignments. Hellums was forced to throw the ball out of the back of the end zone, and Army had to settle for a field goal attempt.

For junior kicker Dawson Jones, it would be a layup of a kick from 27 yards out, helping Army retake a 17-14 lead. It wasn’t seven points like Jeff Monken would have wanted, but it was three points to get them back into the lead.

Army kept the momentum going on offense almost ten minutes later, extending its lead to 10 with just under five minutes to play in the game. For the third time Saturday, Army would drive 90+ yards and finish with seven points.

A few plays into the drive, Worley dug deep into his bag of tricks and, for a second straight week, hit for a massive gain. Zach Mundell put his quarterback cap on for a play, taking an ordinary wide receiver sweep and completing a 37-yard pass down the right sideline to senior wideout Tobi Olawole. Two plays later, Mundell saw his number called once again, this time on the ground, taking that same wide receiver sweep for 23 yards, breaking multiple broken tackles in the process to get the Black Knights inside the 25-yard line of USF.

The nine-play drive for Jeff Monken went on to finish the same way it started, with Godspowers Nwawuihe pounding the rock in between the tackles, breaking three tackles and powering his way into the end zone to give Army a 24-14 lead with 4:59 on the clock. It seemed like too tall a mountain to climb for the Bulls, but Michael Van Buren Jr. showed why he was a former high-level SEC recruit.

Down ten and needing a fast score, USF would march down the field and score a touchdown in 1:47, capped off by Van Buren Jr.’s second rushing touchdown of the game, scrambling 24 yards on a broken play to get the Bulls within three points.

With such a fast score, all the pressure was put back on Cale Hellums and the Black Knights offense. Gaining one first down would all but seal the game. But the Black Knights offense got in its own way. On the first play, Hellums turned the wrong way to hand the ball off and was only able to gain two yards. On second down, Hellums would lose a yard on a designed quarterback rush. Needing 9 yards, Army elected to throw the ball, leading to a sack for the Bulls’ defense. Now with 1:39 left on the clock, USF was around 45 yards from a field goal attempt and 81 yards from a win.

Fortunately for USF, after Army downed a punt at the 4-yard line, senior fullback Jake Rendina was called for unnecessary roughness, pushing the ball close to the 20-yard line. That flag ultimately cost the Black Knights. Even with that negative play, Army’s defense played exactly how Jeff Monken would want. On the drive, the Black Knights forced the Bulls into three third-down and one fourth-down situations. In the end, for Army. they couldn’t execute on the final play and get off the field.

With the game on the line, a fourth-and-six from the Army 38-yard line with 25 seconds remaining, rookie head coach Brian Hartline went for the win. Facing an all-out blitz, Van Buren Jr. found the one-on-one matchup he liked down the right sideline, and Joshua Porter was able to get over the top of senior cornerback Jayden Mayes for a game-winning touchdown to give USF a 28-24 lead with only 19 seconds on the scoreboard.

Army had one last sliver of hope to get into a Hail Mary situation, but on the first play Zach Mundell caught a pass and attempted to lateral the ball back across the field, but it was batted down and recovered by the Bulls to end the game, breaking the hearts of all the home fans in attendance.

Rookie defensive coordinator Daryl Dixon went with an all-out blitz with the game on the line, and it came back to bite him in the rear end. Dixon relayed to Jeff Monken following the game, “I thought he [Jayden Mayes] could cover him.” That bet on a player like Jayden Mays, who’s been a starter for three years now, probably works out 8/10 times. But today was one of those days that the defensive leader was beat clean.

For fans in attendance thinking a victory and a 2-0 start to the season was all but secured, it left Michie Stadium with a sour taste in their mouths. A familiar feeling to the Tulsa “Senior Night” game last season.

With the loss, Army (1-1, 0-1 American) heads into its first bye week of the 2026 season, before heading down I-87 to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to take on Temple University (1-1, 0-0 American) at Lincoln Financial Field. Last season, the Black Knights walked away with a nail-biting 14-13 victory at Michie Stadium on the back of Cale Hellums’ big day on the ground. Army will look to make it five in a row against their conference opponent, not having lost to the Owls since 2013.

Stat Leaders (Offense)

• Cale Hellums: 18 carries, 55 yards (3.1 AVG); 9/10 passing, 91 yards, 2 TDs
• Godspower Nwawuihe: 20 carries, 94 yards (4.7 AVG); 1 reception, 1 TD
• Zach Mundell: 1/1 passing, 37 yards; 3 carries, 45 yards (15.0 AVG); 3 receptions, 47 yards (15.7 AVG), 1 TD
• Army Offense: 347 TOT yards, 128 passing yards, 35:46 Time of Possession

Stat Leaders (Defense)

• Elijah Walton: 10 total tackles (4 solo), 1 tackle for loss, 1 pass deflection
• Jaquavious Moss: 8 total tackles (5 solo)
• Caleb Williams: 4 total tackles (2 solo), 0.5 tackles for loss, 2 pass deflections

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