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When you’re playing Army, you can’t help but look up at the clock as it trickles down, wondering if you’re ever going to get the football back.
For North Texas and its high-powered offense, Saturday’s 14-3 loss had to be ulcer-inducing.
Though they trailed by just four points at halftime, the Mean Green had the football just 38 seconds of the first 18:16 of the second half as the Black Knights went on a thing-of-beauty drive if you like grind-it-out, chin-in-the-mud football.
It was quite possibly the perfect scenario for Jeff Monken’s team, which kept the ball away from offensive-minded North Texas and put it in the end zone, parlaying a 21-play, 94-yard drive into seven points after chewing up 13:34 of the clock.
Suddenly, what had been anybody’s game was firmly in control of the Knights, who went on to win and remain unbeaten on the season. Even though they’re ranked just 25th nationally, next week is a potential statement game against Notre Dame.
They have the opportunity to make noise thanks to that drive, which was spearheaded by 13 runs from quarterback Bryson Daily for 51 yards, and he ultimately plowed into the end zone.
On the other side of the ball, Army had to hold off North Texas’ frantic finish. After a goal-line stand in the first half to stop a potential Mean Green touchdown, the Knights kept it up with their backs against the wall.
They intercepted Chandler Morris twice in the end zone in the fourth quarter to keep North Texas out of the end zone.
