Disjointed Thoughts in Walking up to Air Force

I don't know what to tell you about the VMI game. Good game? Army did what they had to do? I'm actually relieved that I can write just that and not have to explain VMI hanging around like last year or even pulling an upset.

It's a good win. I'll take it, we'll move on to the next week where Army can earn its first bowl bid in 14 years.

Army looks ahead to a sharp Air Force team who will be playing for the CIC trophy.
This will be as good a chance as Army gets to show off for real. Some have suggested that Kent State represents the 6th win, I'll talk Kent State after this week when hopefully, the Black Knights have a bowl bid in hand and can go out play in a game where they will be favored to win and can just rack up style points and run their plays. Enjoying that reality and making it happen are two different things, and Air Force is the team Army has to go through to claim their postseason prize.

From game 1 we saw this Black Knights team was made of different stuff. The team was operating efficiently and opportunistically, finishing drives(!) and winning games. That's great, this is a good Army team and they deserve to go out and stretch their legs against VMI. I don't see any real reason to celebrate this 5th win... I'm still busy looking for #6.

It basically boils down to this: the VMI win could have been the 6th 7th or even 8th win for the Black Knights this year.

- The last-minute Hawaii debacle - totally winnable game.
- Overtime against an overmatched Rutgers team - Army was unfortunate to lose that one.
- Temple turning the offense up in the 4th Quarter and scraping by: 35-42

This team is 5-3, and as close as Army was to being able to claim 8-0 that is their record.
I'm not ragging on the team at all, there have been a lot of positive things going on this year. Considering that-  The Falcons may very well represent the toughest opponent that Army will face this year. Can Army compete with every team on their schedule? We will find out for sure this week. I'll say it again... this team could be 8-0 if not for the self-inflicted issues that stood in Army's way in the three losses. There will be no room for self inflicted mistakes against Air Force.

Speaking of things that there is no room for: here's some bulletin board material for the Falcons. 


The Fashion Police took no time in calling out the all-camo uniforms.

That's a uniform of all camouflage, with black numbers for no apparent reason other than preserving the accuracy of their "Black Knights" team name. Army's uniforms are designed by Nike, also famous for such hits as the shoulder pad patch at Virginia Tech and Florida, and every uniform Oregon has ever worn.

Personally, I liked them. The uniforms were a surprise addition and I like the change of pace. At this point style points don't matter, win at home against Air Force and they can play Kent State in jeans for all I care.
Danny wild has posted his pics from the game, another great round of photos from him. You can see Danny's photos of the camo uniforms

Sal has an injury update for us. 

There's good news on the injury front.

Starting center Zach Peterson (ankle) returned to practice after missing his first game in two seasons last week.

Middle linebacker and co-captain Stephen Anderson (hamstring), who didn't play in the second half against VMI, was back at full speed.

Nose guard Mike Gann (ankle) dressed but didn't do much at practice. But Gann and Ellerson said he'll be ready to go.

Junior cornerback Antuan Aaron also dressed but didn't practice much and sophomore slotback Malcolm Brown looks like he'll miss his second straight game with a collarbone injury.