Army was not about to become a one-and-done in the national polls.
The Black Knights, fresh off breaking the Top 25 for the first time this season at No. 23 in the AP poll and No. 24 in the coaches’ poll, certainly raised awareness with the voters with a 45-28 victory over East Carolina on a glorious Saturday afternoon at sold-out Michie Stadium.
Army (7-0) owns the nation’s longest win streak at 11 games, and its four consecutive games of scoring 40 points is the best since its 1945 national championship season. At 6-0, Army leads the American Athletic Conference in its first season as a member.
Army senior quarterback Bryson Daily eclipsed his career high set last week with a school-record five rushing scores and a passing touchdown. His 19 rushing scores and his hand in 26 overall touchdowns are both Army single-season records. He has three consecutive games with 100 passing and 100 rushing yards.
Army football gets off to another great start
The Black Knights are the only team in the nation to score touchdowns on their first possession in every game. Save for one occasion, Army has scored on its second as well.
Army scored on its first four possessions against East Carolina. Daily stunned the crowd with a 37-yard play-action completion to Casey Reynolds on the first snap of the game, taking Army to the East Carolina 29. Four plays later, Daily rolled right and had his choice of Tyrell Robinson running a shorter route and his ultimate target, Miles Stewart, running deep for the end zone catch of 13 yards.
Army conducted a more traditional long drive, going 14 plays and 64 yards, culminating with a 32-yard field goal by Trey Gronotte on the first play of the second quarter and a 10-0 lead.
After East Carolina went three plays-and-out, Daily performed another highlight reel run, spinning away from a defender in close quarters and rolling 17 yards for a touchdown and 17-0 lead.
East Carolina gambled deep in its own territory, and came up short on a fourth down-and-1 call at its own 31. Army made the Pirates pay for their mistake right away with Daily running right, stiff arming one defender and diving to complete a 31-yard scoring run and 24-0 advantage midway through the second quarter.
Bryson Daily continues rewriting Army records
Bryson Daily continues to challenge the Army record books. His 77 passing yards in the first quarter tied for the second-most by a Black Knight QB in the past 15 years. Leading the nation with 14 QB rushing scores headed in, Daily tacked on five more. He finished with a career-high 174 yards on 31 carries and completed seven of 10 throws for 147.
Army maintains perfection by getting ahead, staying ahead
Army was one of nine teams headed into this week with a 6-0 record, and the victory ties Brigham Young with a 7-0 start. Like Indiana, Army has not trailed at all this season.
East Carolina QB change fails to produce victory
East Carolina (3-4) has struggled mightily of late, dropping four of its last five. The Pirates were coming off a 55-24 thrashing at Charlotte two weeks earlier. The Pirates turned to sophomore and Michigan State transfer Katin Houser in his first ECU start. Taking snaps exclusively from the shotgun, Houser completed 24 of 38 throws for 282 yards and three scores.
Welcome back, Tyrell Robinson
Senior Tyrell Robinson made his 2024 debut after battling serious knee injuries the past two seasons. He carried the Black Flag as Army took the field in pregame and was an offensive team captain. Slated as a backup slot man, Robinson was instrumental in two big plays early on as a decoy. In the third quarter he took a toss to the left and raced 23 yards.
Up next for Army football
The Black Knights will get a well-deserved break — it’s the usual open week headed of the annual service academy matchup with Air Force on Nov. 2. Navy beat Air Force earlier this month so the Falcons are already eliminated from winning the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy.
Contact Ken McMillan at Kmcmillan@th-record.com. Follow him on X / Twitter @Ken McMillanTHR
This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Army tops East Carolina for 7-0 start
